The Only Problem With Seated Concerts....

Saturday night I went to go see one of my favorite bands, The National. THEY WERE AMAZING!! And the Beacon Theater is my new favorite venue. HELLO SEATING!! Yes, it's sad but true: my days of enjoying general admission are long gone. Now, I embrace the luxury of a nice cushy seat. No pushing to get to the front. No fighting with the sweaty (probably much younger and less wise) people bumping into you. It's concert going for old people, and I love it!

There's one small glitch though. The whole seating thing only works if EVERYONE sits down. If one or two people stand up and block the band for everyone else, the whole system is compromised. And that's exactly what happened Saturday night. There were two girls with particularly bad dance moves a few rows ahead that stood and "danced" at every chance they could get. They even got up during slow songs and kind of did this semi-sway thing (Who DOES that?). I felt bad for the poor people that sat directly behind them, as well as also feeling bad for myself!

Anyway, here's a clip of those dancing girls. I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but here's how I think their conversation would have gone:

By the way, for those of you who were offended by my "New Years Eve" comment, do not fret. I myself went to go see the movie last night, so it was all in good fun. And if you're wondering, the movie was even worse than I thought it was going to be! Oh well, they can't all be Oscar worthy, can they?

Reasons I Loved NY This Week-Vol. 5

-Driving over the Brooklyn Bridge....in an actual car (not in a cab).....with my hands on the steering wheel. EXHILARATING!
-New York street parking signs weed out the weak. It is extremely difficult to process all of the rules/times/restrictions listed on each sign: survival of the fittest!
-You can get pizza at any hour of the day! And you're probably not the only one with that idea, the pizza place we went to last Saturday was packed at 2am!
-Randomly bumping into people you know. In a city with over 8 million people, it's amazing how often this happens.
-Andrew Bird at Prospect Park: a little birdie (my friend Dave) told me free concerts were starting up again in Prospect Park and boy was I excited! Free! Friends! Fresh Air! Food! Did I mention FREE?

Do You BELIEVE My Poor Taste in Music? (Sung to Cher Tune)

I wish I could say I was kidding when I tell you the first tape cassette I ever bought was Cher's "Love and Understanding" (I was 11). I really wish I could. But, there, I said it! I never tried to pretend I was a normal child, and here's your proof. To be honest, I still love that song to this day. Go ahead, judge me! 

There's gotta be some song YOU like that's pretty embarrassing as well. The kind of song the makes you "accidentally" cover your i-phone so the person next to you on the subway/airplane/street can't see what you're listening to! Some of my other shameful favorites are:

-Peabo Bryson "If Ever You're In My Arms Again"
-Tina Arena (She's Aussie) "Sweet Sorrento Moon" -I'll admit, it's brought me to tears (of happiness) a few times!
-Anything Christopher Cross, but mainly "Sailing"

Um, how much time do you have? Because I could go on for about 10 hours, talking about my embarrassing musical taste!! But if it means anything at all, I also like some really cool socially acceptable bands too. Like CUT COPY, who i saw in concert Friday night. AMAZING! I think I might love them more than I love Momofuku Pork Buns, which is a LOT!!


Speaking of socially acceptable music, Urban Outfitters is offering free music for download here. Their mixes are always awesome! ENJOY!

HEY! Those aren't the right lyrics!!

I know you've been there: You're rockin' out to your favorite tune, belting it out like there's no tomorrow...when someone starts pointing and laughing uncontrollably at you...because you've totally screwed up the lyrics in a way you never knew was possible. Embarrassment! Shame! How many people have you incorrectly serenaded through the years? Is the likelihood of messing up lyrics directly proportional to how cool you think you are when you're singing them? I'm pretty sure it is!

Here are some of my favorite lyrical disasters:

Salt N Pepa "Push It": Instead of "Ah, Push it! Push it real good!", I thought it was "Ah, BULLSHIT. BULLSHIT real good!". I remember thinking I was so cool singing those swear words, in the middle of Marshall's discount department store, with my mom bargain shopping just a few racks away. Actually, now that I think of it, if the first definition on Urban Dictionary is correct, "BULLSHIT real good" is much more appropriate for an 8 year old to be singing!




One song I messed up for many years was Eric Carmen's "Hungry Eyes": Instead of "I look at you and I fantasize", I thought it was "I look at you and I dance on sight". I always imagined Johnny Castle from "Dirty Dancing" being so blown away by Baby that he was inspired to do an instant tap dancing routine! Check out the correct lyrics at the 40 second mark:




Another adorable mistake was in the Carpenters "Top of the World": Instead of "Your love puts me at the top of the world", my Mom always thought it was "You're a cookie at the top of the word". How cute is that? Moms! Cookies! It doesn't get any more adorable, does it? Check out the correct lyrics at the 1 minute mark:



I can't be the only one with all these misunderstood lyrics! Please feel free to serenade me with your own!

What's that Band's Name Again?

Does anyone else have this insuppressible urge to call them "Florence and the Hendersons" instead of Florence and the Machine? It's one part Florence Henderson, mixed with Harry and the Hendersons, with a dash of Florence from the Jeffersons. You can't even imagine the movie poster I have concocted for this in my head (well, actually you can because see below for one possibility). I seriously have to stop and think about the correct band name every time I want to talk about them...which is a LOT because I LOVE their music and am going to see them in June in Central Park. YIPPPPPPEEEE! And Twin Shadow is opening for them. OH YEAH!!

Illustration by Sam, Big Foot pic by quaziefoto

Music Recommendation-Anything with "Twin" is Good!

Ok, I've decided that when it comes to music, anything band that has the word "Twin" in its name is awesome! Let me explain....While I was in Melbourne (are you sick of hearing these words yet? Melbourne! Melbourne! Melbourne!) My cousin Nadav introduced me to two bands that I am absolutely obsessed with: Twin Shadow and Twin Sister. Twin Shadow has an electronic 80's sound, and Twin Sister is more ethereal and mellow, but they are both AMAZING!!! Listen for yourself...

In addition to the word "Twin" making all music amazing, adding the word "Lady" has a similar effect: Ladyhawke, Lady Gaga, "Lady Daydream" (as the next song is called):




I couldn't find an official video for this Twin Shadow song, but this is even better:




BTW, that's me to the left in the "Twins Rule" pic and my twin sister Marian is to the right. Awww, sisterly love...How cute are our matching outfits? And love the intense model pouts on our faces. America's Next Top Model, here we come!

And my favorite song of the week is....

Erykah Badu - Gone Baby, Don't be Long from beeple on Vimeo.

This song will make you feel Sassy with a capital "S"! My cousin Nadav reintroduced me to the joy of Erykah while I was in Melbourne, and my morning commute (a 20 minute walk through the streets of Manhattan) hasn't been the same since! It is IMPOSSIBLE to listen to this song and NOT shimmy down the street. I think I even winked at a few people! What songs make you feel Sassy?

Listen to this! (music recommendation)

Ok, so I just discovered this band that I'm a little bit obsessed with right now: Lord Huron. It is the most beautiful, ethereal music I've listened to in a long time. I first became entranced last weekend during the blizzard. The snow was falling, and the city was quiet. It was the perfect soundtrack!

Apparently, singer and songwriter Ben Schneider recorded the band's first two EP's, "Into the Sun" and "Mighty" all by himself, which is kind of amazing considering it sounds like a chorus of magical fairies, squirrels and butterflies making music together in blissful harmony! Ben also created the artwork for the album, which totally captures the essence of their sound, and is breathtaking. Check out the song "The Stranger", it is gooooooood!

I've got nothing but praise for Lord Huron. Let there be more songs released by them in 2011!