Breakaway

Bah, silly bits of fun floating around. 

What does your music library say about you?

*Put Your iTunes, winamp, mp3 player or whatever on SHUFFLE*
For each question, press the next button to get your answer (no cheating!!)
*You must write down song/artist even if it doesn't make sense
*Include any comments in parenthesis
*Post with #25 as your Title

*I'm trying this with my work music, which is limited.

1. What do your friends say about you? The Special Two - Missy Higgins {Hmm. this doesn't bode well. Split personality? Both Special though?}

2. How would your co-workers describe you? Burn for You - John Farnham {completely irrelevant?}

3. How would you describe yourself? The Way I Are - Timbaland feat Keri Hilson {well yeah. I'm the way I...are}

4. What do you like in a romantic partner? All for Believing - Missy Higgins {This sounds really sad and cynical :( }

5. How do you feel today? Going Under - Evanescence {yeah, lot going on at the moment. I suppose I do feel a little like I'm drowning in it}

6. What is your life’s purpose? You're Still the One - Shania Twain {I suppose you could interpret this as no matter what, I will always have my husband? }

7. What is your motto? Don't Give Up - Shannon Noll and Natalie Bassingthwaite {Hey what are the chances! Hilariously though, I'm more of a quitter actually}

8. What do you think about the most? We're coming home - The Rogue Traders {irrelevant?}

9. What are you going to do on your next vacation? Left outside Alone - Anastacia {oh god. I hope not!}

10. What do you think of your first love/date? Greed for Your Love - Missy Higgins {told you it was a limited selection! Hahaha.}

11. What is your life story? Everytime - Britney Spears {I love this song. I think it has no relevance though. She is suddenly making me think of Asaragus though...}

12. What did you do yesterday? Single Ladies (put a ring on it) - Beyonce {I DID NOT!}

13. What do you think of when you see the person you like/love? You're the Voice - John Farnham {!?! Well I suppose he IS good at Karaoke?}

14. What describes your wedding? Not a Day Goes By - Rick Price {Because who DOESN'T Love Rick Price?}

15. What will they play at your funeral? Blow up the Pokies - The Whitlams 

{And I wish I, wish I knew the right words
To make you feel better, walk out of this place
and Defeat them in your secret battle
Show them you can be your own man again}

16. What is your obsession? Since you Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson {Hmmm.....not really?}

17. What is your biggest fear? Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under - Shania Twain {I can honestly say I never ever worry about this (cheating). The previous song perhaps more appropriate? I am terrified of M dying and leaving me a widow. }

18. What is your biggest secret? Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing - Chris Isaak {well Yes. Haven't we all?}

19. What is your biggest turn-on? Nobody Wants to Be Lonely - Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera. {Mmm nothing sexier than rampant desperation in a woman}

20. How do you describe your friends? Castles in the Air - The Hoodoo Gurus {a recent addition to the playlist. From the Bushfire Aid CD, I'm not familiar with it}

21. What would you do with a million dollars? Working Class Man - Jimmy Barnes {Arrgggh I hate JB. This is sort of true though. I'd keep working.}

22. What is your opinion of sex? No Air - Jordin Sparks {I can't breathe properly? Maybe I'm just Stuck in a Moment}

23. What is your biggest regret? Please Stay - Duffy {I don't recall begging anyone to stay. Nor do I regret really NOT asking someone}

24. What would you rather be doing right now?! Radar - Britney Spears {yep. Heaps of sense}

25. What will you post this list as? Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson

Prepare yourself - this ain't pretty

And I don't mean Tori Spelling's impression of Sonny & Cher (which is also APPALLING).

This is a music video that Tori Spelling and her husband Dean McDermott made for their reality show NoToriOus, about their magical relationship being "so in love".

Watch and marvel, suffice to say, Tori Spelling cannot sing.

Nor can either of them write music lyrics, to save themselves. Its just.....I can't even describe..... you have to watch it yourself. And then feel like slitting your wrists, I just can't do it for you.

(and see how they're exploiting their baby at the start, and end, and yet it disappears for the rest of the video? And who are they kidding with the guitars? I don't beleive for a second that Tori knows how to play more than the two chords they gave her-see how she struggles with even them?)

Jesus needs more Carrie Underwoods

For those of you unacquainted, and too lazy to watch the video (or too busy vomiting after watching it) Carrie Underwood is a country singer that is very pretty, very blonde, and this song is very catchy. Because I am a giant sucker for catchy Country and Western, I can't help but like it. I like it, even though I loathe the subject matter in its syrupy, saccharine vomitude-

Chorus

Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'ma let it go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel

Oh the humanity.  

Christianity needs more of these "followers" though. Poster women for virtue and ***ability, singing about Faith (not the George Micheal kind either).

The (arguably?) biggest Pentecostal Church in Australia is Hillsong, which by all reports, is full of really attractive single women. A guy could do well going to Hillsong to pick up. Just don't expect sex on the first date, or the second. Or until you get married. And then it might be a let down.

(Click here for a really funny spoof of this song too) 

Kenji

Its times like this I think how ignorant I am of relatively modern history.
This is a video of a song by Fort Minor (the guy from Linkin Park) about the Japanese internment. Unlikley subject for him (until the end), but very interesting.



Thanks to SkepticLawyer

Celebrity names, before the fame, they were someone else entirely

I always knew there would be celebrities who changed their name. "of course!" we cry! Who's going to be famous with a name like John Smith? Or Sarah Thomas?
No! Get thee a snazzy name like Gisele Bundchen (do not attempt this name if you are not a leggy, gorgeous Brazilian model) or a single name like Rihanna/Madonna/Eminem. So here they are, altogether, for your trivia pleasure.

Celebs who ditched their real name, Understandably, and traded up-

Kirk Douglas ... real name: Issur Danielovitch. His names change has gone onto affect three generations of actors. I wonder if they feel dispossessed at all?
Woody Allen ... real name: Allen Konigsberg
George Michael ... real name: Georgious Panayioukou
Winona Ryder ... real name: Winona Laura Horowitz
Demi Moore ... real name: Demetria Guynes
Elton John ... real name: Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Snoop Dogg ... real name: Cordazer Calvin Broadus
Shania Twain ... real name: Eileen Regina Edwards
Miley Cyrus ... real name: Destiny Hope Cyrus, apparently "Cyrus gained her nickname "Miley" because she kept smiling ("Smiley") as a youngster."
Shakira ... real name: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
Gene Simmons ... real name: Chaim Witz
Mel Brooks ... real name: Melvin Kaminski- I'm not good with recognising the origin of names, but even I can tell this is Jewish...
Elle Macpherson ... real name: Eleanor Nancy Gow

Wtf? What was wrong with your real name?

Daniel Michaeli became Danny DeVito ...

Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon became Reese Witherspoon ... {no With-a-knife}

Thomas Woodward became Tom Jones ... snappier I suppose...

Jay Greenspan became Jason Alexander ... these are entirely interchangeable to me...

Alicia Christian Foster became Jodie Foster ...

Christopher Ashton Kutcher became Ashton Kutcher ... I guess Christopher Kutcher was a bit too alliterative for him? Just think, Demi Moore could have been Demetria Guynes-Kutcher. Bit Eastern bloc hey....

I guess I can see it a bit more with..

Alicia Augello Cook became Alicia Keys ...
Carlos Ray became Chuck Norris ... this makes him sound more suited to a piano bar that serves all night margarita's from girls in lime green spandex.
Tom Mapother IV! became Tom Cruise ... {Does this make Katie Holmes = Kate Mapother [I] ?}
Robert Zimmerman became Bob Dylan ...
David Robert Jones became David Bowie ...if only he'd known he could have cashed in on an association with an Australian Department store....

Ringo Starr was Richard Starkey

Carmen Electra was Tara Leigh Patrick

.... But still, there was nothing really wrong with their names.

Celebs who traded in a so-so "vanilla" name for a pretty cool one

Vin Diesel ...his real name is Mark Vincent
Portia De Rossi ... her real name is Amanda Lee Rogers {Amanda Degeneres?}
Busta Rhymes ... his real name is... Trevor Smith -Ho Hum!
50 Cent ... his real name is Curtis Jackson.... I think you can forgive rappers though, they're expected to have awesome names.
Axl Rose ... real name William Bailey
Boy George ... real name George Alan O'Dowd
Whoopi Goldberg ... real name Caryn Johnson *yawn* I wonder how she came up with Whoopi Goldberg? Reason suggested here, but I don't trust the accuracy...
Jamie Foxx ... real name Eric Bishop- quite nerdy isn't it?
Seems a lot more common with music types than actor types to change your name to something quite cool.
Queen Latifah was Dana Owens
Kid Rock was Bob Ritchie!
Sigourney Weaver, Orginally Susan Weaver, she picked out her unusual new name from a character in the novel, The Great Gatsby.

Ludacris is actually Brian Bridges

and Hmmm...

Angelina Jolie ...whose real name is Angelina Jolie Voight and
Nicole Richie ... whose real name is Nicole Camilla Escovedo
Interestingly while Nicole Richie changed her name to credit her famous father, Angelina Jolie ditched the obvious link to her father Jon Voight, I wonder if she finds it weird being addressed by her middle name as her surname though. My middle name is May, and I would find it very weird to be called Mrs May.

And the famous exceptions. The two big stars who refused to change their names: Arnold Schwarznegger and Raquel Welch.

Other Celebrity name stories~

Oprah is actually a typo. Her parents wanted to use the biblical name Orpah, but the midwife couldn't spell so it became Oprah.

Nicolas Cage started life as Nicholas Coppola, but changed it to disassociate himself with famous film director Uncle Francis Ford Coppola. The name 'Cage' came from the comic book character 'Luke Cage'.

Michael Crawford - The Phantom of the Opera star was once called Michael Dumble-Smith. The unsurprising desire for a name change was concluded after he saw a passing Crawford's buscuit lorry.

I can't help but wonder who comes up with these names? I would agonise about changing my name!

Oh the shame!

While you people are all out there, living your lives like normal people, I am trapped. Trapped by a dark secret that I fear people can smell on me. I am, one of THEM.
One day I was listening to the radio, and I was struck down by this affliction. I was taken unawares, and before I knew it I was bopping and thinking "this song is really good!".
The song ended, the DJ spoke......

I like Miley Cyrus^.

I wish it wasn't so! If I could change, I would! I assure you!

I really really like her "See you Again" song though! I know all the words to the chorus now! I downloaded it so I can listen to it whenever I want! I'm listening right now!~Its so shameful! I just want to hide away from the world until it goes away. If you haven't heard the song, you can listen via You Tube and vote.

poll by twiigs.com

^I don't like Miley Cyrus in general, just this one song. (so far?)

Skills you can't put on your resume

We've all got them. Things that you're good at, talents we have that no one cares about for the most part. Usually they won't get you anywhere in life. Forget about putting them on your resume, and don't rush out and register your ABN in a hurry; this skill simply isn't marketable, because no one would ever pay you to do it.

Some skills of mine I'm particularly proud of, but are essentially a giant waste of head space:

~ I can learn the words to a song on the radio relatively quickly. I find myself really listening to songs, hearing the words so I can sing them back later.
This translates into driving along in the car, singing along to songs my husband says he's never even heard before. (In the same vein, I can remember the words to songs years later, and sing along quite well. I have no idea where these talents come from, as I wouldn't class myself as musically inclined at ALL.)
~ I can unpack my trolley onto the conveyer belt at the supermarket into shopping bag sections. I line up everything as I take it out of the trolley, and if I watch as the checkout person packs it, they can go along the belt and pack it exactly like I unloaded.
* pet hate #423- When they ignore my belt layout and shove everything in every which-way. Grr! >:-Z

I'm sure there are millions out there - Perhaps the ability to slice a cucumber perfectly straight, and yet no other vegetables (making you a useless Chef). Perhaps you can perfectly time your coast to the red traffic light so that you don't have to fully stop? I knew a guy who, when he changed lanes with those little bumpy dots, he could time it perfectly to avoid them.

What are yours?

In my dreams, you looked better than this...

who didn't love Vanessa Amorosi at the 2000 Olympics? She was great. She had a great voice even though she was only 13-14***, and she was managed well I think at the time, better than say, Nikki Webster.
Now?? I'm not such a fan


This is her latest single Perfect, which you may or may not have heard, and the video which you may or may not have seen.
I personally hate it. I didn't like it too much to begin with, and now, having watched it a bunch of times at the gym, I've grown to loathe how she looks in it.
I love desert scenes usually, like Delta's video for "Believe Again". But its not all encompassing, I hate "Outta my Head" by Ashlee Simpson, which has a lot of desert in it. (The tiny top hat? The stupid two looks? The ridiculous song: You tube has the names listed as "outta my head - ay ya ya ya ay". Awesomeness-blegh)

I think V.Am looks alien in this video. The wig and the beginning outfit are awful.
The chainmail LOTR dress at the end is horrid looking on her too. The close ups on her face are doing he no favours either.
*sigh*
Video aside, I think it would make a good wedding song though, being that its about partners beig perfect.

**Under dispute

Can't dance a different way.....

Ricki Lee Coulter's new song and video "Can't sing a different Song" has me feeling "Can't Act a Different Way" and "Can't Appeal to Wider Audience".
In a music video that I find echoes her last one, I think she looks terrible! She's wearing essentially the same thing, a spangly dress and big dangly gold earrings, except she looked TEN times better in the first video, where she wears black, this dress in gold, not flattering.
Here is the newest one

And the older one, which I actually really liked, and even had a little storyline

Toward the end of the latest video she changes into a black & dull gold tight dress, and looks like she's wearing fat-suckin underpants underneath. Which in itself, is fine of course (hell I have fat-suckin underpants myself that get an occasional airing) but as someone once said to me, where does the fat go? In this case? Straight to her hips. This dress looks shocking on her!
"Can't sing a different Song" also features lots of striding purposefully from the back of the dance group to the front, boobs jiggling. Her dancing in this one is pathetic. I think they need to hire a different artistic director for her next video.

I'm ****king Matt Damon

*WARNING*- *Videos not suitable for LOUD play at work*

Ok, so Jimmy Kimmel is a late night talk show host, and his girlfriend is comedienne Sarah Silverman. They have a couple of running jokes about Matt Damon. This is her hilarious birthday present to him.



hahahaa, I love it.
So when faced with this, what does Jimmy do? What any self-respecting man does- piss higher up the wall and prove he's more famous than she is.



I count- (along with the obvious Ben Affleck) Robin Williams, Cameron Diaz, Dan Cheadle, Good Charlotte, Macy Gray and my personal favourite, Josh Groban.
Who can you spot?

Backstreets flat Alright!

EXHIBIT A



EXHIBIT B


One of these boy bands is fictional. One is not.
You would be forgiven for not knowing which one is for real, and which is taking the piss.
For my part, I think the Backstreet Boys (lol, typo, I wrote BayStreet Boys initially, which sounds like some sort of low-key jazz band out of San Francisco that performs at RSL's)

Ahem. I think the Backstreet Boys may have done their dash. Their lyrics are shocking.
EXHIBIT C-

I'm a house of cards in a hurricane
A reckless ride in the pouring rain
She cuts me and the pain is all I wanna feel

When did song lyrics become so crap? There's a reason the parody has lyrics like

I cry, when I see a little bird....
Tears on my pillow....
My river of pain....
Whoops.
Whoops there I go......
Now I'm crying again!

They have totally decided to just surge ahead with their "reunion" even though they're missing a whole band member. I mean, Take That did the same thing, but Robbie Williams is at least famous enough that the fans understand why he doesn't want to be part of commericals like this again, because I know they were a highlight in his long career.
And just in case you thought this was a terrible mistake on behalf of the BSB's record company: EXHIBIT D.


LOL.
Boytown are the best. If you haven't seen this movie, GO. Go now. (to your local Blockbuster that is, its not showing at the movies anymore.) Youtube have a few of their "videos" if you search BoyTown.

Psst I'm not alone!
-> Exhibit E- comments from "fans"

Will S.:
Someone please tell these "boys" that melodramatic power ballads died in 1999. There's nothing innovative in this album. It's the same cheese fest of pop songs they used to sing back in the day. Too much drama and sugar it makes me nauseous. I hate to admit this, but Britney's new album is a hundred times better than this***. At least she doesn't take herself too seriously when it comes to pop songs.

***Sadly I agree here. Someone's done something right with that album, its irritatingly catchy.

Brian Shine
..Backstreet Boys, please, shoot more interest videos. Inconsolable its too much boring. ..

Oh dear god, sheild mein eyes!

The new Spice Girls video, if you haven't seen it.
Why on earth are they all writhing around in their underwear??? This song is supposedly about friendship and yet they're all getting their gear off, and simpering at the camera. It all takes a weird Left turn after Geri comes on the screen wearing only her bra and undulating her abs, as if we really need to see that. There's group shots with erupting breasts, like some sort of sickening pillow fight, sans pillows.

Posh is sitting in this weird stripper pose with her legs spread on a chair, wearing some weird fetish pvc bondage strapping, and looking more and more like the over priced china doll she's become. Just when they could have exploited a real opportunity for her to dispel the long-held theory that she was nothing but a pretty face, she simply gets her gear off and pretends she's singing along!

The whole video is this bizarre orgiastic fest, and it was only a morbid fascination that kept me watching. Sporty looked like a lawyer the whole time, beign the only one not to get her cans out.

And they call her Train Wreck Britney....

After so much seraching to see this, I finally found a you tube on Mia Freedman's blog.
*note the puzzled looks throughout as they cut to the audience. I think this is the most telling part of the whole video.



I actually was expecting a much larger rail disaster than occured. Sure it wasn't a great performance as she's been known to give, it actually reminded me a lot of an Idol contestant, or a So You Think You Can Dance? audition gone sour. The lip sync was very average, but I don't think she really deserved to get so caned. Admittedly I do agree that she was exploited by MTV, they would have known she wasn;t going to be in top form, yet they put her on first anyway.

Musical love

It is well evidenced by anyone who knows me, that I am a Musical Junkie.

I could well gorge on a diet of Musicals for the rest of my days and be happy as a pig in mud. I have recently discovered that in You Tube I can find my favorites and make little playlists to listen to. Because unfortunately I simply don't have all the ones I like/love on CD.
For example, I now have Chicago the movie, all the songs compiled (in order I hope, I'm not as well versed on this movie as others).

See my You Tube Playlist for Chicago here

I also have The Buffy Musical episode "Once More with Feeling". This is a quality musical, sadly only a once off (and the series has now ended also) made all the more unique as the characters/actors previously displayed no musical ability, and yet fare surprisingly well.
The notable exception being Willow (Alyson Hannigan - also the Band Camp girl in American Pie) who they deal with by simply not really letting her sing LOL.
The only reason you really notice is that every other character gets a solo pretty much.
There are some pretty good songs in here, I can only assume Joss Whedon worked on this for a while, and yet its still plot relevant.

Play my Buffy Musical Playlist here.


And lastly, but by no means least, is Moulin Rouge. I actually own this movie on VHS and DVD. Much better on DVD of course. I love listening to this, and I really think the soundtrack has the power to transport you back into the movie experience, so strongly that even at work, I sometimes cry in the last songs. *sigh*
This is actually one of few movies that I cry at the end of, no matter how many times I've seen it. :*(

It's just such a beautiful movie.

Moulin Rouge Playlist here

Gahhhh

So incredibly busy at work atm. Need to decompress~!!!!
We're operating a two man show atm, half capacity, and our system's gone down, our massive shipment arrived (so everyone wanted their stock), just a madhouse I swear.
*breathe*

In other news, I have photos to upload soon, but can't make the cd work so not quite yet, and life is good. Had a good easter, don't think I ate too too much, just some too much. I've walked each work day this week and I was able to load some songs onto my new-ish shuffle so I am more entertained along the way, and I'm trying to get the gym a few days a week still too. I hope it all lasts and doesn't get too boring too soon.....
:(

Salut everyone : )

Thats some pricey spandex...

Well if this isn't one of the more interesting things I've read today!

The Top most expensive Video Clips for songs.

1 . "Scream" by Janet and Michael Jackson for $7 Mil. $USD prob. I love this song. I remember this video, it was great! There was lots of Shiny Gold from what I remember, a vaguely Space sort of theme, and lots of lank Jackson hair. I can't think of why it would be so goddam expensive though!

2. "Victory" by Puff Daddy, way down from # 1 at only $2.7 Mil. I have no idea what this is. Enlighten me anyone?

3. "Heartbreaker" by Mariah Carey at $2.5 Mil. This was a pretty song, never saw the video. Any ideas people on its exorbitant cost? was she wearing a piece of $2 million dollar spandex over her crotch?

4. "What's It Gonna Be?!" by Busta Rhymes Feat Janet Jackson at $2.4 Mil. Hmm, more Janet.

5 "Larger than Life" By the Backstreet Boys at $2.1 Mil. Hehe, a very electronic song. I rather liked it, this being just before their decline about 5 years ago when we were in year 11 or 12. The video was set in space with a giant spaceship and there was lots of choreographed dancing (what am I saying-it was Backstreet Boys-of course there was) and they were wearing spacesuits. I guess for that genuine look it'd be pricey.

6. "fairyland" by Ayumi Hayasaki at an even $2 million. (yep I have no idea who that is)

6. "Bedtime Story" by Madonna also $2 mil. Now my resident expert of all things `donna, Billylou, will be able to tell us why this would have been so expensive. Is this the one that was R+ rated?

6. "Express yourself" also by Madonna also $2 Mil. I'm sure I've seen it but I can't distinguish it between all the Madonna I have in my head. I know Vogue has lots of Black and white and Marilyn Monroe looking Mads. Was it all the extras she hired?

6. "Miami" by Will Smith also $2 Mil. I don't know this song I don't think. Was this spawned from a Will Smith movie like all his other songs? I do like Will Smith though. Imagine a pumping bass beat while he belts out "do the robot" (AI-for those of you playing at home)

6. "She's a bitch" by Missy Elliott again 2 mil. Hmm...missy. Your best showing was in Lady Marmalade for Moulin Rouge. I imagine this video features lots of inappropriate wardrobe changes.

7. "Unpretty" by TLC at $1.6 Mil. *sigh* I really like this song too. I think it would have been expensive for the viedo because the background was possibly all computer imaged? They were dancing in front of psychadelic backgrounds (not in an Austin Powers sort of way but). Is that right everyone?

8. "November Rain" by Guns'N'Roses for only $1.5 mil. I love this song I love it I love it. "Do you need some time, on your own?". The guitar riffs of my childhood. *sniff* this video is a wedding thats getting ruined by rain. So by all accounts its a pretty authentic looking wedding, so I imagine that's where a chunk of the budget went. It's a very long song as well, like 7 or 9 minutes, so I guess they needed to film for that long which is all money.

8. and "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" by BLACKstreet and Janet Jackson also for the paltry sum of $1.5 mil. no idea. never seen it. And C'mon Janet! What's with the expensive film tastes!?