Throwback Thursday

Oh, how I love me some 80's pop. And here it is at is best… or worst. I still know the words. Hahahahaha.

Dino  "I Like It" 

Music Monday – 80’s Duets

Since VH1 already did I <3 the 80's, I am doing I <3 80's Duets. There were so many to choose from but here are some of my 80's duets favorites.
Put on your blue eyeshadow, spray that AquaNet in your hair – don’t forget your leg warmers – and enjoy this collection of greatness.

Lionel Richie & Diana Ross  “Endless Love"

Phil Collins & Philip Bailey  “Easy Lover”

Michael McDonald & Patti LaBelle  “On My Own”

Sir Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson  “Say Say Say”

George Michael & Aretha Franklin  “Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)”

Mike Reno & Ann Wilson  “Almost Paradise”

Bill Meldey & Jennifer Warnes  “(I've Had) The Time of My Life”

Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes  “Up Where We Belong”

Peter Cetera & Amy Grant  “The Next Time I in Fall”

James Ingram & Patti Austin  “Baby, Come to Me”

Kenny Roger & Dolly Parton  “Islands in the Stream”

Stevie Wonder & Sir Paul McCartney  “Ebony & Ivory”

Paula Abdul & MC Skat Cat  “Opposites Attract”

Did I miss any? Don't cha just love the 80's? Let me know below.

Throwback Thursday

Awwww shit.  I went there.....

P.M. Dawn  “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss”

Music Monday – Michael Jackson

This Music Monday is all about the King. No, not Elvis… the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Most of my childhood music memories star him. My brother was, and still is, one of his biggest fans. He had the "Beat It" jacket, the glove, the "Billy Jean" hat, and even had the dance moves too. He did almost all of his school air bands to Micheal. My heart broke the day he passed away. I remember everything about that day...  it’s still hard to believe… but his music will always live on.

So sit back and enjoy some of my favorites.

Who's Loving You

Before En Vogue did it, there was the Jackson 5... Sing it, little Michael.

Ben

Who knew a song about a rat could be so good?

Off the Wall

To this day, this is one of my most favorite songs ever.

P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

Pretty young things, repeat after me... NA NA NA.

She’s Out of My Life

Something about this song just gets me. So sad and heartbreaking.

Don’t Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Come on, you know you wanna dance.

I Just Can't Stop Loving You (with Siedah Garrett)

One of best duets.

Blame It on the Boogie

Can't help but dance when I hear this.

Billy Jean

I still can't moonwalk. Lol.

Beat It

I still know all the moves to this and I still want his piano keys t-shirt. Oh, and my brother had the jacket and the hair. Lol.

We Are Here to Change the World

Beyond bummed Disneyland doesn’t have Captain EO anymore.

The Way You Make Me Feel

I so wanted to be that girl he was chasing around.

Remember the Time

As if you could forget being in love with Michael.

You Are Not Alone

Even though this video is a little creepy, still love this one.

Thiller

The only zombies I ever liked are the ones in this video.

Leave Me Alone

They never did leave him alone.

Scream (with Janet Jackson)

Love this one for 2 reasons: A. it’s badass, and B. he says "F*CK”.

Man in the Mirror

One of the most powerful songs ever. Always gets me. Always.

So, there you have it – some of my favorite songs by the King of Pop. Tell me what your favorites are.

Throwback Thursday

Something about this song always makes me wanna sing.

Soul II Soul  "Back to Life”

Video: Robert Pattinson - It's All On You | Sofar London (#11)

We love Rob here at FANdemonium Network, one of our friends Sarah sent me this link this morning. I have never seen it, but I couldn't wait to hit play and listen over and over again. We both agree that this YouTube video should have so many more hits! Can you imagine, watching Rob perform in an intimate setting, like someone's living room *swoons* What do you think? 

Robert Pattinson performing "It's All On You (Snippet)" at Sofar London on January 15th, 2010

Music Monday – Guilty Pleasures

I had some help with this one because there is no way I could reveal all of my guilty pleasures. That being said, I hate half the songs on this blog. Okay… more than half. Maybe I only like one.

Thanks to all of my friends that helped me out this week.

from @joderss
One Direction  “What Makes You Beautiful”

It’s just wrong for an adult to even admit they like One Direction. Oddly enough, she’s not the only one on this list who mentioned them.

from @MirandaMajor
Hanson  “MMMBop”

F*cking Miranda.

Throwback Thursday

I love me some Wu-Tang and I couldn’t pick one fave so it’s a 2-fer today.

Wu-Tang Clan  “C.R.E.A.M.”

Raekwon  “Ice Cream”

I still want one of those "Caramel Sundae" t-shirts.

Bobby Long's Pledge Campaign

A lot of indie artists are now doing these jump start or start up campaigns to get their new albums made. It is a really popular idea that seem to work for them. But Bobby Long is using a different kind of jump start. He is using a pledging system. To me, this is win-win, for both fans and for the artist.

With this type of jump start program, the artist sets up a page where fans can purchase items directly from the artist/band and the funds are directly used to help make the album. As of June 24th, Bobby has only been at it for about a week and he is already at 69% of his goal with 51 days to go.

Check out the link below for more details on his campaign:

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/bobbylong

And while you are at it check out one of my favorite new Bobby Long songs

Wishes  (He says PENNIES not Panties...lol)

Throwback Thursday

No CLUE what the hell they say most of the time but I do know this some was the jam. They just rapped so hard and so angry. It’s great!

ONYX  "Slam"

Music Monday – Josh Damigo

Today, I wanna introduce you to a local indie artist that I just love. His name is Josh Damigo. I first heard Josh on my favorite morning radio show, The Show on Rock105.3. At first I thought he was a comedian because this guy is damn funny, but he started to sing and I was sold. I didn't get to see him live until almost a year later when he opened one night for Marcus Foster at the Casbah. Seeing him live was even better. I wasn't sure what I liked better – his jokes and stories or his amazing songs. Either way, Josh is the total package. So if you live in the San Diego area, you should check Josh out this summer. He is playing at SD County Fair and some free (that’s right, FREE!) shows at the House of Blues on Monday nights. I just happen to be going to tonight’s show at the HOB. So excited to share his music with my besties (we're on vacay).


Anyhow, here are some of my favorite songs by Mr. Damigo:

If I Had a Dollar

LA Is Not My Home

Portland

Pocket Change

Never Gonna Let You Go

Alright

For more details, check out his…... well, he has pretty much has every social media there is. :-) But here is the link to his Tumblr page and you will find the others there.

http://joshdamigo.com/

P.S. Be on the lookout for new music. I hear he is working on some new stuff. Woot woot! Can't wait.

Throwback Thursday

I love this song. I really do. And I use to know all the dance moves... Hell, I still do. I remember my high school cheer leading team had a dance to this and now I think how not okay that was!! HA!

Dear Miley,
This is how you dance. Take note.
Love, PB

Janet Jackson  “If”

Weezer Fangirl Adventures – Part 2

continued from Part 1...

We got to the arena around noon and met up with my linemates from the mall. In my experiences, lines are boring but when you have someone with a common interest to pass the time with, it’s really not so bad. Microsoft had set up the jumbotron this time to scroll through our tweets and pictures. Again, pretty cool to see your name and stuff up there.

Before the show started, while I was getting some free burger sliders, I noticed ANOTHER signed guitar on a table covered with 102.1 The Edge (Toronto’s alternative radio station) poster surrounded by some guys who were receiving attention that minor celebrities might (obviously the radio personalities – IDK, I don’t listen to the radio really at all anymore, although this was the same station I listened to back in high school and where I first heard Weezer being played). A lot of people were looking at the guitar too. I went over and asked what the deal was. The radio guy told me they were giving it away to the person who proved on Twitter that they were the biggest Weezer fan. It may be clear at this point, I have never met anyone who is a big of a fan as I am.  GAME. ON.

He said they would be announcing it on Melani’s show the next day. I had roughly 24 hours to prove my love. I took it VERY seriously. I WANTED that guitar and since this was a chance to earn it rather than being based on luck, I was making damn sure it came home to live with me. I came up with what I thought were several very good reasons of why I am their #1 fan (Lol). At least, in Toronto. You can decide for yourself…

The boys eventually came on stage and played a great show, as usual. This was the 9th time I’ve seen them live. They are always good, but of course, energy levels vary. I wasn’t disappointed. And it was also really fun for me to hang out with my new buddies during the show, one of whom was seeing Weezer perform for the first time.

Since I am a shortie, I didn’t have the greatest view of the stage. Usually I could see EITHER Rivers (lead) or Scott (bass – always plays on the right hand side) or Brian (guitar and keyboard – always on the left), but not all at once. And I couldn’t see Pat (drums) at all. (Until he came out to sing Song 2 by Blur, which was the highlight for me.) We were not very close to the stage and off to the left a bit. I didn’t mind. It was more the atmosphere I was enjoying this time.

this was my view most of the time

pat singing a cover of blur's song 2 was awesome

Afterwards, we got to into yet another line to meet the band. We were told before that we would receive a pre-signed photo as well as have our photo professionally taken with the guys. Also, we weren’t allowed to bring anything to have signed. I had brought a photobook hubby and I made from the Weezer Cruise just in case, but true to their word, event staff pretty much did a pat down of everyone as they approached the area. I was hoping to get to the back of the line to maximize our time with the band (a little trick I’ve learned over time – you’re not as rushed when there is no one left waiting behind you) but we ended up around the middle.

The whole thing was extremely rushed. When it was our turn next, someone snipped off our wristbands and ushered us over to the band. I barely had time to say hi to them! And I didn’t want to take up the chances of the people I was with if they wanted to say anything. I did manage to tell them to have a good time on their upcoming second cruise, to which Brian asked if I was going and I said I couldn’t make it this time.

By the time I was walking away from the other side, the next group had already taken our place. We were given our signed photo and told the one that was just taken would be available on the Microsoft Store Facebook page later on.

At 1:45pm Monday afternoon, I was lying in my bed, listening to Melani’s radio show on my ipad. At that point, I was thinking ‘I had to have won, right?’ (I had creeped all the incoming tweets to The Edge and I had, by far, the most in number and the best reasons, IMHO.) but there was that lingering doubt that things like this don’t happen to me. I had never won anything before. I had mediocre luck at best when it comes to cool things like that happening. Nevertheless, Melani came back from a commercial break to announce the winner and I sat there rigid, awaiting the news. When she said my name, I FREAKED.

Now, I had liked to think that although I’m easily excitable around friends and never shut up and am a total goof, I can keep my cool in situations like this. I am not one of those screaming, crying, psychotic fangirls.  I can tell you… you THINK you will act a certain way until you get to that moment. My reaction totally caught me off guard.

I jumped up off the bed and screeched to hubby, who was downstairs, “BABY, I WON! I &*%$ING WON!” and started jumping around and laughing like a twelve-year-old idiot. I did my best to listen to Melani as she extoled my virtue as Weezer fan and also made poked fun at me for being crazy. I immediately jumped back on Twitter to thank her and freak out a little bit more.

After an email from her and then her assistant to verify my info and tell me where to pick up the guitar, I could finally relax. Nothing made me happier than having that guitar in my hands. I not only EARNED my prize, but I felt I had earned my stripes as a TRUE Weezer fan and a proper FANGIRL.

Interesting sidenote:  Don’t ask why (or do, and I MAY tell you), but I ended up having a conversation on Twitter with a paparazzi guy from Toronto about three weeks or so later that lead to talking about Weezer. He had been at the show and had seen the guitar. As only these ‘types’ of people can do I suppose, he found out from The Edge guy that they had already decided AT the show to give the guitar to me. I had tweeted them while I was still in line at the Microsoft Store that I have a ‘flying W’ (Weezer’s logo) tattoo on my wrist when I was still trying to win the first guitar. The radio guy told the paparazzi guy that unless someone else came up with something better, “the tattoo girl is gonna get it”. The rest of my tweets were just icing on the cake, I guess.

this was the tweet that sealed the deal

~~~~~
If you missed it, check out PurpleBrina's Music Monday this week. She let me take over and it's ALLLLLL Weezer videos. 

Weezer Fangirl Adventures – Part 1

I remember sitting in my tenth grade math class with my friend Taryn belting out the words to the recently released song “Say It Ain’t So” (and now you know how old I am). I ultimately failed that class and had to make it up in summer school…  but I can’t blame that on my favourite band of all time, Weezer.  Right from the beginning of their rise to fame, I was there, listening to, FEELING their music. Weezer may not be “deep” or “profound” but they are catchy, singable, and fun, and they occasionally have that one lyric that reaches into my heart and reflects what I’m all about. It was instant connection. I can’t really explain why, but I don’t really try. And I don’t have to. I just love Weezer.

I can’t remember where or when, but front man Rivers Cuomo has been cited saying that there are two kinds of Weezer fans – the older ones who were fans in the beginning and go to shows only wanting to hear the classics like “Buddy Holly”, “My Name Is Jonas”, or “El Scorcho” and the newer fans who only know the recent stuff like “Memories”, “I Want You To”, or going REALLY far back, “Beverly Hills”. Maybe Rivers in unaware fans like me exist. I was there in the beginning and I am still here, loving each new thing they drop and eagerly anticipating new releases.

At the beginning of January, Weezer posted on both their Twitter and Facebook that they would be doing a free show in Mississauga for the Microsoft Store’s grand opening at Square One Shopping Centre.  The actual store opening celebration stuff was going to be at Square One but the Weezer show was scheduled to be at the Powerade Centre… IN MY CITY. 10 minutes from my house. And free? Yeah… I decided as soon as I heard that, I was going to do whatever it took to be there.

The deal was, in order to get these tickets, you had to line up at the mall on Friday night at 10pm and stay there overnight until the store opening at 11am Saturday.  The first 2500 people inside the store would receive 2 tickets to the show, but only the people who had stayed overnight could get Meet N’ Greet wristbands.  So, there I was at 9pm ready for the Microsoft employees to give us instructions where we should start lining up. After about 15 minutes of chaos, they decided we should line up outside the mall doors until 10. I would like to point out it was around -35 degrees C (-31 F). I wasn’t really prepared for that. But the line up to line up was only going to be around half an hour. I could totally do that for Weezer. Hubby was nice enough to offer to stay until I got settled in the actual line for the night. After that, I was going to be alone. While we were standing there, shivering our asses off, excitement was high among the fans gathered. I noticed how young the majority of the other people there were. The people right in front of me looked at least to be in their 20’s so I started up conversation with them and they turned out to be pretty cool. They promised they would let me up with them if they got there before I did. Yay. Making friends already.

my new friends showing off our cool new t-shirts

The doors finally opened and, bless them, the Microsoft employees had everything organized and under control. We were ushered in an orderly manner inside the nice warm mall and set up in a 3-tiered snaking line against one wall. Event employees came out and wristbanded the first 200 of us with orange bands that we were to trade in in the morning at the store for our official Meet N’ Greet wristbands as well as sandwiches and chips from Panera. At that point, it was just a matter of staving off the boredom and I was home free. I was pretty much on my own until about 6am. Thank goodness for charging stations!

my little "camping" spot for the night in the mall

Throughout the night, the Microsoft Store let us know through their Twitter and Facebook event page, as well as in person through their event employees, that they would be giving away a lot of great prizes in the morning as we waited in line for the grand opening. To be entered to win, all we had to do was tweet them and use their hashtag for their new Ontario store. (This marked their seventh store in all of Canada.) They would be giving away things like X-Boxes, Surface tablets, and other cool Microsoft technology but they also had a guitar signed by the members of Weezer that they were giving away. Needless to say, I started tweeting my ass off. Just a few to start with but as soon as everyone was awake and starting to line up outside the store location, I was all over it.

my line buddy won a cool camera

They gave out two prizes at a time. Usually something okay and then something really great. (The first giveaway was a set of speakers or something, followed by the Xbox.) They also had big screen TVs set up throughout the line-up that would play a loop of some of the tweets they were receiving. It was actually pretty cool to see my name and words come up so often.

my tweets made the rotation shown on the screens

When the guitar was given away, I was only a little bit disappointed to see it go to one of the guys who was ahead of me in line, but I had talked to him a bit the night before and he seemed like a cool enough guy.

it's not so bad when a prize goes to
someone who seems like an actual fan

After all the store opening stuff was over, I made plans to meet up with my new buddies before the show the next day and then went home to sleep/recover.

~~~~~
continued in Part 2...

Music Monday – Weezer

Today's Music Monday post is brought to you by the letters K and W.

K is for Karen and the W is for Weezer. Since tomorrow is her birthday (something she doesn't like to celebrate at all), I let her pick the music for the day. Her most favorite group is Weezer and since she is a control freak, I gave her control of the blog today.

Before we embark on the musical journey that is Weezer, I have to say thank you Karen for all that you have done for me. Without you I would be dead. ((truth))  And your birthday is definitely something to celebrate. (Ha. Twilight quoted.) I can't wait to see you when you get here on Friday. We can celebrate together with the other girls, drinks shots, everything all around – but no matter what, we’ll have an amazing time! Love you the most.


And now on to your (and my) Weezer education...

Always

Paperface

I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams (feat. Rachel Haden from that.dog)

Say It Ain’t So

Buddy Holly

Surf Wax America

El Scorcho

Across the Sea

Hash Pipe

Beverly Hills

Perfect Situation

Pork and Beans

Troublemaker

The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)

(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To

Memories

kmah88's note: These were just a few of my very favourite songs (and trust me, it was extremely hard narrowing it down to only 16). I tried to get a good sampling from their entire 20 years, but obviously I like some albums more over others. Hopefully there was a good mix of songs you already knew and songs that are new to you to elicit some fresh Weezer love.
Coming up after this, check out my Weezer Fangirl Adventures (part 1 & 2). It's a FANdemonium Weezer takeover!!

And Brina ~ thank you! For your words and letting me use your column to share my passion for my boys.
3 more days and I'm on my way to see you. WOOT!

Thoughts on Fandom

Fandom is an interesting thing. I’ve recently been contemplating what “fandom” actually means and what it means to be a part of one. I always thought to the belong to a fandom meant that you had to be out there, waving your fangirl flag high, interacting with other fans, travelling all over to catch a glimpse of the objects of your obsession or to commune with other like-minded fans. Indeed, those are some of the best parts of fandom, but there are also the quiet times you spend at home alone either watching the movies, reading the books, listening to the music, whatever the case maybe. There are the times when your ears perk up in public when a stranger mentions something and you DON’T say anything but feel that little rush of pride or kinship. Or perhaps extreme defensiveness on behalf of your fandom, depending on what was overheard. There is the aspect of spending (too much) money to collect the merchandise or spending hours poring over magazines and Google searching for every picture or article. My point being, you can be part of a fandom without much interaction with other fans.

This also changed my view of myself. Until recently, I thought of myself as a one-fandom kind of girl. It’s true that the whole Twilight thing took over my life in a way nothing else has ever come close to doing. But I also have separate chunks of my heart belonging to other fandoms. Things have come and gone (I was a huge NKOTB devotee when I was a young girl), and others will probably stick with me in some way or another for my whole life (like my obsession with the TV show Friends).

The only thing that rivals Twilight in my life, at this point, is the band Weezer.  I have been a fan since “the beginning” and it has only intensified over the twenty-year span of their career.
Coming up later today, after PurpleBrina's Music Monday (all about MY favourite band), check out my story (part 1 & 2) about how I recently went to a free concert and ended up winning a guitar signed by the members of Weezer.

Throwback Thursday

Crop tops, stretch pants, gold braided chains, female beatbox..... Rapping about half of my coworkers. Lol

J.J. Fad  “Supersonic”

Music Monday – Drinking Songs

Since my vacation is just around the corner, I thought I would start this Monday off with some of my favorite drinking songs. Believe me, I am all over the board with this list. From rap to country to indie to pop to the what the f**k!!?!?...  Drinking songs are for every type of music.

LMFAO feat. Lil John  “Shots”

Brad Paisley  “Alcohol”

Throwback Thursday

My favorite white boys of hip hop next to Eminem....

Beastie Boys  "Brass Monkey"

Sidenote –  Never had a brass monkey in my life. Have any of you?

Music Monday – Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, a day in the States where we honor and remember those who gave their lives for our country and our freedom. I have family and friends that have served in the US Armed Forces, mostly the Marines Corps. Both my grandfathers and my dad were marines, and today I wanna say thank you to all that have given your lives for the USA. I also wanna send love and thanks to the families of those who serve as well because your job is a hard one too.

Here are a few of my favorite Armed Force-ish themed songs. Sorry if you don't like country music, but hey, there aren't many hip-hop American loving songs out there.....

Toby Keith  “Call a Marine”

Dixie Chicks  “Travelin’ Soldier”

Toby Keith  “American Solider”

Big & Rich  “8th of November”

Tim McGraw  “If You’re Reading This”

“Amazing Grace” (Marine's Final Salute)"  (bagpipes)  *tissue warning*

Lee Greenwood  “God Bless the U.S.A.”

*wipes eyes* 

On a happier note, today is also my son's 8th birthday, and even though he can't read this blog, I will play the music for him. 
Happy Birthday Xman! You are my most favorite person in the whole wide world.  Mama loves you!!

“Ice Cream and Cake”