Just DANCE Dance dance….

Last Saturday night was the heralded sophomore “Spring Fling” at Forth’s school. This year he was “lucky” enough to organize the event and I was “lucky” enough to volunteer to attend.

The previous evening, Forth brought home a flashlight/breathalyzer to use at the dance, should we suspect any of the underage kids to be a little crunk. He held it in front of my face for awhile as I was enjoying a whiskey and coke and playing Guitar Hero, wondering why on earth he needed a gigantic flashlight. It then flashed red and beeped and apparently I failed the high school drunk test. We didn’t need to use it at the dance, unfortunately, but it was extremely amusing nonetheless.

Unlike the Halloween dance, the majority of sophomore boys and girls danced in fun, jumpy groups with their short sparkly dresses and those’ stupid Kanye-flippy-windowshade sunglasses, instead of in these little intimate boy/girl combos. Of course, the girls are still stick-thin and unappreciative of their perfect, tiny bodies, bytheway. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if they don’t watch it, they’re not going to be able to wear those short skirts for long. At least some of us realize this. *Sniff.

However, there were two couples in particular that needed to be watched, which actually made me feel pretty sorry for the duos. Like, how hard up are they for alone time that they literally need to suck face in the middle of a group of adolescents with adults peering in on their every move?

After watching these two couples steal kisses, then proceed to full on make-out, Forth reluctantly walked over to one of them and tapped the girl on the shoulder, warning them that they had better not make him disrupt them again. I would have rather used more force, wit, and embarrassment in the situation but, of course I wasn’t in charge. Later on, I formulated a method of punishment for the the wayward harlequins and scheming lotharios: bringing in their parents and instating a rule that for every kiss, ass grab, slip of the tongue, pelvic grind, or whatever else the two kids performed with each other, they’d have to sit and watch their parents do the very same–I mean, how gross could that possibly be for a 16 year-old?

On the other hand, after experiencing this week’s entire Hip/Hop/Rap Top-50 list, I realized how cruel it is that all the DJ plays are these songs that do nothing but promote the fiery magnetism of junk-to-junk friction. It’s like three and a half hours of rhythmically Ebonicized taunts: “Grab the bottle of Bacardi and tap that ass, but don’t–because you shall receive detention.” Bwhahahaha.

In other news, if I ever do another dance again–which I doubt (not one that I have to wait for Forth to pick up after anyway)–I will start confiscating every feather boa and said pair of stupid slatted sunglasses that the kids bring in. It’s dumb. It’s tired. And something else too–why do they save all the “white music” for the end? It’s all rap and R&B until things wind down, and then it’s Zac Efron Lady GaGa and Taylor Swift. On the same note, why are all the slow songs at least 10 years old? The two slow songs I remember were Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” (1998) and the song that needs to die a slow, slow, agonizing, and possibly deformative death: Edwin Mcain’s “I’ll Be” (1997). These kids were what, four or five years old when those came out? There has to be at least 20 quality slow-dance songs since then to trump that crap.

Though Forth didn’t slip any Kings of Leon onto the night’s playlist for me, the DJ did bust out my beloved Flo Rida, and I wanted nothing but to jump into the mass of pubescence and rock along with them, but unfortunately that wouldn’t have been socially acceptable. Instead, I wallflowered as usual and continued to play the role of fascinating anomoly–even still I’m unsure as to when girls are going to quit being so preoccupied with Mr. Forth’s bethrothed. Honestly–just move along, ladies. Nothing to see here.

**Back.

Sex En Fuego.

Dear friends.

It has been long…too long….I know. However, Forth and I are done bouncing all over the midwest, we still have entirely too many leftover Christmas cookies, and we have returned to continue with (semi) regular blogs.

Today is brought to you by the letter K, for Kings of Leon.

This lovely Nashville band is currently my favorite of the hour–it all started about 4 years ago when I first started working at the coffee shop in the Cities. Two of my co-workers were obsessed with the band and played Aha Shake Heartbreak on the overhead at every opportunity. I liked the sound and how the music made me feel, so I ripped the CD and particularly enjoyed this track:

Though their latest record, Only by the Night, was released nearly 5 months ago, I only listened to the whole thing through this afternoon, and I’m more in love than I was previously. Caleb Followill’s voice is, as many high school girls say nowadays, SEX. Plain and simple. The things he does to the ends of words is like reaching into my chest, removing my still-beating heart, nestling it into the palm of his hand, and then watching it explode into thousands of bright glittering lights and butterfly twinkles and long walks on the beach and shit.

When I hear Kings of Leon on the radio (and I was surprised) I want the song to last and last until I reach the Pacific.

Speaking of the radio, I was unsurprised to hear “Sex on Fire” pulled as their first single off Only by the Night because……..it does not really sound like Kings of Leon of old. This is much like how My Chemical Romance didn’t get airplay till they dropped the metal act and started being “punk.” But nobody really cares about MCR now, so whatevs. There are obvious similarities in the sounds of Only by the Night and Aha Shake Heartbreak, but KOL dropped the quirky oddities of their old sound and thus….radio magic.

Even still, there is no denying that this song:

makes me all sorts of happy….even though there are chickens hanging from the ceiling in the video. We can get beyond that, and the fact that Back is trying to be some sort of music critic. Bottom line is when it comes to Kings of Leon, I like what I hear.

**Back.

Anti-Winter Tunes.

So I dunno about ya’ll, but I’m already tired of winter. Tuesday I trudged to class in biting wind and sleet, which then turned to huge, fat, wet snowflakes, creating puddles of slush and ice, which created wet, smelly feet in my non-waterproof boots.

Goddamnit.

Thus, I created a playlist to make myself feel inherently better about continuing to live in a state where winter occupies 5 out of 12 months in the year. Here’s a little sample just to give you that nice, tropical, non-suicidal feeling:

-”More Than Words,” by Aloha Sex Juice

-”Miserlou,” by Dick Dale (otherwise known as the Pulp Fiction theme song)

-”2 Pina Coladas,” by Garth Brooks

-”Welcome to Paradise,” by Green Day

-”She’s Only Happy in the Sun,” by Ben Harper & Jack Johnson

-”Margaritaville & One Particular Harbor,” by Jimmy Buffett

-”When the Sun Goes Down,” by Kenny Chesney

-”It Never Snows in Florida,” by New Found Glory

-”California,” by Phantom Planet

-”Dani California,” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

-”Asleep With the Fireflies,” by Turin Brakes

-”Island in the Sun,” by Weezer

-”Ocean Avenue,” by Yellowcard

That said, it’s finals week and I have a review session to go to: at 4 degrees Fahrenheit and wind gusts at 30 mph. Wtf?

**Back.

Guitar Heroica!

‘Tis the season……when Back gets Guitar Hero for Christmas!

Forth and I aren’t much for giving presents to each other anymore, so this year we decided that we’d gift ourselves collectively with an XBox 360. It will be the most up-to-date game console either of us have owned since the Nintendo 64. Actually….Forth might have had a Playstation 2 in college, but I hear TheBeardedMan kind of destroyed it (along with a coffee table) during a competetive instance involving NCAA Football on PS2.

Anyways, I’m finally catching up with 2005 or whatever, and looking very forward to owning the Guitar Hero series, after playing it haphazardly through friends and roommates and whatnot. To some…it is just a lame videogame. To me–it’s the only videogame I’ve ever been good at. Like…really good. I mean, I’m probably rusty having not played in a few months, and it will take me a good hour or two to be what I used to, but I’m not bad. Perhaps the most striking thing is that Guitar Hero is the only thing I’m better at than Forth. Sure I’m a better cook, but Guitar Hero is something he SHOULD be better at than I am…and he’s just not.

Such is why I have to hold onto this nugget of power, and embrace it to its fullest. For one, I know more of the songs than he does, and for two–I kick his ass. All over the board. But enough of this: to conclude, I shall announce what I am looking forward to playing on:

-”About a Girl,” Nirvana

-”Crazy Train,” Ozzy

-”Dammit,” Blink-182

-”Everlong,” Foo Fighters

-”Heartbreaker,” Pat Benetar

-”Hotel California,” Eagles

-”Lazy Eye,” Silversun Pickups

-”Livin’ on a Prayer,” Bon Jovi

-”The Middle,” Jimmy Eat World

-”Misery Business,” Paramore

-”Purple Haze,” Jimi Hendrix

-”Schism,” Tool

-”Shiver,” Coldplay

-”Spiderwebs,” No Doubt

Or in other words….the songs everyone else is looking forward to as well.

**Back.

High Fidelity

Top Five Songs

What are your top five songs?  For simplicity’s sake we’ll say favorite at the moment songs.

1. Viva la Vida by Coldplay- You could make a sci-fi fantasy movie that mimics this song.

2. Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups – I could listen to this song over and over and over and over…..

3. Train in Vain by The Clash – Oooooo, mixing it up on you.

4. In the Kitchen by Umphrey’s McGee – Just really good. I apologize for the vid.  They’re a small band and don’t have the budget of coldplay.

5. City of Labels by Pelican – If you’ve never heard of them that’s ok.  Instrumental Rock.  Read the post.

Sorry, this is a REALLLLLLY obscure band so there isn’t a youtube vid for it.  You’ll have to take my word for it.

Update:  FarmacyMan came through with a youtube vid for Pelican.

Dani- You better participate.  I don’t want to think you’re using Forth and Back International Co. for the adrenaline of the political debates.

On the same note, we had 64 views two days ago so there are people lurking here.  POST YOUR TOP FIVE.

High Fidelity Rocks. I really need to buy the book… Or borrow it from FarmacyMan.

~Forth

eiNstien!

Tuesday afternoon, as I arrived home from my evening class, I was greeted most expressly by Forth at the door. But, instead of ask me how my first professional interview had gone earlier in the afternoon, he immediately jumped into a show and tell session about iTunes 8, which had just been released that day. I was set to be considerably less impressed, but then he showed me the new Genius sidebar feature. Obviously I expected to click on the button and find my mug, along with an extensive biography, but that was not so. Instead, I found my absolute favorite iTunes feature.

To utilize Genius, you do the following: click on an artist and their song list will pop up. Select a song, and songs by that artist that you are missing will show up in the Genius sidebar, along with artists that sound similar. For example, I now know I am missing three Jimi Hendrix songs, and they recommend I also listen to The Who, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Cream, and etc. This is the profitable part of Genius, because all the songs happen to appear available for purchase on iTunes, at the click of their corresponding button.

But that’s not it! You can also right click on a song, select “Start Genius” and a Genius generates a playlist of your own music that would go well with the selected song. For example, “Purple Haze” gets added to a list of 24 other songs by artists like Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Darkness, Aerosmith, JET, Green Day, and even Blink-182. Essentially, it is more selective than shuffle and opens up a world of songs you may have been neglecting. I love that I would not typically select “Lovefool” by the Cardigans, but since it corresponds with “Wolf Like Me” by TV on the Radio, it comes on and I’m in the mood. More to the point, why else would I listen to the Cardigans?

Essentially, I want you to go download iTunes 8 and appreciate the fact that I blogged about tech crap for once.

**Back.

Coldplay=Foreplay

“You know how I know you’re gay?”

You like Coldplay. Well. you know what? Coldplay just ain’t that gay. Like, who decided? First of all, Chris Martin is banging Gwyneth Paltrow. I’m not sure what could be less gay than that, aside from doing Carmen Electra or something. Coldplay and I go back a long ways–a few of you may remember my imitation of the video for “Yellow,” during which I trudged along with nature-backdrop wall in my basement wearing a Winnie the Pooh raincoat and a frown.

First of all, my old laptop recently died, along with all 3 of my guppies (eff that) and so I’m now writing from a new MacBook. Forth pimped it out while I was at work yesterday, which included downloading Coldplay’s new album, Viva la Vida. As some of you may know, Coldplay was accused of stealing the title track from a band called The Creaky Boards. The songs sounds almost exactly the same; there is no denying that. But after further research, it is pretty well evident that the allegations are false, and I can go on liking one of my top 10 bands without guilt. Of course since I’m a chick, I can say that with confidence and without hesitation. Forth on the other hand, might have problems. Either way–here is a list of my top 5 favorite Coldplay tunes:

–“Don’t Panic.” Yes, I like this thanks to Garden State.

–“The Scientist.” Can bring tears, if I’m in the mood. It’s also a great video.

–“Violet Hill.” So I listen to 102.1 too much while on sandwich bar at work.

–”Sparks.” Courtesy of Wedding Crashers.

–“Clocks.” Like a fluttery heart for your ears.

Well, there you have it. To be honest, I’ve been drinking, and I’m going to sleep.

**Back.

Moment Maker v.2.0

Driving home from work the other night I had the windows down and was listening to 102.1, which happened to be playing a song by Safety Suit called “Someone Like You.” Aside from a ridiculously overused title, the song isn’t that bad, so I turned it up to echo through the otherwise car-less intersection. Stopped a red light, there were two teenagers standing on an island of concrete to my left. They looked like a couple of sorts, and a fairly new one at that. As they stood and lingered with one another I thought about how what if they were on their first date or something taking in the summer night air but then they can hear this song and suddenly something is right. The mixture of sound waves and the lake breeze and absence of other pedestrians creates a minute or two that is elevated among the rest and because of the feeling, they remember that moment among the rest. Something is made and whether they ever hear the song again or not, they remember that piece of night because somebody was happy to be off-work-windows-down. Then of course a second later the clock struck 10 and the lights converted to blinking red which made me say “Cool” and speed away.

The rest of the way home I thought it might be sweet if I saw a night-jogger who forgot her iPod and then she catches a riff of “Eye of the Tiger” or some crap like that from a passing car and suddenly has the energy to make it home two minutes better than her usual time. Burning lungs, starry skies and the Rocky theme making yet another slightly elite moment.

Most Moments I’ve experienced in life were a grand culmination of sound and feel, feel being divided into dimensions of both what I was doing and what my brain thought of it. For example, during the May ‘05 Green Day concert in Madison my friends and I body-surfed in a sea of confetti to their rendition of “We Are the Champions” and the song will never be the same. High school graduation sucked except for when the band played “Bittersweet Symphony” as we were filing out and through all the people I thought “Well at least there’s that. Taking high school cruises around town with friends listening to Incubus with the windows down…..things like that.

Concerts are good for these certain life moments. For example, Forth and I accompanied the crew to a Jack Johnson concert. Mason Jennings opened and I’ve since gotten sucked in to his music, though he’s a douche from Minneapolis and tries to be Bob Dylan. I could listen to him say “gurrrrl” all day long. Anyways. Jack Johnson has been a longtime favorite, though I never really thought about going to a concert of his–he always seemed like he’d put on a better show sitting around a beach bonfire with some friends. Nonetheless, when you’re buzzed and smiling at everyone around you and singing, “Bubble Toes” seems like a better song than it previously had.

**Back.

Dance, Dance

With school over for a couple weeks, there has been little to do besides go to work, attempt in vain to pack up the apartment thinking that the more I pack up the quicker we’ll be able to move in to our new place, and consider certain wedding details way too far in advance. For example, I spent somewhere around 4 hours on the net the other day looking at invitations. INVITATIONS! Blugh.

Another matter of consideration upon the hiring of a DJ, is what the “special” dance songs will be. Like Forth and his mom, me and my dad, and my and Forth’s “first dance.” I could skip the father/daughter thing given my dad and I only started actually getting along when I moved out and we’re just a little awkward when it comes to moments such as this. However, “Surrender” by Cheap Trick is something I remember him often singing around the house when I was little and it’s neither slow nor sappy AND I’ve played it on Guitar Hero II, so it’s a possibility.

I can tell you right now, Forth and I will have issues picking our first dance song. Though we have a mutual like for her, Norah Jones is out of the picture. Out of the seven weddings we must attend this summer, I’m certain at least one will feature “Come Away With Me” or “Turn Me On” or something ridiculously cliché. Jack Johnson’s “Better Together” is a favorite and not something I’ve ever heard at a wedding, but it’s not exactly danceable either. To me, this isn’t really a problem. However, Forth likes Billy Joel. Queen. Dierks Bentley. I’d prefer a first dance song from the likes of Nick Drake, Iron & Wine, hell, maybe even the Postal Service or Cat Power. Upon perusing possible tracks on iTunes, I found an album called Indie Wedding, which almost blew my mind. The picking of the song isn’t actually the hard part–dancing probably takes the cake there. Forth and I aren’t much for dancing in couples……or dancing at all, and I can recall maybe twice where we “slow-danced.” And that’s twice in three years.

Now if you want to get a DANCE party going, I leave you with two words:

Timbaland/Yelle.

**Back.

P.S. Looking for a great fast-driving-on-a-summer-night song? “Lazy Eye” by the Silversun Pickups.

Aqueous Transmissions

Alright first I gotta say that my credit/class situation is improving. Next, I have to tell you that lots of people have been searching for Kristen Davis naked–but I guess I have no one to blame but myself.

In other news, finals are over. Am I relieved? No. Summer classes start in two weeks, so eff that. But with the onset of summer, I find myself thinking about summers of my youth, and a little holiday my three best friends and I used to celebrate every July 15th–EMoSaMeg Day. The summer commenced by us choosing a theme song for the summer. The years elude me but I believe the choices for the three summer holidays we did celebrate were as follows: “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake, “Fever for the Flava” by Hot Action Cop, and “Aqueous Transmission” by Incubus. We would then draw names for gifts like at Christmas, though 9 times out of 10 we’d end up getting each other a bag of Dove chocolates and little else.

Regardless of whether we remembered to celebrate EMoSaMeg Day specifically, we’d have a picnic in our hometown’s Veteran’s Park and spend the evening gossiping on a blanket with glass bottles of Sprite, simply because things are more fun in glass bottles. Now we all prefer a good brew or malted beverage in a bottle, but nonetheless. Later on we’d generally end with a sleepover either in someone’s room lighting incense and candles in the dark then laying on the floor and staring at them, or in a tent in my country-fried backyard. Now at 21, when we old friends barely see each other a handful of times a year, save for the one that drifted far away to a life of Army-wifery and premature motherhood, I’d love nothing more than to celebrate one more summer in such a fashion.

Of course, occasional get-togethers and the combined re-discovery of our hometown via the college district bars which we are now allowed into should serve as good enough. ‘Cause we’re all growns up and we’re all growns up.

**Back