Playlist: Kristen's Oasis

I'm not the only one who moved this fall. Miss Kristen left NYC for greener pastures too, aka garage parking in NJ. In honor of her new oasis, I created a sweet playlist. Behold.

1. Let it Rock - Kevin Rudolf
2. That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
   
3. White Liar - Miranda Lambert
   
4. Whyawannabringmedown - Kelly Clarkson
   
5. Best Days of Your Life - Kellie Pickler
   
6. How Does It Feel - Keri Hilson
   
7. Be Wary of a Woman - Darius Rucker
8. I Need a Lover - Pat Benatar
9. Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship feat. Leighton Meester
10. Live Your Life - T.I. feat. Rihanna
11. I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross
12. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
13. Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti
14. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
15. Reach Out, I'll Be There - The Four Tops
16. Who Loves You - Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
17. Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
18. Time for Change - Motley Crue
19. Popular - Kristin Chenoweth
    

Song Quiz Results and Winner!

I'm Baaack! Don't despair, dear readers. Just because I haven't been on Musings, it doesn't mean I've been living in a cave. I've done some very fun and very awesome things this summer - some to report here and some not. :)

First things first - long overdue winner announcement to my song challenge.

And the big Musings winner, with 15 points, is Kristen!!! Congratulations! I owe you a prize, to be determined by me. I bet you are beside yourself with excitement. Below are the answers for all readers.

1. You better watch who you talking about, running your mouth like you know me – Nelly: #1
2. I don’t mind you coming here and wasting all my time. – The Cars: Just What I Needed
3. Shot through the heart and you’re to blame. – Bon Jovi: You Give Love a Bad Name
4. I used to ride with a vending machine repairman – Sheryl Crow: Everyday is a Winding Road
5. There’s a time and place for everything, for everyone – Van Halen: I Can’t Stop Loving You
6. Homeboy, I came to party - your girl was looking at me. – NORE: Nuthin
7. I’m lying alone with my head on the phone. – Air Supply: All Out of Love
8. They’re picking up the prisoners and putting them in a pen. – Don Henley: All She Wants to Do is Dance
9. Cause you’re beautiful (like no other). – George Michael: Flawless (Go To The City)
10. Are you ready for the new sensation? Well, here’s the shot heard ‘round the world. – David Lee Roth: Yankee Rose
11. There’s another world inside of me that you may never see. – Three Doors Down: When I’m Gone
12. I never meant to cause you any sorrow. – Prince: Purple Rain
13. Work ourselves, fingers to the bone, suck the marrow, drain your soul. – Dave Matthews Band: Pay For What You Get
14. When you first left me, I was wanting more. – Lily Allen: Smile
15. Oh, you gonna take me home tonight. – Queen: Fat Bottomed Girls
16. When I start making love, I don’t just make love. – Clarence Carter: Strokin’
17. Love, I get so lost sometimes. – Peter Gabriel: In Your Eyes
18. Well, I see him on the TV - preaching about the promised lands. – Poison: Something to Believe In
19. Load up on guns, bring your friends. – Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit
20. I live my life like there’s no tomorrow. – Van Halen: Running with the Devil
21. I won’t let you down, I will not give you up. – George Michael: Freedom
22. Living easy, living free, season ticket on a one-way ride. – AC/DC: Highway to Hell
23. When I come to the club, step aside. – Fergie: London Bridge
24. Captured effortlessly, that’s the way it was. – Chaka Khan: Ain’t Nobody
25. Here is the money that I owe you. – Everclear: I Will Buy You a New Life

I may try and do this again, but I promise to be more timely in posting results next time. Thanks to all readers who played along.

Culture Corner: Review of Mary Poppins

By now you probably realize that I love a giant Broadway production. So when Jason, Kristen, Kara and I went to see Mary Poppins, I thought we'd at least get that. It's effin Disney, for heaven's sake! I mean, does it get any better than that? Turns out, it kind of does. Young Frankenstein was better. Wicked was better. Many simpler productions were better.

I expected more. I wanted more. I should have gotten more.

Don't get me wrong - some of it was great. The cast was super talented, particularly the kids who were so adorable they practically made my ovaries hurt. The sets and costumes were amazing. And the couple of big numbers were great - but they could have done more. They should have done more. More big dance numbers!

I don't remember the movie all that well, but if felt as though some things were added (probably to make it "fresh") but those scenes didn't actually add anything. The show didn't do enough and yet, oddly, at the same time - the play was too long. There was a horribly scary number and some pretty boring numbers too. I'd been lukewarm abt seeing this show from the start. Maybe I should have trusted my instincts.

Jason says: Let's - go - fly - a - kite...I mean, I LOVE Mary Poppins, but I almost would have preferred to go fly a kite that Wednesday night. The company I saw it with was enjoyable. It was an ok play. A few scenes were very cool (Supercali....for example). Otherwise, I'd say see it if you have the time and nothing else to do one night, as long as the tickets are cheap.

Un-Happy Anniversary - Assault on the Penthouse

So, as you many of you know, two weeks ago I was assaulted in my kitchen. So what if my attacker was only four inches long? He was an uninvited guest, in my kitchen, eating my food and he scared the bejeezus out of me. Today I tell my tale.

Assault on the Penthouse: A Story of Mel C. and a Mouse Named Jerry
Setting: Spacious kitchen in the penthouse
Time of day: Ass early, pre-caffeine

I get out of bed after hitting snooze a dozen times. Kate calls to chat about our schedules and I head to my spacious kitchen, unaware that my attacker is laying (lying?) in wait. I turn on the water for tea, listening to Kate describe her plans for the day, our regular morning routine. I reach for my delicious high-fiber English muffins, being kept fresh in a Ziploc bag. Something in the bag moves. I am puzzled. English muffins do not move. Nothing in that bag should move. Nothing in the penthouse should move, except me and even that is rare. (Please keep in mind - all of this happens in the span of about 2 minutes total.)

To recap: Ziploc bag of English muffins is moving at 7:30 in the morning, before caffeine. This is not good. Upon seeing movement in the bag, I put it back on the counter and take a step back to think. I want to get that bag and its contents out of the kitchen. Getting it out of the kitchen requires 1. touching the bag, and 2. walking through the living room and dangerously close to the bedroom and that only gets me to the hallway, not out of the building. I don't know if the bag is open or if it has a hole and if it has a hole, I do not know where the hole is located. Not acceptable. Too much room for something to go wrong.

I try to tell myself that maybe I'm just seeing things. That maybe nothing moved. Maybe it was all in my head. Tramautically, before I can think much further, my attacker launches from the bag, down the counter, onto the floor and to heaven knows where! I scream bloody hell! Kate wonders what on earth just happened! Shaking, I recount the story. Jerry is back. Jerry, who terrorized me when I lived in my studio, has found me. My first instinct is to leave my apartment and never look back, but even I recognize that is not a very practical solution. I need to shower. I need to go to my job that pays me. I need to RECLAIM MY APARTMENT. I'm at work and he is in the penthouse and he is probably touching my stuff and watching my DVR! He probably deleted those episodes of Tool Academy! I'll never get those back!

Jerry is going down.

Except not really, because I am gripped with a paralyzing fear of Jerry.

I discuss the assault with everyone. Everyone. I go online (HUGE mistake) to try and learn how to keep Jerry away. I am given glue traps that I pray are never used. EVER. I don't want to catch Jerry, I just want him to not come back. Oh, I know I can't blame Jerry. I got cocky up here in the penthouse. Previous tenant had a cat. It's so far up from the basement. He'll never find me here. But he did. Sally tells Kate, "Aunt Mehnane going to show that mouse who is bossy." And I do. I stomp around in my shoes, clapping as I go from room to room. I kick my kitchen cabinets when I get home, so he knows that play time is over. I plug in sonic mouse repellers. I eat canned food and whatever isn't canned is kept in a plastic tote. I sleep with the TV on. (This backfires slightly one morning, when a character on All My Children is whispering and I think someone is in the room whispering to me and I nearly have a heart attack.) I make Kristen come over to keep me company while I clean under my cabinets. I figure she can go for back-up if I get attacked again.

Today, it has been two weeks since the initial assault. Knock on wood, I have not seen any further evidence of Jerry's presence. No, seriously. Knock on wood. I am paranoid and terrified about this stuff. I can only hope that I, too, scared the bejeezus out of him and he has moved on to greener pastures. Or houses that are foolishly leaving their English muffins in Ziploc bags instead of under lock and key in the refrigerator. Fools!

Playlist: Melanie Gras 2008 - Road Trip to Utica!

The playlist for Melanie Gras 2009 gets released tomorrow, but in the meantime, here's last year's playlist to keep you company. Jason absolutely loved listening to this 27 times on our way back and forth to Utica. Right, Jay?

1. Golden - Jill Scott
2. Just Fine - Mary J. Blige
3. Stronger - Kanye West
4. Dance Floor Anthem - Good Charlotte
5. Criminal - Fiona Apple
6. Gimmie More - Britney Spears
7. Smile - Lily Allen (Note: The Mark Ronson remix is better, but I hadn't discovered it by then.)
8. Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5
9. The More Boys I Meet - Carrie Underwood
10. Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) - Mika
11. Do It Well - J. Lo (featuring Ludacris)
12. Dance, Dance - Fall Out Boy
13. Cobrastyle - Teddybears (featuring Mad Cobra)
14. Freedom - Robbie Williams (a remake of the George Michael song)
15. Stop - Spice Girls
16. Nothin Better to Do - LeAnn Rimes
17. Relax Take It Easy - Mika
18. Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy birthday to my super awesome Dad!!!!


And in continuation of my apology to Jason - additional pictures from Melanie Gras 2008! This might actually cause Kristen to break up with me. Oh wait - she doesn't read my blog. I'm safe!

Culture Corner Review: In the Heights

Musings was well overdue for a Culture Corner segment - and you've got at least two others in the wings. You see, about a million years ago (or in October), Jason, Kristen, Alisa, Kara and I went to see In the Heights.

I feel like a lot of the press on this show talks about how different it is, so I went in expecting something closer to the dearly dparted Passing Strange rather than a fairly standard musical production. I mean - we're talking full-on, stop-the-action-and-face-the-audinence-and-sing-musical. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about that - it seemed a little disjointed, especially for solos - but as the show went on I got more used to it, but I'm still not sure I liked it. However - this kid? This kid was destined to be a star!



Jason says: "When Ken Rosato speaks, one should listen. It was one early morning around 5:30am and Ken spoke to me saying that I should go see this musical (well, not to me personally, but you get the drift). I immediately told Melanie that morning we needed to add it to the list, this new show about life above Manhattan. Though we didn't see it pre-Tony's, it was well worth the wait. An energetic, upbeat look at a life growing up different from my own. I enjoyed every bit of it, well, except for one minor thing...our seats were, how should I say it, 'in the heights' of the theater."

Culture Corner: Review of Spring Awakening

From Playbill.com: Based on Frank Wedekind's play of the same name, Spring Awakening boldly depicts how a dozen young people make their way through the thrilling, complicated, confusing and mysterious time of their sexual awakening.

This was one of the most bizarre shows I have seen this season. Alisa, Kara, Jason and Kristen and I went to see it on a Tuesday night. It was a lot of show to take in on a Tuesday night. Pretty heavy subject matter for me to process. And of course, there's the brief nudity. SCANDAL!!!!

The cast is very talented. I would say they are mainly singers first, then actors but regardless, they really are phenomenal. The music is really superb. Hunter Parrish of Weeds was in the production we saw and for the most part, he held his own.

Bottom line? Not for kids or the faint of heart or if you're looking for a fun, feel good time. However, it is a very well done and interesting show.

Jason says: BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. This was my second time seeing Spring Awakening, which I originally ranked as one of my top 3, if not THE top, plays I had ever seen. I saw the original cast, WAY before the TONY was won. Even though I enjoyed that version better (isn't the original always the best?), this one was up there as well. A great performance by all, including Weeds star Hunter Parrish, made for a delightful evening with friends...I wonder how these kids would do growing up IN THE HEIGHTS???

Culture Corner: Review of Xanadu

Fun! Fun! Fun! No other way to describe it. I know, I know. All of you (well, except Jason, Alisa and Kristen - who went with me) are probably like - are you kidding me? You paid money to see Xanadu. And yes, we did. Discounted tickets, but still. Cash money was paid. And boy, was it worth it. From the glow sticks that were passed out at the beginning to the final number where we waved them around, this show was super enjoyable. The cast is all pretty great - Kerry Butler and Cheyenne Jackson especially - and the music is fantastic. Definitely takes me back to being a kid and listening our Olivia Newton-John records. Or to my Greatest Hits cd.

Don't believe me? Check out this clip from their appearance on The View, featuring Kerry Butler and Cheyenne Jackson. Superb!



My bottom line? If you're looking for a night of fun and not too much thinking, then this is the show for you.

Jason says: "Xana-maybe. Worth seeing if you have nothing to do one evening. But I suggest waiting until Whoopi is out of it. To me, she dragged the show down a bit, like it was getting in the way of her evening. I didn't feel that she was as into it as she could've and should've been. I went to see her mainly in it and was sadly disappointed."

Lazy Blogging

Today, I leave it to the professionals. Some call it lazy, but I call it genius.

Shirtless Dan Gordon has a new post. Apparently, he's taken umbrage with my suggestion that he doesn't update that regularly (even going so far as to cite his July statistics) and may be on some sort of crusade to prove me wrong so it looks like my evil plan might be working. Time will tell. No new shirtless photos or push-up videos (though you can still see the old ones, thankfully), but the rapier sharp wit is in full effect.

Los Fitzes posted some excellent videos of their little guy, Max, and his latest tricks as well as their own latest trick - ziplining in Costa Rica. Honestly, how can I compete with that?

Friday bonus for me? Looks like Kristen and I might hit Crave on 42nd after work. In case you don't recall how that worked out for me last time, here's a reminder.

Friday the 13th Couldn't Keep Us Down!

Some excellent shots from our "ladies night" out this weekend. I neglected to take my camera out again after we left the restaurant but it's just as well. I'm not sure we needed the rest of the evening to be captured on film.