Inspirational Songs
And I'm not plugging the most recent
Dove Awards...
So I was talking to my sister about last week’s “inspirational songs” theme on
“American Idol” last week. These were the songs performed during “Idol Gives Back” shows. We mentioned that we liked Chris’ version of “Change the World” although I will admit that I’m actually partial to the Wynonna version over Eric Clapton. Still, it’s a beautiful song and he did ok with it. I thought Phil butchered the Garth Brooks song. When the judges went off on Lakisha singing the Fantasia song and that they could only hear Fantasia’s version, that’s how I felt about Phil’s version of “The Change”. I remember working on the American Music Awards and Garth performed this song with footage from the tragic Oklahoma City Bombings in the screen behind him. You could hear a pin drop. Nothing can compare to Garth’s emotion singing that song. I thought Phil sounded like he was doing a Harry Connick Jr. impression. I’m not a Phil fan. And Jordin was unbelievable singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Of course, remember I have 17 years of Jerry Lewis singing that song in my head to compare to but she was unreal. THAT’S how that song is supposed to be sung. We didn’t care for Blake singing “Imagine” but I don’t like the song to begin with. Blasphemy, I realize but I’ve never been a huge John Lennon fan and I feel like that song is trotted out a little too often. Right up there with Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and Bette Midler singing “Wind Beneath My Wings”, if I never heard any of these songs again, that would be ok. A little trivia for your fans of the Idoldome. Had Sanjaya not gotten the boot the previous wee, he was possibly going to sing “Wind Beneath My Wings”. See? God does exist.
Anyway, we were talking about what songs we’d sing if we had to perform on “Idol” songs that inspired us. Here are a few that I came up with that inspire and mean something to me. The links will take you to the lyrics if you’re remotely curious
“For Good” from “Wicked”. Do you think they’d let me sing a duet? It probably wouldn’t be a good choice for me to sing since I can’t sing it in my car (or hear it performed) without crying. The lyrics to that song mean so much to me.
“From a Distance”. Okay, hokey Bette Midler song from the early 90’s but the lyrics are still beautiful. Just as sugary as “Wind Beneath My Wings” for sure but still less likely to put you into a complete diabetic coma.
“The River”. This is one of my top 3 or 4 Garth Brooks tunes. Definitely a moving, life altering lyric. I love this song.
“Right Now” by Van Halen. If you’ve ever seen the video with all sorts of stats of things that are happening “right now”, it’s a great song with a great beat. Now this song would’ve been a cool song for someone to sing on “Idol”. Way different and out there from all the obvious power ballads, but I would’ve really liked to have seen that song performed. It’s definitely an inspiring “get off your butt and do something” song.
Those were the first songs that came to mind. What songs inspire you? Please share.
Labels: American Idol, Garth Brooks, Jerry Lewis, Wicked
Is sleep optional?
In my house, the answer is apparently a resounding YES. As I've stated many times in countless blog posts, my child is a lousy sleeper. I shouldn't really be surprised by this since I (nor G for that matter) don't need a lot of sleep myself. I had some insomnia issues when I was growing up, didn't require a lot of sleep but my parents do claim that once I went to sleep, I did actually stay asleep until morning. Not my kid. C has been difficult to get to sleep pretty much from the moment she was born. Most kids, so we were told, are so tired by the birthing process that they pretty much fall asleep. We should've known we were in trouble when she was up for the first few hours of her life. It's pretty much continued along the same course for almost 4 years now.
I will admit that we've enabled some it (apply pancake baby theory here) by cuddling with her when we put her to bed. I'm better at getting up after the stories ("Honey, I have to go potty." is a common "I'm leaving" line) then G is but she definitely still feels the need to cuddle. G usually falls asleep and I go in to wake him up and get him out of there. I get frustrated watching the clock because there's usually something that I need to do and get tired of waiting for her to fall asleep, thus the above mentioned attempts to excuse myself. That being said, C didn't fall asleep until after 11PM last night! Yes, you read that right. We were all ready to pull our hair out. She had a full day at school, afternoon playing with the babysitter (I'm working this week) and then dinner. No nap and she was still wired. Finally, I told her when you see the 11 on the clock, I've got to go downstairs (I was there for about 30 minutes trying to get her to calm down) and I left. She wasn't happy but funny, she fell asleep. This is another on the growing list of things "When you turn 4" that we're going to implement. After reading stories and kisses and hugs goodnight, we're leaving the room. Four year old girls can fall asleep on their own. Enough already.
Yes, I know we're long overdue. We do well for awhile and then we have setbacks. I'm done. I'm tired. And because she doesn't go to sleep until late, I don't get my shit done and then you wonder why I don't turn out my light until 2AM. Of course, my insomnia last night didn't help either. When work is crazy and I'm working stupid hours (the Oscars pre-show comes to mind) then yes, sleep is an option. The rest of the time, it shouldn't be that hard.
Go to sleep kid! Or maybe I'll start putting a little Kahlua in her chocolate milk...
In other news, I'm filling in on
"Dr. Phil" this week. Just doing to editing of some shows. It's a very slow week so I'm spending a lot of time on the computer. Next week is the
"Miss USA Pageant". Hey, it's paycheck. Need me a few of those.
I made arrangements to go see
"Wicked" again when Caz is in town in a few weeks. She's seen it too but hey, you can never see it too many times, right? How special is this show that you can't get enough? I can't wait to see her. It's been about a year. Thank goodness for her job at
Mannatech because she organizes the annual trip for the Aussies to the National Convention in Dallas so they pay for her travel here. Good because I haven't exactly had the time or the money to get back to Sydney. We're hoping to go away for a few days to see the Grand Canyon. I've never been myself so if I'd get off my lazy butt and plan it, we might actually go.
I think I'll go do some research on that now. Have a great day!
Labels: Australia, chocolate milk, Dr. Phil, Miss USA Pageant, Sleep, Wicked
Theater Snob
I am a theater snob. I've been going to the theater since I was 7 years old. My first show was Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys". Okay, I guess it helps that I have connections because my uncle is a Broadway Producer (he's won 8 Tony Awards as producer and his shows have won countless more) so I've been exposed to it my whole life. But I do have a great appreciation for theater. There's nothing like it.
With that in mind, we're going to see
"Wicked" tomorrow night. I saw it when it was here in LA in 2005 and I've been counting the minutes until I can see it again. The CD has been in my car for almost 2 years. It's the only thing I'll listen to when I'm not listening to my beloved XM radio. (Okay, save for the Disney Princess CD) C knows all the words to "Popular" and I am in no way burned out on one note of the music. I can't wait. I told a friend the other day how "Wicked" changed my life. I'm not sure exactly how it did, but it did. I've never been so obsessed with a musical, a story, the songs. Although I did come close when I saw "Jerome Robbins' Broadway" in 1989. I still know every word of that show by heart as well.
There are 4 shows that have moved me to tears, literally. I sat in my seat and bawled like a baby. In no particular order, here they are.
"Wicked". I still can't get through listening to the song "For Good" without tearing up. It's a beautiful song and I think of my best friend Caz whenever I hear it. She's in Australia but she's definitely changed my life for good.
"Rent". At the beginning of the second act, the song "Seasons of Love" is beautiful. I saw the original Broadway cast and the girl who hits that high note singing the gospel part gave me the chills. It's a perfect note. Listen to it on the Original Cast Album. Pure. I guess I have an Idina Menzel theme going here. Another show I know all the words to.
"Jerome Robbins' Broadway". This was a show that my uncle produced and it was kind of a review choregraphed by the great Jerome Robbins. He picked musical numbers from his favorite shows, recreated them so it was kind of a "greatest hits" production. Among the featured shows were "Fiddler on the Roof", "West Side Story", "On The Town", "The King and I" and "Peter Pan". Peter Pan brought tears of joy to my eyes. Each time I saw the show (which I did 5 times), on the line "Just think happy thoughts and UP you go", Peter Pan lifts up and flies. It's a magical moment and so exciting. It made me cry. BTW, Jason Alexander won a Tony for Lead Actor in a Musical before he was Jason Alexander of "Seinfeld".
"Our Town". The wonderful, perfect play by Thornton Wilder. I remember seeing a TV version starring Robby Benson when I was a kid and the whole thing just stuck with me. The last time I was in NY in 2002, it was playing on Broadway starring Paul Newman. I got a single ticket (G was working) and sat 3rd row center to see Paul Newman in my favorite play. Pretty much doesn't get better than this and this production didn't disappoint. The whole 3rd act is so beautifully written, and sad, and I just sat there crying.
I'm sure I've welled up at other shows (I'm missing a "Les Miserables" reference here when I saw Gary Morris sing "Bring Him Home" live) but these are the moments that have stuck with me. Sorry for the personal, boring post but I wanted to write this down for me. Thanks for indulging me. Then again, it doesn't take much for me to cry. I'm a sap at TV commercials too.
Labels: Jerome Robbins, Our Town, Rent, Uncle Manny, Wicked
1 down, 9 to go
For those of you who actually read this little speck of blogdom and remember anything that I said (has there been anything worthy of taking up grey matter?), I mentioned that I wanted to read 10 books this year. My mother,
sister and
Irene are laughing their butts of since they're avid readers and get through multiple books per week. Well, while I enjoy, I've never been a great reader. When I go on holiday, I can get through 3 books in a week but I haven't been on a vacation in over 2 years so, you get the picture. Anyway, while I finished
"Scrap Everything" in 2 days the week between Christmas and New Years, I'm not counting that because it was read before the 1st of the year. (the book was ok) Last night I finished
"Little Children" by Tom Perrotta. Yes, it's the current movie starring
Kate Winslet and
Jackie Early Haley (of
"Bad News Bears" fame) who could both be nominated for an Oscar if you believe the buzz. Haven't seen the movie and probably won't at the rate I'm going, but darn it I read the book. I liked it. It's not exactly a happy story about a SAHM and SAHD who have an affair and there are lots of other story offshoots but I enjoyed it. So yeah, I would recommend it.
Next on my list, is
"Wicked". As obsessed as I am about the Broadway show and I'm seeing it again in March, I haven't gotten around to reading the book. I know a bunch of my friends (
Bucket,
Yez) have read it and said it's great so now it's my turn. I'm on page 12. Review to come. Got a pile of books by my bed that I'm determined to finish. I'm actually excited about it.
So 1 down, 9 to go.
Next topic, went to dinner tonight with Alan and Marie (FIL and his wife). Had a lovely time. Miss C wanted to take photos. What else is new? So here are the two snaps she took tonight. And she's finally figured out how to turn the knob to the review setting to check them out herself.
Annie Liebowitz, watch out.
And one more thing of local interest. Who out there is a fan of
"Ugly Betty"? Well, I'm a huge fan. Anyway, I was half (if that much) watching the Golden Globes last night in which "Ugly Betty" and its' star
America Ferrera both won. Yay for everyone. Well, it turns out that America Ferrera is a local girl. I was driving past
George E. Hale Middle School today (our local school where C may go one day) and the marqee said "Congrats Hale Alum America Ferrera Golden Globe win". Turns out she went to
El Camino Real High School as well which is even closer to my house. So real local girl does good. Cool dontcha think? Good for you America! You deserve it!
Labels: books, Ugly Betty, Wicked
