The trick’s on me
Reply
Monthly Archives: October 2005
Attention shoppers
Spooky
I was browsing around on Comcast’s On Demand service last night. I was surprised to discover they have a karaoke section where people can sing along to the same songs one might find at the local taverns.
So what’s scarier — that Comcast has such a section for its viewers or that I tried to sing along to some of those songs in the darkness of night?
Share this:
Night in Paradise
Share this:
‘Sports. Johnson.’
After a small intro, I have an even smaller exchange with departing E-R sports editor John Johnson whose last day was Friday. Although Johnson’s traditional greeting is only two seconds long, I think it was worth preserving for a lifetime. And I’m only partly kidding.
I wish I had the chance to chat with him on the phone for a little longer.
Share this:
Wednesday night at The Maltese
Had a good night inside the small bar with a lot of heart. Ari was back in the saddle after two weeks away and sang the classic “Wanted” with a little back-up from yours truly. He also sang Snoop Dogg and brought the house down, like always. Karaoke king Sam showed up and rocked some songs (including his standards like “Mack the Knife”). He ruled over Bearnaked Ladies’ “One Week.” Ronnie had me counter with “It’s the End of the World …” It was clear that Sam did a better job.
Still I had a lot of fun, although I missed singing Elton John songs for the two ladies that were there a couple of weeks back (although I could’ve done a better job of it). Tonight, I was trying to get one lady to sing behind the mike (she flatly refused). I hope I didn’t press the issue too much (it seemed like she was taking it in stride).
Here’s the run down of my songs:
- Down on the Corner — I thought it was an OK song to warm up to. I don’t think I’ve got the resonant voice to make it sound like the classic.
- Short Skirt, Long Jacket — I’m still working on singing to match McCrea’s rythym. It’s tough as heck.
- It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) — I stumbled on a couple of lines. I downloaded the song from iTunes and I’ll hopefully get a better sense of the movement in the song.
- Hit the Road Jack — Ray Charles’ classic as interpreted by me (not Ray Charles)
- Don’t Bring Me Down — From Electric Light Orchestra. “Don’t bring me down … Bruce.” Why didn’t I know that song a couple of years ago? [ 😉 to the eight people in the world that might get that joke.]
- Seven Spanish Angels — It’s a duet and I realized tonight that I sound neither like Ray Charles nor Willie Nelson. Ah well, I like the song even if others don’t.
- I helped sing — Wanted, Love Shack, Hotel California and some LL Cool J song (to try and get the lady to sing). She playfully flipped me off. Drat. Maybe next time.
Share this:
Circling the wagons
Is it bad of me when I consider buying a minifridge for my room? I’m having some problems with some items in the common fridge being “misappropriated” by my roommates, and I’m getting tired of it.
Am I just avoiding the problem? They’re not too cheap, but I think it might save me some headaches in the long-term. It might also encourage me to remain at home more often — I would know that I have stuff to eat and drink in the apartment.
Share this:
Recent releases
I’m just dying to hear the Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh!‘s take on Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.” I saw a blurb that a Davis-area station was playing the song occasionally.
I liked the song’s sound featuring low brass and bass drums (totally dug the live band on SNL in April). I think a marching band of the Band-uh!’s caliber could rock that song.
Now I have a big reason to go to Picnic Day next April. I know I sound like a geek, but marching bands can totally rock some songs (like the Leland Stanford Jr. University Marching Band’s take on “Welcome to Paradise”).
In other news, The Digital Bits has reviewed two awesome films that recently underwent “special edition” DVD releases — Office Space and The Big Lebowski. I only need to say “TPS reports” or “The Dude” and many, many people would know what I’m talking about. Just as if I were to say that I was going “to go ‘office space’ on the fax machine.” It’s nice to see them getting new releases, but it’s kind of a bummer that the extras weren’t super according to the review.
Share this:
Dis ‘n dat
Just some random stuff surfing around the ‘net this weekend —
– Pluming the depths of MySpace, I rediscovered “The Gleib” — aka Ben Gleib (name seems shorter than I remember). Anyway, The Gleib is a comedian and is responsible of dispelling two beliefs that I’ve held for a while — that Screech from “Saved by the Bell” is funny and that dating shows are real. Sadly, Screech (Dustin Diamond) was dreadful live a few years back and “Blind Date” seems capable of pulling fast ones over its audience.
– Saturday Night Live hasn’t been super funny this season. I don’t know why exactly. Interesting seeing Catherine Zeta Jones sing (and wondering how different she looks “live”), but it wasn’t very funny. One positive note is Tina Fey’s return to Weekend Update after becoming a mother. I got some belly laughs over some of the jokes there.
– If you’re looking for some interesting stuff to watch or listen to, there’s ZeD from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. It’s a combination TV show/Web site featuring a mix of short films, musical performances and trippy stuff.
– While I’ve previously plugged CBC Radio 3’s podcast, I don’t know if I mentioned their magazine. It features lots of music and articles about culture and music in a solid Shockwave presentation. Hours of fun listening and browsing.
Share this:
Monday night
Songs sung Monday at “Bear-e-oke”: 1) You and Me and Bottle Make Three. 2) Danger Zone. That went down extremely well. 3) Quando, Quando, Quando. For some reason, the audience didn’t dig this song. 4) Man of Constant Sorrow. Sang it with “Puff” to end the night.
