The silicon chip inside her head gets switched to overload…

….and nobody’s gonna go to school today, she’s gonna make them stay at home….

I was watching an episode of House the other day.  It was the episode that starred Dave Matthews.  He played a patient who got hit by a bus when he was 10, which affected his mental development but also gave him the ability to play the piano flawlessly despite never taking a lesson.

During that episode, “House”, played by Hugh Laurie and the patient (Dave Matthews) play the introduction to the song “I Don’t Like Monday’s” by the Boomtown Rats on the piano.  I cannot remember when the last time was that I heard that song, but immediately knew it by the piano introduction part.  I had made a mental note to myself to find the song on the internet.

The song “I Don’t Like Mondays”, by the Boomtown Rats spent four weeks at # 1 on the UK charts in July of 1979.  Wow, I can’t believe that I was 9 when this song came out!  I remember my stepfather playing it, and telling me the story behind what it was about. 

This past weekend, as my boyfriend and I were driving home from seeing my cousin play at a pub on St. Patty’s day, I heard it on the radio!  Very interesting, since when it came out, it was banned from airplay in the USA!  Of course, I remembered all the words (thanks again to my former stepfather who played this song over and over again when I was younger), singing it at the top of my lungs.  Afterwards, I told my boyfriend about the story behind the song (again, information that was told to me by my former stepfather).  Hearing the song, and repeating the story intrigued me enough to do some research on the subject.

I had always assumed that the incident behind the song took place in Ireland, where the Boomtown Rats hail from, but it was actually something that happened in San Diego. 

Brenda Ann Spencer fired a rifle at children playing in the schoolyard of Cleveland Elementary School across from her house in San Diego on Monday, January 29 1979, killing two adults and injuring eight children and also a police officer.  The title of the song comes from her nonchalant excuse for the shootings.  When asked why she had committed the crime, she simply answered “I don’t like Mondays”, adding “this livens the day up”. 

Brenda Ann Spencer is now serving out a sentence of 25 years to life for her crimes, which include murder and assault with a deadly weapon.  Despite being eligible for parole four times, she remains in the California Institution for Women in Corona.  The next time she will be eligible will be in 2009.

 

“……and the lesson today is HOW TO DIE…..”

“I Don’t Like Monday’s” was covered by Bon Jovi and also Tori Amos, but nothing beats the original recording of this song.  You can hear it by clicking on this link.  It’s on my playlist.

http://images.projectplaylist.com/static/user/1398934.html

Other links: 

Lyrics to “I Don’t Like Mondays”

BoomtownRats.co.uk

San Diego Sniper Is Denied Parole

**information acquired from www.wikipedia.com

• Post title lyrics from “I Don’t Like Monday’s” by the Boomtown Rats

It’s all over but the crying,fade to black I’m sick of trying

I have a question (to no one in particular, but whatever…)

WHY does American Idol make the voted off contestants perform their song once again on the elimination show?  I think it’s totally cruel to basically say “Hey!  You totally sucked, America thought as much.  At this very moment, all of your hopes and dreams are being crushed into a million slivers but how about you choke down that lump, wipe away those tears, and give us ANOTHER performance of the song that propelled you into elimination without your voice cracking!!!”  Hey!  What a GREAT idea!!!!!!  

What an emotional bunch we have this season.  Poor Alaina could’nt even get through her song last night after being eliminated.  I felt for her, and wondered why American Idol does that?  I mean, if they are hell bent on making them perform again, could they perhaps wait until the contestant has regained a little bit of their dignity/composure???? 

I have also stopped wondering why a certain person (or people) are still in the competition (hello Antonella, hello Sanjaya).  I have come to understand that in the beginning, it is all just a popularity contest.  Antonella has the people that are peeking at her racy online photos voting to keep her in, and Sanjaya is probably being kept in by little high school girls that think he’s cute and have no idea what real talent is.  I’m saving my irritation for  when it really gets down to the end of it.  These people won’t win.  I’m sure of it.  Eventually, they will be gone.  Neither of them are the next American Idol.

Oh, and WTF happened to Kelly Pickler?  Is it me, or did she age, like 15 years????????

• Post title lyrics from “It’s All Over But The Crying” by Garbage  

But these places and these faces are getting old……so I’m going home

So I usually don’t start commenting and critiquing American Idol until the final 12 (6 girls, 6 boys), but I just GOTTA get my two cents in after last nights result show. While I usually voice my picks to get sent home, I know in the back of my head that there is going to be at least one person that sucked REALLY bad to squeak through to the next round. This is usually the result of that website vote for the worst dot com, a website who’s sole purpose is to totally fuck with the American Idol voting system. It encourages people to vote (for the worst, hence the title) to see how long the suckiest contestants can stay in the competition. Their site showcases Antonella Barba as one of the ‘worst’, who in MY opinion should have never even made it to Hollywood. Don’t get me wrong, she’s got a good voice…but she is NO match for the girl power talent this year. Coincidently, she also brings the drama that Idol produces totally thrive on. On Vote For the Worst, you can see some compromising photo’s of her that were found/dug up on the internet. These aren’t the ONLY ones out there. Other sites are showing way more explicit photo’s of the New Jersey princess. So there it is. Surprise surprise? She is still in the competition….saw THAT coming a mile away. Can you say “way to boost ratings?”

UPDATE: Read this interesting post on TMZ.com about Antonella Barba

In other Idol news, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez will guest star this season to ‘mentor’ and ‘coach’ the contestants. Ok, WHAT??? Please tell me what Jennifer Lopez is going to contribute to the personal growth of these Idol hopefuls. Please, because I am truly curious. Is she going to coach them on how to make their voice sound totally unlike themselves by using electronic enhancement and mixers? How to airbrush photo’s and take out their flaws so that they look immaculate? And, I have to throw this one in because I am mean…is she going to show them how to marry a guy that looks like Skeletor???

You have to be EFFING kidding me…….

On a GOOD Idol note, they have chosen Daughtry’s (Chris Daughtry’s band, 4th runner up on Idol season 5) song “Home” for all of the elimination shows. Now THERE is talent.

• Post title lyrics from “Home” by Daughtry

Giant steps are what you take…walking on the moon

Hey. Guess what? I’m going to THE POLICE concert. My sister and I were on ticketmaster simutaniously trying for tickets at exactly 10:00 today when they went on sale. We were actually trying for 6 tickets (so that our significant others could come), but when the fist date sold out within ten minutes, we made an executive decision to banish them in order to better our chances. Tried for the second date for THREE tickets (SORRY guys!), and got them! Lucky though, because TONS of people from my work were trying, and didn’t even get them for the second date. It’s THE talk in my office right now….

UPDATE: BOTH nights for Fenway are SOLD OUT!

Now on to search online for a vintage “zenyatta mondatta” tee shirt………………….

• Post title lyrics from “Walking On The Moon” by The Police 

When the world is running down, you make the best of whats still around……

*SIGH*

Well, I had a GLIMMER of hope when, on the ride home last night while I was bitching about the fact that in order to get pre-sale Police tickets, you had to be a member of the stupid Best Buy Reward Zone program (see below update)…my BOYFRIEND nonchalantly said “oh…I have that”

I freaked out (of course because I am all about the drama) and exclaimed that I LOVED LOVED LOVED him so much and that he was my NEW best friend, etc…etc….

Got the ’special’ pre sale code online as soon as I got home, and prayed that I would be able to get tickets at 12:00 the next day.

Whelp! Here we are today, and I do NOT have Police tickets. I swear, I signed it at 12:00 on the dot and I was still unable to secure the golden tickets.

THAT SUCKS!

I just looked on Ebay, and they are going for $3000 a pop! WOW……

I’ll definitely still try to get them when the general public sale opens on Feb 20th. If not, you will see me sitting outside of Fenway in July listening to them! Who knows! Maybe my COUSIN will be visiting then, and we can hang out there together!

*SIGH*

• Post title lyrics from “When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around” by The Police

I loved ya since I knew ya, I wouldn’t talk down to ya….

Music is a HUGE part of my life. I don’t know how I could survive without it. I grew up with a wanna-be musician (my Stepfather), who banged on the drum set whenever he got a chance. Most of the time he was a drunken asshole, but there were times when I actually enjoyed his company. These times were spent listening to him play the drums to his records (yes actual LP’s) and having him explain what certain lyrics meant (even though most of the time what he deciphered made NO sense at ALL…)

The band of choice most of the time was The Police. I swear, I must know every song of theirs. They were a HUGE part of my musicial upbringing, and I grew to absolutely LOVE them. I still do. I must listen to their greatest hits CD at least twice a week.

So you can imagine my excitement when it was announced that they were going to open the Grammy Awards. The Grammy Awards is a show that I never miss as it is, but with The Police playing? I wouldn’t have missed it for the WORLD.

Example of a couple of conversations before and during the show:

Me 5 minutes before the start of the show) “I am sitting here RIGHT NOW, and I am not getting up for ANYTHING so don’t even ask!”

My Daughter: “What if you have to take a serious shit…like diahrria?”

Me: “Then I will shit my pants right on this couch. I will just SHIT. I swear, I will”

My Daughter: “You need help Mom”

Another conversation after which I blasted the volume on the TV when The Police started

My Boyfriend: “that’s REALLY loud. They (our upstairs neighbors/landlords) might not be watching this, and they MAY want to hear the show that they’re watching!”

Me: (blink blink blink) “why wouldn’t they be watching this?” (said like ‘DUH’ WHO wouldn’t be watching this?)

So what did you think? Here’s MY review/comments:

I think that they could have sung another song besides Roxanne. I know, I know…it’s one of their best known songs, and it’s ‘catchy’….but being a serious Police fan, it was kind of dissapointing. AND…what?????? That was it? Your just going to sing a song, and walk off stage? REALLY???? I x’ed off the days on my calendar waiting for THIS? My only thought as to why they were so abrupt is that they will be announcing their world tour (apparently in a press conference 11:00 pacific time today), and they wanted to leave the fans wanting more? Well, I want MORE! That all being said though, they were AWESOME!

(although I had to chuckle when I read Kuri’s blog and saw what ESPN’s sportswriter Bill Simmons said about it) “Roxannnnnnnnne…I can’t hit the high notes anymore….those day’s are over, I’m singing everything in a much lower key…Roxannnnnnnnneeeeeee”

SEE IT HERE

UPDATE: THE POLICE HAVE JUST ANNOUNCED/CONFIRMED PLANS TO PLAY AT FENWAY PARK IN BOSTON. TICKETS GO ON SALE FEBRUARY 20TH

ANOTHER UPDATE: IF YOU WANT TO PAY $100 TO JOIN WWW.THEPOLICETOUR.COM, YOU CAN GET A PRE-SALE ADVANTAGE TO PURCHASE TICKETS ON THE 14TH (but if you are a current Best Buy reward zone member, you can get them tomorrow. Sorry folks, you must have been a member as of Feb 1st to take advantage of this!)

Other Grammy highlights(bear with me, I’m just going to spew thoughts as they come into my head)….how cute was Mary J Blige? And I’m gonna say something that I might not want to put in writing in case I want to retract it later……I LIKE Justin Timberlake. WHAT? You probably do too, you just won’t admit it. I think he is a GREAT performer. There. I said it. John Mayer looked adorable (no Jessica Simpson, although she DID attend some Grammy after parties with him)

I don’t know why, but I don’t like Beyonce. I just don’t. Most of the outfits that she wears to awards shows are just so ‘over the top’, and downright ugly. I won’t argue the fact that she has a great voice, but I just can’t stomach her for some reason. I chose her performance as designated bathroom time.

Notably absent? Where was my Mariah? Where was my Gwen Stefani?

In other news…. I TOTALLY called this one! While watching American Idol, the Memphis auditions, I remarked that Sean Michel would make it through to Hollywood. Not just because of his great voice, but because of his excessive facial and long hair. I predicted that he would make it to Hollywood because he was the perfect candidate for those “Idol makeovers” that the producers love to do. I love Idol, but I know the gimmicks that they love to squeeze into their shows for rating purposes. Sean Michel would go to Hollywood with this rough image, and show by show, the audiance would see this transformation to his outer appearance. Cocoon emerges into butterfly and America loves him, right? WRONG. Apparently Sean didn’t WANT to cut his hair or shave his beard. It has been reported that he was eliminated from the Hollywood round because of this. According to DLISTED, he could not discuss this according to confidentiality aggreements, but DID confirm that he has not shaved his beard or cut his hair. What a shame. If I wasn’t so god damned addicted to that stupid show, I would stop watching it. It’s not a choice. Really. It isn’t.

• Post title lyrics from “Roxanne” by The Police

Hey! Look me over…tell me do you like what you see

Did anyone catch the halftime show with Prince?  He always puts on such a great performance, but THIS one took the cake.  It was in the pouring RAIN! It couldn’t have been more fitting…Prince singing “Purple Rain” in a downpour.  Ya know, if they were GOOD event coordinators, they would have figured out a way to infuse the rain with the color purple.  Am I asking too much?

The show started off with Prince whispering “dearly beloved…” and seriously people, who DOESN’T know the following line!  It was drowned out by me screaming from my couch “we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life!”  Towards the end of the song, a marching band joined him.  Very cool….  

He went on to a medley, which included “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Baby I’m a Star (one of MY personal faves), All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan, but made popular (in my eyes) by Jimi Hendrix, and “Best Of You” by the Foo Fighters.  This was decorated with extravagant guitar solos.

It ended, of course, with (as I mentioned above) him singing Purple Rain.  For most artists, the pouring rain would have been a serious damper.  For Prince it was the best stage prop EVER.  To see him singing ”you say you want a leader, but you can’t seem to make up your mind.  I think you better close it..and let me guide you…to the purple rain” with rain pouring down his face was seriously ironic…..

And no WARDROBE malfunctions!

• Post title lyrics from “Baby I’m a Star” by Prince

“Let’s Get Ready To Rumbleeeeeeeeee….”

Ok, so I won’t be ‘watching’ the Superbowl this year and yelling at the TV. Why? Because The Patriots are not playing.

I will, however glance towards the television set when the commercials come on, and I will definitely tune in to see the halftime show.

I’m sure everyone knows by now that Prince, (or whatever he prefers to be called now) his royal purpleness will be blessing us with his presence. Definitely worth watching, I’m sure!

What was your favorite halftime performance, besides ‘nipplegate’? I would have to say that mine would be when Sting sang “Message In A Bottle”, and Gwen Stefani came out to sing the second verse and duet with him for the rest of the song.

 

 

Oh but WAIT! Who could forget Superbowl XXV (well, I did actually…but I looked it up) with NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK !?!?!

Take a peek here at past halftime shows. I was surprised at how many I forgot/remembered.

• Post title lyrics from “Lets Get Ready To Rumble – Jock Jams

Do I have to tell the story of a thousand rainy days since we first met…..

So I’m new at WordPress. I’m starting new, and seeing if I can really commit to this blogging thing. Previously, I blogged elsewhere (very sporatically!) so I am going to give it another go…..
My favorite band is opening the Grammy’s! THE POLICE!

 

Very exciting, since they have not played together in, what…23 years? What song do you think they will sing? What song do you WANT them to sing? It is hard for me to say, since most my favorite songs by them were not ever mainstream hits. If I had to choose one of their more popular songs, I would probably choose “Message In A Bottle”, “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”, or “Every Little Thing she Does Is Magic”.

Maybe they will do a medley…..

What do you think?

• Post title lyrics from “Every Little Thing she Does Is Magic” by The Police