Friday, February 26, 2010

Losing Your Voice

Sometimes it is inevitable that people will get a bit burnt out doing the same thing over and over and over. Such is certainly the case with musicians. When this happens with a lead singer, it seems that most bands just break up. Some, however, seek out a new member. They are the rare ones; it is often too difficult a task to try to replace a lead singer, especially if the band is well-know. This was the task that was presented to the Newsboys, and more famously, Journey.

The Newsboys have had a few singers over the years; John James at the beginning, Peter Furler as his replacement, and guitarist Phil Joel would occasionally lend his vocals on songs like "Entertaining Angels". Peter Furler became the sound of the Newsboys, but he, too became burnt out from so much time in the studio and touring all over the world. In their song "RSL 1984" you can hear his gentle goodbye and his yearning to return home to Australia. Furler's replacement came in the form of Michael Tait, former member of DC Talk. While I loved DC Talk (they all attended my college, p.s.), the Newsboys are Australian and New Zealander. Michael Tait is American, and his voice is nothing like what the Newsboys are known for. Below are the original and Tait versions of the Newsboys hit "Something Beautiful":


Original with Peter Furler


Michael Tait version

Journey had a similar dilemma when Steve Perry left quite a while ago. Rather than turning to an established singer, they decided to check youtube. They ran across a Filipino singer named Arnel Pineda, and they were hooked. It was quite fortunate for them that there happen to be two people in the world with identical voices. Compare them for yourself with these versions of "Don't Stop Believing":


Original with Steve Perry


Arnel Pineda version

Sometimes differences are not for the best, and sometimes they save a truly epic band.

Rock On!

~K

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Dishwasher Disaster

It was the type of situation that you would see on "I Love Lucy" or some other comedy. Of course, when it's you it doesn't always seem as amusing.

As often happens, some dishes got a bit dirty. So I put a little bit of detergent into the dishwasher, and turned it on. Easy peasy, no? I grew up without a dishwasher, so I'm not especially accustomed to this magnificent machine.

As I was sitting in my bedroom watching "Millionaire Matchmaker" online after having finished leftover quesadilla, my roommate yells across the house "What did you put in the dishwasher???" I come out, stating that I had put in some dishes and dish soap.

Upon reaching the kitchen, my jaw drops as I take in the sea of foam that used to be our kitchen.

Moral of the story: detergent used for handwashing does not work for a dishwasher. Be warned!

~K

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Style of the Sirens: Doris Day

Growing up, I didn't keep up with all the current movie releases. Instead, I watched what my parents allowed me to watch, and I fell for some of the classic movies. I remember rejoicing the first time that we watched AMC. I was in heaven! My sister and I would get up early to watch episodes of "Laurel and Hardy", and after our schoolwork, we would often turn on films from the 50's and 60's.

One of my favorite leading ladies was (and still is) Doris Day. Whether she's playing a country bumpkin from the depths of Louisiana, or the witty housewife of a hypochondriac, she always pulled off her roles with style and grace.

For your viewing and listening pleasure, this is a clip from "The Man Who Knew Too Much" with Jimmy Stewart.


Too bad I couldn't find a "Tammy" clip. Oh well. Que sera sera!

~K

Monday, February 15, 2010

Valentine's Day in Review

As we all know, yesterday was Valentine's Day. What exciting things did I do? Well, let me tell you! I woke up a bit earlier than intended, went to a new church where they were doing a series on relationships. Yesterday's topic was dating. Very appropriate.

Later on, I went into the kitchen and began a labor of love making what would become an utterly delicious prosciutto garlic mac & cheese. Mmm, so glad I still have leftovers!

Upon finishing that, I got dressed for the girls' get-together at Koko's. After much deliberation, I finally settled on a white eyelet strapless dress, a Forever 21 red and black cardigan, and my beloved Guess Carrie pumps. Oooh la la! Humor me, it's one of the few outfits where I can actually make references that readers will be able to check out.

Koko and I watched a movie while waiting for our other friend, then ate my lovely creation, and headed out to Bathtub Gin & Co., a local hard-to find, back-alley speakeasy. I felt so utterly cool just being in there. Unfortunately, my drink started off well and ended like cough syrup. We left a wee bit early since Koko was a bit nauseated.

All in all, it was a lovely evening with the girls and I don't feel quite so single when I'm amongst friends.

Lots of love!

~K

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Google and McQueen

I simply cannot keep track of all of the different social networking sites that are up-and-coming all the time. It seems that foursquare has taken off, and now we have another Google entity vying for attention. Google Buzz seems to be a bit Twitter, and a bit Facebook. Yet, this is not the only network-y tool that Google has marketed. It seems like just yesterday that Facebook statuses were all screaming out for invitations to try Google Wave. Just a bit further back, one of my friends tried to entice me into joining orkut, Google's main social networking site. Note to Google: too much already!

In other news, Alexander McQueen was found dead in what seems to be a suicide. The fashion world will be a bit lonelier today.

Those are my thoughts and tidbits for today, folks!

~K

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Results of the Hottie Awards

I was surprised by the lackluster response, but such is life, no? So, after tabulating the votes, the Female Hottie Award hereby goes to Zooey Deschanel. Gorgeous, funny, and has an amazing set of lungs on her. For your viewing and listening pleasure, "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" by She & Him:



The Male Hottie Award is a tie between Zac Efron and Robert Schwartzman. As I do not consider Zac Efron a dream boat (sorry Jamie!), here is a Rooney (Shwartzman's band) video of "I Should've Been After You":



Congratulations to the utter hottness, and thanks for voting!

~K

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The Hottie Awards 2010

I know that there isn't really any such award show, or even award, but if there were, it would be a must-watch with all that hotness going around. So now I want your vote. Who out of the following (I'm a little biased, so I may not include everyone you would) would you vote for at the Hottie Awards? If you aren't familiar with some of the names, be sure to google them. You may end up with a new crush!

Male:

1. Hugh Jackman
2. Jared Leto
3. Orlando Bloom
4. Christian Bale
5. Hrithik Roshan
6. Johnny Depp
7. Channing Tatum

Female:

1. Megan Fox
2. Aishwarya Rai
3. Scarlett Johansson
4. Jessica Biel
5. Miranda Kerr
6. Beyonce
7. Natalie Portman

If you have ones that aren't listed, be sure to let me know about them as well for your write-in vote, and give a reason why they're the hottest. All votes must be in by Saturday at noon PST to be counted. Of course, you can still tell us why you think whoever is hot after Saturday, too.

Happy voting!

~K

Monday, February 1, 2010

I Want You Bad - Creepy Love Songs!

The Offspring inspired me. I realized that sane people are not the only ones who fall in love. There are psycho stalker creepy people who do as well. So, as Valentine's Day approaches, I wanted to create a playlist just for the creepos out there, and songs of love gone wrong/weird. Here you go...please excuse the language on a couple. I wanted to give you the real names of the songs.

1. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

2. Every Breath You Take - Police (obvious)

3. I Used to Love Her - Guns N' Roses

4. Crazy Bitch - Buckcherry

5. I Wanna Fuck You - Akon & Snoop Dogg (have you heard the original version? Eww.)

6. Creep - Radiohead

7. Please Don't Leave Me - Pink (seriously, watch the video)

8. One Way or Another - Blondie

9. I Knew I Loved You - Savage Garden (still love it!)

10. Possession - Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan's is extra creepy; she drew some of her lyrics directly from a letter from a stalker...who sued her for plagiarism. This is kinda the antithesis of all that is Valentine's Day, but we don't want to get too  mushy, do we? I think not.

XOXO

~K