My Tribute to the King of Pop

I really admired Michael Jackson. He inspired me to dance, which gave me a physical, creative outlet. So much so that I even participated in some dancing extracurricular activities in high school (dear god, please let no one have any evidence of that).

He was so prominent in my years growing up, here are some vivid memories that flashed through my mind when I heard of his passing...

• watching Moonwalker when I was 10, over and over, imitating the moves in my tiny Chinatown studio apartment
• singing Man in the Mirror in my cousins' living room, where part of one wall was all mirrors
• debating how great Scream will be before it premiered in high school biology lab
• trying to learn the choreography to Remember the Time, but not having a partner to do the 'couple moves'

Ah... good times. And not surprisingly, none of these memories are recent; cause even though I think his passing is tragic, the real Michael that I admired and aspired to be had long gone.

Sha'mon!

Stuck in a Loop

I recently discovered Adele when she performed on SNL; a show where I consistently find myself cringing when it comes to the musical guest; most of the time because their live performances are atrocious.

So when I was watching the SNL with Josh Brolin (aka the hunky teen in The Goonies) and that Alaskan moose-hunter, I cursed myself for watching it live and unable to fast-forward through.

So I watched it. And then I peed my pants. Seriously. That's how good she was, LIVE!

Immediately, I ran to the interwebs to find her album, 19 (which I downloaded), her website, her facebook. Everything.

And now I have a problem: I can't stop listening to it. I'm stuck in a perpetual Adele loop: the more I listen, the more I want to listen. Especially that stupid, awesome song, Best for Last.

And worse, now I'm starting to sing along without realizing it! Not quite loud enough for the person next to me on the subway to hear, but maybe enough to make them scoot a bit further from me. I guess that's not so bad.

I think I need help. And by "help" I mean a singing partner.

Ode to October

Oh dear October, why must you tease me with your cool, but not cool enough for a jacket, weather? Do you not realize that I've just bought a new fall coat? Oh when will you stop playing these games with me!

Anyway, if you haven't see it already - check out the SNL skit, Iran So Far. I must have listened to it a billion times by now.

The Beat Of Their Own Drums

Wow. Did I just spend 5 hours in a movie theater watching the Drum Corps International Division I Quarterfinals on the big screen?

Damn straight I did!

I didn't think I would like it that much, nor did I expect to stay for the entire competition, but when things got rolling, time flew by! These teams are incredible. Incredible! The skill, the talent, the imaginations!

I'll admit that, at first, I thought these groups (teams?) would be more or less half-time-show quality marching band (read: not very good), possibly glorified (and boring). But when the first group started performing, and their color guard started dancing, and all of them moved in formation, it was bedazzling. Did I just say bedazzling? I guess so.

Anyway, my favorite performance of the night was definitely the Carolina Crown (see a short clip here) - ingenious! For the best performance, I have to give up to the Blue Devils. You can check out their coverage of the quarterfinals here.

And can I just say how many gay men were also in the theater too? With all the music and dancing (being performed by hot, young men no less!), I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Does this make me a band geek fan?!

New Guilty Pleasure

A friend introduced me to Lily Allen. Her album Alright, Still, is just awesome. My favorite song is Knock 'em Out.

Check out this video, LDN, I found on YouTube.

I think I'm in love; and not just because she says 'crack whore' in her song.

Have a wonderful weekend ya'll!