Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

  A catchy, extremely popular album in your youth becomes the lyrics that describe your life at some point. If you're lucky......

Do you wanna get understood?

  Switch it up, play a new game Even though it's nice, I don't do vain Had to shake it up like loose change Same ol' me, just a new day, oh yeah These are some things you should know I won't stop, I'ma keep going It's a little unfair But I'm living like that....

 So.  We had a pretty prolific snowstorm here in North Carolina in late January.  I cooked, I read, napped, journaled and watched a lot of streaming services! This fascinating documentary, set in Providence, Rhode Island, is a timely and sophisticated look at modern consumerism, gentrification, gorilla art, underground music and city politics.   I only watched about 20 minutes of this before I pulled the plug because it that amount of time, it seemed to me, that this film would do whatever it takes to shock, titillate and pretty much gross the viewer the hell out. I'm no prude, but I didn't see it getting any better.  Even with its stellar cast. It kinda reminded me of the shitty overhyped Hollywood from a few years back. It could have been a great series.  The cast and the subject matter almost guaranteed it.  But like Babylon it was trying so hard to shock that it failed to be engaging.  I bailed on this one after just one episode I think. ...

 

 Cameron Crowe is not a grown-up man.  He has never been married. Or divorced.  He's not a father.  He's never raised his voice or cursed in traffic. He's still a virgin.  He still calls his mom every night. He's never tried drugs or even had a taste of liquor. He's a boy.  A sweet, sweet teenage boy. And this memoir, which dives into everything you think you know about Crowe, actually gives you a heartbreak all the while leaving you with a bit of a happy-sad feeling.  Hmmm.  The more I think about it, that happy-sad feeling is about the best way to describe a Cameron Crowe film.  The family sitch is not all that relatable (although I do see a little of myself in his mother, Alice) but the drive to be a writer and to be close to music sure is. When he talked about seeing his byline in Creem for the first time, I teared up a little. When he remembered his excitement from his early interviews with Kris Kristofferson and Glenn Frey, I felt that ...

  Lately, I've had to find music that can keep me working while not arousing any sort of emotion or distraction in me. Can you imagine how hard this is for a music nerd like me?  Highly complicated guitar "math rock" is working for me. And also this weird guy/band from Australia.   You know a video is weird when it is immediately accompanied by "reaction videos", so I won't even try to interpret what's happening here.  I just like the smooth slightly psychedelic vibe that doesn't remind me of anyone or anything bad ever happening to me.  I throw this on and get down on some heavy EXCELling.   You know......like we all do.

 Until you've been beside a man You don't know what he wants. You don't know if he cries at night You don't know if he don't. When nothin comes easy Old nightmares are real. Until you've been beside a man You don't know how he feels.

So many versions of this song out there, but this one is my current fave.  

I really dug his first book with James Patterson , and I like this one pretty good too.  The only problem with this one is that I'm listening to it as an audiobook, and I don't dig all the voices.  A real first-world problem, I know.  And it's always kind of interesting to see how Bill is kind of spelling out how he sees himself in the world, or rather, how he wants to be seen.   This book by Rax King, on the other hand, makes it quite a joy to listen to her lovely voice as she reads her own, sometimes boring sometimes scary, escapades as a teenager and young adult.  Her full chapter on Creed makes the entire book with the read. For television viewing, I did enjoy the History Channel series of Thomas Jefferson, but got a little bored by the FDR episodes.  And that shocked me as I love FDR!  Something about the presentation and the actor portraying him looking a little too much like Kevin Spacey methinks. And even though I didn't see ANY of his mov...

 I liked Hole well enough back in the day, but never knew much about their personnel.  So I didn't really understand the mighty might of Patty Schemel. Again, you can't beat listening to this as an audiobook.  Patty's voice, her deadpan delivery and somewhat deadpan view of this time in her life sets a real mood that will take you straight back to the cold blue greys of 90's rock.   And just like Kathleen Hanna's book , this memoir offers up opinions on Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain, which will make you feel some kind of way toward both of them.  The thing I most hated was realizing that Kurt taught Patty how to fix.  It's not shocking....but it is still sad.  It's amazing that Patty lived through all this.  And anyone who studies rock stars will often say that, but that realization is VERY true with Patty.  She brushed up against death and tragedy way too many times.   I finished this memoir and went back and watched video of ...

 I was kinda amazed to recently see that all of my old "My City" articles are alive and well over at My City Magazine's site .   You have to click on the individual articles to access a PDF (and it's easier to do on a desktop or laptop computer than a phone) but you can see the pics and read the actual articles from the last 10 years.   Tiff Tantrum David Childers Paint Fumes Leisure McCorkle Felicia Castelow  (now known as Finn Castelow) The Menders   Benji Hughes (my only cover story but sadly incomplete on this link) And there are some, that I've got to be honest about now 10 years later, that I can barely remember because they were typically written as a favor or filler.  Sorry.  And there are also a few that I dearly loved (Dust & Ashes) that don't seem to be there.  Again, sorry. It was a good ride.  And 10 years later, I still get asked about it and even (weirdly) recognized for my work over there.  And for that, I'...

 

 

 Here's another memoir I HIGHLY recommend as an audio listen.  It is a true treat and a bit unusual in the sense that Julia Roberts reads the narratives of Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough reads as herself discussing the life of her mother AND there are snippets of Lisa Marie's real voice in recordings made of her prior to her untimely death. To say that Lisa Marie had a tragic life, is too easy.  To say she had a complicated life.....an interesting life.....an eventful life.....a beautiful life might be better.  A baby then girl then woman who never had an inch of privacy and was known by the world before she knew herself.....how did she have a chance at anything beyond complication?   She's very honest about the wild silliness of her life growing up at Graceland and the cold detachment of her mother.  My favorite parts of this book are when Lisa describes the food, the smells and the feel of the South.....a feeling that comes back to her every time s...

 This has been a lifelong habit of mine.....falling down rabbit holes.  I discover a subject, and I go all in.  I've watched it happen with a few various topics, and then for my own amusement, I traced back how it all happened.   With Gary, it went like this....... I had been listening to a lot of audiobooks on my Spotify.  After a weekend of listening to early 80's New Wave and British New Romantics, I decided to give Gary's book a listen.  And so it begins...... I'd always heard the term "New Romantics" but didn't really know much about who or what it referenced other than Duran Duran and maybe Culture Club, so I found an awesome doc online explaining the musical movement including London Club, The Blitz, the significance of Covent Garden, The Winter of Discontent, Saint Martin's School of Art and on and on and on..... From there I learned that Spandau Ballet was basically decided to be THE band of the New Romantics/Blitz Kids scene.  And even t...

 Mary in Charlotte was a revelation! So much girl power.  So much singing.  So much estrogen in one big, big room.   And grown women energy too.  I felt it.  And yes, there's a difference.  I didn't realize how much I needed to be surrounded by women my own age until I was right in the middle of them.  There's something about women who understand each other.  It only takes a look, a few words.  We know.   Even the symbolism of the crown behind Mary was not lost on me.  The empowerment.  The realization of what we had come through.  I was turning 50 in a week.  What Mary said to me when I was 20 didn't hit as hard.  But lord jesus, I felt it now.   Days after the show, I felt like I was still processing it all.  Mary's voice, her stories, the glossy Broadway feel of it all, the beautiful women in their boots and sequins all around us, the memories, the tears.   After the sho...

 Talk to 'em like you 'sposed to, Mary...... I know I can go and look online, but I'd rather post my dream playlist for the MJB show in Charlotte tonight and just dream:  Amazing You Ain't the Only One Just Fine Not Today Never Give Up on Me Come See About Me You Remind Me Keep Your Head Can't Wait For You Thick of It Don't Go Someone to Love Me (Even in the wake of the Diddy crisis.  Yes, I want it.) Good Morning Gorgeous Not Gon' Cry (And yes, I'm gonna while we sing this together, Mary.) Real Love Need Love Stay Down  The One Not Today Family Affair (I might lose my mind but I'm going with it.) Stay tuned for full review....but it might take me a day or two to recover from what I expect to be fun, beautiful, cathartic and AMAZING!

 Winter is the perfect time to snuggle in with some entertainment.  Even though I haven't been reading much lately, I have managed to binge some good shows and catch a few new films.  What are your thoughts on my hot takes? I saw "Wicked" the week it came out and I was in love!  Being a lover of the novel from way back, I was intrigued to see how this was adapted from the book to stage to theater and all of it is wonderful!  The songs are lovely and fun and even though the film is long, I never wanted it to end.   I caught "The Greatest Showman" at home on a streaming service and loved it too.  Just like Wicked, the songs and overarching story guide a principle of love and acceptance and in the creation of a world inhabited by creativity and brilliance.  And there's Zendaya!   I wish I could say I loved "Juror #2" but I just didn't.  The cast was wonderful, but the story felt plodding and ham-fisted.  And was I the only on...