All Hallow’s Eve 27 October 2008

I’m still contemplating what I’m going to be for Halloween. A zombie prom queen? A serial killer victim? Tippi Hedren? Not quite sure yet. In the meantime, to help me sort out the pros and cons of each costume, here’s some of my favorite Halloween music to get us both in the mood.

For the Slytherin in all of us.

Draco & the Malfoys. Party Like You’re Evil.

The clip that defined Halloween for me as a child. And scared the socks off me.

Alvin & the Chipmunks (and the Chipettes) cover a cult classic.

The infamous “Torgo’s Theme” as heard in the classic B-movie Manos: The Hands of Fate. Try not to go insane.

Frankenstein and Monster get their Astaire on.

Favorite mash-up video! The Count sings his song. And Lemon Demon makes some minor edits.

vote for — eeeeyy! 23 October 2008

Ron Howard and friends reclaim some old characters to put in their support for Barack Obama. Hilarity. Fun for both my Arrested Development and Mystery Science Theater 3000 fandoms. Via Cable & Tweed.

Ron Howard on Funny Or Die.

Hello world! 20 October 2008

I’m Taylor, the second and arguably lazier half of the mygirlfriendsjeans team. Now that a little over a month has past since the inception of this blog, the hipster in me feels confident that now is the time to present a fashionably late introduction.

Seeing as intro’s are boring and you don’t want to hear my life story, I will simply present you this list of my favorite things. Judge away!

I love…

Harry Potter, particularly Remus Lupin

The Office, particularly Jim Halpert

Jump, Little Children, particularly Evan Bivins

House M.D., particularly Dr. Wilson

Wizard Rock, particularly The Mudbloods

Brotherhood 2.0, particularly John Green

Books, particularly non-fiction ones about disasters

Arrest Development, particularly season 2

Hockey, particularly the South Carolina Stingrays

Wine, particularly Reisling

Hoodies, particularly ones with zippers

Words, particularly feign

Van Gogh, particularly A Cafe Terrace at Night

Unusual music genres, particularly chamber pop

Philosophy, particularly when applied to pop culture

I am sure there are more, but I wouldn’t want to give it all away. It would spoil the surprise.

Uh… Ringo? Life Crisis much? 17 October 2008

This is kinda old now, but Ringo Starr will no longer accept fan mail after the 20th of October. He says he’s too busy to bother with it, and anything postmarked after that date will be tossed. Anyone else think this is the dumbest ploy ever? I mean, please, you’re a Beatle. I would hope that 40 years later you could accept that people love and adore you, and fan mail comes with the territory. This is what secretaries and fan clubs are for – to send out those form letters and signed photos. This is Celebrity 101, Ringo!

But the news story made me think of the Simpsons flashback episode when sometime back in the 70s Marge paints a picture of Ringo (her favorite Beatle) and sends it to him. Ringo, now past his personal troubles with addiction, sets out to answer every piece of fan mail he’s ever received. He sees the painting from Marge, says, “GEAR!” (a stereotypical Beatles phrase) and writes her back warmly. I think he meets her in the end (?); I don’t remember.

Anyway, that’s the image of Ringo I like to think of. The Simpsons’ version that actually answers his darn fan mail.

Walk It Out 15 October 2008

Thank you, OliveArgyle!! This is genius. I love well-done mash-up videos. Remind me to post my absolute fave around Halloween.

Behind the Music 11 October 2008

I took some CDs to work today to play overhead and *hopefully* get some sales from it. It’s worked before. But I was looking at the selections I picked and thought of the stories behind why I got them and where. And I thought it was interesting. So I randomly grabbed a few more to round it out and decided I’d share a little.

George Harrison All Things Must Pass – One of my favorite albums of all time. This was purchased in the winter time at a little chain music store in Indiana. I remember it was during my full-fledged OBSESSED phase in the Beatles, and being the George Girl I am, this was a necessity for my then tiny and novitious collection. I do have a distinct memory of popping it into my Discman and being floored by “I’d Have You Anytime” as I read the liner notes and realized the song had been co-written with Bob Dylan. (Incidentally, this is an album I do not currently own on vinyl and would love to. If you find a decent copy for under $25, please let me know.)

Imogen Heap i Megaphone - The first solo album of the other half of Frou Frou. Of friend of mine played bass with her for a tour two years ago, and I was able to see him with Imogen in Chicago. It was a fabulous show – she even had sore throat and you never would have known it! – and sometime during her set she sang “Come Here Boy,” an absolutely beautiful and perfect song of lovesickness. At the time it seemed to perfectly encompass the feelings I had for a certain someone. The next day I ran to the Virgin Megastore on Michigan Avenue and purchased the album. The rest of the album was no disappointment. That song remains in my Top 20.

The White Stripes White Blood Cells – Their break-through album (though Elephant and De Stijl are, in my opinion, equally as good). I decided to get this one on a school trip to New York City at their Virgin Megastore. Back then I always had to get new music when I traveled. The only prompting I had to get it was that the White Stripes were EVERYWHERE – all the music magazines were red, white, and black and declaring the new resurgence of blues-based garage rock. “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” became a song I would play on my guitar at lunchtime to impress the theater kids, and the album was added to my soundtrack of high school.

Jump, Little Children Magazine - The one I picked off my shelf is actually my second copy, the EZ Chief pressing and not the original Atlantic Records pressing. It’s a wonderfully fun album, and being the huge J,LC fan I am I just had to add the indie label pressing to my collection. This one was purchased at a Jay Clifford show in Charlotte last year (I was working merch with Taylor). The only difference in the two is the liner notes, with the new version adding a few more names and readjusting the order. Yes, I am a dork.

The Pierces Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge – I think I read a short review of this album in either Paste or Magnet and based off the cover decided I would like it. Schoolkids Records in Athens, GA (one of my fave places) didn’t have it so I had it special ordered and it took nearly two weeks. My first impression was that the band was made up of one of the girls from Ladytron and the lead singer of Black Box Recorder. Then I found out it was actually two sisters from Alabama. Oops. Here it is a year and a half since then, and now the Chain Name Bookstore I work at currently has five copies of it in their browser racks and a promo copy they play in-store. It makes me laugh.

Beatles Anthology 2 10 October 2008

You know what I find funny? I still have pretty much all of the Beatles’ Anthology 2 memorized.

It was a gift from my mom to my dad years ago when it first came out. I remember going to Tower Records and seeing the cardboard display for it. I also remember not remembering the name of the group. Blasphemy. A few short years later I became OBSESSED with the Beatles and quickly gobbled up anything Beatles-related my parents owned, which included Anthology 2. I listened to it quite a bit until I eventually owned all 13 UK-released albums by the Beatles and Past Masters volumes 1 & 2 (and more covers of “Across the Universe” than anyone should own). I haven’t listened to Anthology 2 in years, but took it out this afternoon for some fun. It’s outtakes and live performances of Beatles songs from the 1965-67 era, and I still remember the giggles, the odd remarks, the coughs… it’s weird. Like how some people only remember the music from Mary Poppins as heard from their old scracthy vinyl that popped a few times in “A Spoonful of Sugar.”

Anyway… fun times.

album reviews: ladies of rock 2 October 2008

This post has really been a work-in-progress for about a month. I have no excuse other than my Liz Durrett CD took three weeks to arrive (still haven’t figured out why it took a detour to Jersey City) and I wanted to do a post of album reviews of three female artists. So I held out until now.

Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer? - I’ve been anxiously awaiting this album for months. And I am pleased to say I was not disappointed. Ben Folds produced this solo effort from the lead singer (and songwriter) of the Dresden Dolls, and he added an extra punch without losing the rawness of Ms. Palmer. Amanda Palmer is amazing to me because she’s writes some fantastic “angry” songs that are perfect for blasting in your car and singing along with until your voice gives out when you’re in a bad mood, and yet she seems like a fairly well-adjusted person who knows how to channel her emotions into her art to make it great. “Runs In the Family”, the single, has the staccato and heat of “Girl Anachronism” from the Dolls’ debut album. Add in some string arrangements, and this song about family illnesses (interpret that as you will) can make you cry. “Leeds United” is another superb track that I love simply for the lines, “But who needs love when there’s Law & Order?/And who needs love when there’s Southern Comfort?” followed by some signature pounding Amanda Palmer piano. Plus it has a Ben Folds-like horn arrangement that adds a perfect touch. I admit I wasn’t so sure if a release from Amanda so soon after the Dolls’ No, Virginia… album would be up to par, but I was dead wrong. This is definitely in my top ten albums of the year.

Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue - I tend to listen to music during my commute. That used to be in my car, and now it’s on the train. It makes for a good barometer about whether something is good on whether it grabs or not on said commute. And I have to say that Jenny Lewis’ latest doesn’t grab me like her first effort with the Watson Twins. She continues with the country gospel-tinted songs and arrangements, especially with the obvious “The Next Messiah” (*cough*Obama much?*cough*), but it’s missing something without the ethereal Watson Twins adding some vocal support. The title track does make up for it, though. It captures the old sound well. The song “Carpetbaggers” automatically gains 10 Cool Points for Elvis Costello involvement. “Jack Killed Mom” kinda reminds me of some late-sixties/early-seventies band’s anthem they would end up playing during encores for years to come. (I can see a bunch of skinny guys in denim and beards on stage at Madison Square Garden.) Overall the album is fine, and for a sophomore effort not as bad as it could have been, but it could also have been a little better. To continue the “punch” method, it’s just missing the little extra punch of the Watson Twins (or comparable group/artist). Gotta say, though, I still love the girl.

Liz Durrett – Outside Our Gates – Liz Durrett is Athens, Georgia rock royalty. Her uncle is Vic Chesnutt and she sounds like (and I’m being music journalist cliche here saying this) a combo of Beth Orton and Chan Marshall. I’ve adored her tweeness for years. (Should we make that a title? And address her as Your Tweeness now?) This latest album surprised me in a good way. There’s more production to add to Liz’s soft voice and usually soft arrangements. The first track that grabbed me was when I heard a sample of “We Build Bridges.” My friend Amanda Kapousouz (a.k.a. Tin Cup Prophette) added violin accompaniment, and I love strings. (And accordions, for that matter.) “Always Signs” is an awesome little taste of Southern gothic, a genre I love in both literature and music. Past Liz Durrett releases have sounded very soft and simple, and Outside Our Gates sounds like she’s exploring and growing a little more. This isn’t necessarily music I would listen to to help me relax and possibly fall asleep. She’s got more going on in the songs and arrangements to keep you interested. Having lived in Athens and partaken of the scene, she’s got definite Athens influences I can’t pin-point, but I can hear/feel the influences of a few other fellow Athens bands like Hope for Agoldensummer. For me, it’s a welcome taste of home.