Don't Say A Prayer For Me Now, Save It 'Til The Morning After (The Concert), or Tra La La Am Going To See Duran Duran, by Allison

So happy whee yay, I am soon traveling to visit my awesome college friend CC and have fun girl fun, and also see Duran Duran in concert! 

Whee yay does not even cover it.

Duran Duran may be the root source of my British, Floppy Hair, Musician (Shut up, John Taylor plays bass, and he used to play guitar in the band before that and I bet you didn't know that because you are not as mental as me, but he is musician) thing.

 I was an early and fervent advocate of Duran Duran, thanks to the wonderful invention called MTV (Note: youngsters, this was when MTV played music videos, which is when a band makes a video involving the song they are singing, I know that sounds outrageous since MTV now features pregnant toddlers and Oompa Loompa type hair gel fetishists, but is true. You could see the band, and hear the song, uphill, in the snow.)

And even before my parents let us get MTV on our home TV, my neighbor had it, and she was my new best friend.

Have you seen the video for Rio?
 British!
Floppy Hair!
Awesomeness!
I was sold, officially became lunatic. (And Note: There may be some (lying) people who claim (falsely) that they were biggest fans of Duran Duran back in the day, but let it be known: They are big lying liars who LIE. It was ME.)

I was off the charts crazypants.

Every song, album, remixes of them sold only in UK, whatever I could get my hands on, I owned and made shrine.

Every magazine written about them I bought.
Even ones in languages I could not speak (Hello, there were still pictures of them including JOHN TAYLOR, I was cool with that) and a very awesome music store in my town would order me all this nonsense, so I had Japanese Duran Duran magazines along with every Tiger Beat and any other source of information on Duran Duran ever.

And since subtlety is not my specialty, and it certainly was not when I was in middle school, I was self-proclaimed Duran Duran Is Awesome They Are British And Have Good Hair And Play Music public relations and promotions person.

Leading those who were uninformed as to What Is Awesome to see the light, and I was pretty dedicated to this pretend and random job I had assigned myself (Note: this is still one of my pretend jobs, along with Boss of Everyone, Enchantress, and Queen), and had all those magazines as proof, and would harangue every person I felt needed to be converted until they gave up and agreed Duran Duran Was Awesome Yay About The Hair and All.

My friend LH held out a long time, she was reluctant to become crazy fan, but I eventually wore her down, and she to this day loves Duran Duran, and who does she have to thank for that? Me, that's who. She knows this is true as I remind her a lot, since I have not matured emotionally since seventh grade.

Along with leading others down the primrose path of AWESOME, I also had to stand my ground, similar to duel at dawn, if  I ran up against someone who was all, "No, Allison, I am their biggest fan."

Not a good idea, Misinformed Person, it was going to be very painful for you, as I was both Totally Mental Fan and Totally Obnoxious And Long-Winded Allison, so good luck with that.

I was complete brat about it, like, "Oh, you like Duran Duran? You are their biggest fan? Huh. Well, do you know the bar in which John Taylor, who by the way is tall and has floppy hair and is British, was working the door when he formed the band? Do you know what kind of toothpaste they like? Did you know Andy Taylor got sick from drinking water that an elephant peed in while filming "Hungry Like the Wolf" video in Sri Lanka? What song hit the Top 20 in the UK first? Do you know the answer to that? Want to debate this some more? Because I am just getting started with the crazy, I've got about 2 more hours of this to throw at you unless you agree Allison Wins Is Biggest Fan She Gets Prize And Maybe Will Marry John Taylor."

 And like many other situations since, most people give up, run away, or nod their heads so I will stop.



As Biggest Fan Ever Have You Seen Them???? I ordered the videotape of several of their music videos that had been released overseas, and when that tape popped into our ginormous VCR that I am not kidding had wood panels like a surfer's car, and the Girls On Film one came up, I was all, huh.

Why is she riding a mechanical bull?
Why are there feathers?
Are those ladies mud wrestling? (By the way, I have not seen that video in a majillion years, it was quickly confiscated, but I am pretty sure that's what I saw)

There Is Something Dangerous About The Boredom Of Teenage Girls, or, I am Total Fangirl for Megan Abbott, by Allison

So I just finished Dare Me, the newest book out by Megan Abbott. I already am a huge fan of her writing, her ability to pull you into the lives and thoughts of the characters in her books and put a noir-ish, moody, palpable perspective on the steaming, pulsing, vivid stories they have to tell. Dare Me centers around a competitive cheer squad in a suburban high school, but it could be any sport, or cutthroat debate team, or activity in which the students derive their identities and reason for existing from the sport or team. The twisty and unexpected relationship between Addy, the protagonist, and her Alpha best friend Beth, to whom she has always served as Lieutenant in cheer squad and in life, is turned upend when a new, strict, complicated Coach arrives. What follows is fascinating, gripping, textured. I got more out of the interplay and complexities of the relationships than the insight into competitive cheering, but I definitely loved being along for the ride.


And the other book by Megan Abbott that I have read recently, while different in tone and structure, is also fantastic. The End of  Everything, centers around young teenager Lizzie and her best friend Evie. When Evie is seen being driven off in a strange car, the saga and intrigue of the missing girl heightens and Lizzie becomes an amateur detective, trying to understand what happened, but more importantly, why. Why did Evie get in that car? In compellingly descriptive prose, Abbott weaves a tale of intrigue, twisting in hints of secrets kept, how love can be expressed in ways that are beautiful and in ways that are horrifying, and how teenage girls and their crash course into growing up can alter them as well as those around them in dangerous ways.
     
     

Both of these books have endings that are haunting, jolting, brilliant. Loved them. Do read.

Quiet, Lyrical Song Turning Thrashy Awesome Whee Yay, A Silent Film, by Allison

So this song by A Silent Film is one of those start off slow and lovely and lyrical then turn fun thrashy awesome dance yay. Have been having fun working it into the car dance rotation as well as dance-offs with M the six year old stylist and overall love it, gets gold star.

Also like the story-song type of song, unless it is a story-song in a sad country music song in which a lot of dying or living like you were dying or such is happening (Note: I cannot process George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today." That song kills me, flat out crying every time I hear it, starting from age 7 or whatever.)

So this song from A Silent Film is not a story-durge, is lovely and fun and whee yay.

Danny, Dakota and the Wishing Well!

First is official music video, in which you can feel the quiet ramp up into the awesome. I also included an acoustic version with just a piano and the drummer thwacking sticks on his leg, it is totally different vibe but I also love that one too.

So You Think You Can Read?, or How Intimidatingly Smart Book Club Can Result In Awesome Friends And Also Giant Vampire Cardboard Figure As Free Gift With Purchase, by Allison

So last night, after collecting of some of my children from Camp of Happiest Campers and Counselors Who Smile and Wave With Enthusiasm But Are Not Robots I Checked, Matt and I got to go hang out with my friends MS and HH, and their very cool and awesome husbands JS and DH.

I met MS an HH when, shortly after moving to our town when Matt finished his residency, I had V, stopped working, and moved in like 3 seconds,  so major life changes all at one time, and I was invited by someone I'd just met to join one of her book clubs. She was in something crazy like 7 book clubs, I am not lying. I read A LOT, but that was unsettling. And she gave me choices, I can't remember them all, but it boiled down to: Fun Book Club That Does Not Read Book or Super Smart Book Club You Better Read Book.


Timidly, I chose Smart Book Club, because I was new mother who had never not worked outside the home and now have tiny baby to deal with, and so was totally afraid Baby Einstein would eat my brain and make me only talk about diapers in an Elmo voice. But with that description of Smart, You Better Bring It Book Club, I was terrified of the first meeting.

The book was The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, and I read that book like it was for a final exam that if I failed I would get shot or something. I did CHARTS. I was crazy person. I go to book club, and sit next to two very awesome, cool, fab women, who were all "Yes, we are super educated educators but this book was boring so we stopped." And I am all, "OH, Nuh uh. I read this thing. Sit and listen to my chart. Plus, if you didn't finish it you don't know who the Blind Assassin is, and I will tell you." (Note: Am normally Margaret Atwood fan, love The Handmaid's Tale, but Blind Assassin is not at the top of my list of  Allison Approved Books. In fact it is hovering in the lower part of that list.) (Addendum: I just decided The Blind Assassin is not on my list at all. Is on other list, a BAD one)


So memorizing book and creating props and whatnot was accidentally a genius move on my part. Because my extreme reading and analysis of the book, totally due to being awake a lot with a baby and also sheer TERROR of being booted out of a book club for not being smart enough,  somehow tricked these fantastic people into thinking I was like that all the time, like,with a functioning mental capacity and was all, Serious Literature All The Time.  No! Of course no US Weekly by my bedstand, noooo, am reading some James Joyce for fun.

Summer Old-School House Party Beach Week Untethered Joy Music, by Allison and M the six year old stylist

So this has been a favorite dancy, super-summery, carefree, zap me back in time song on my list of Seal of Approval Songs, determined by me and M the six year old stylist.  And has been in my head a ton in the past week, hearing it makes me think of beach weeks in high school and college with ten majillion of us crammed into one house or car, and old-school house parties in general.

So Approved songs get video review by me and M, and yay! Not only house party song, with surprise random 1980's aerobics in there (which TOTALLY gives me new flash mob idea), but summery, feeling like a kid, happy, dancing, joyous vibe that makes me all whee! yay!  thinking of my older girls at camp right now, I bet they are feeling that untethered, bubbling up happiness, yay happy whee.  Walk the Moon-

This Is Ridiculous, or Welcome To The Reign of M, The Six Year Old Stylist, by Allison

So in case you are wondering who has recently become Queen of the Universe (Note: no, it is not me, although I have tried that like a majillion times, it has not worked yet, am still trying though and welcome any suggestions), that would be my daughter M, the six year old stylist.

She has been having a week home with me, her sisters E and V are away at summer camp, and for a minute I was worried she would not have fun this week and be sad and miss them. That she would be bored being dragged to gym and Starbucks and several Girl Scout planning meetings and all the other very exciting things I do.

Ha.

I forget who I am dealing with, M the six year old stylist is force of nature.


She commandeered V's new tween bedroom, has total fun at the gym organizing all of the other kids into her choice of game or fort building or whatever else she wants to do (and every time I go pick her up all the kids shout out "Bye, M! We'll miss you!" ), lots of car dancing going on and ALL her favorite songs are magically appearing whenever we are in car (Note: this may be in part due to the fact that she likes the same music I like and I am playing stations I like in the car, but the specific most favoritest songs keep popping up, which is totally M's voodoo magic)

Plus, she has suggested and succeeded in conducting activities involving shopping and selecting new dresses for both of us (she is stylist, after all, and dress shop people were amused and then shocked at her skill level and how seriously she takes her job of six year old stylist), dressing us up and getting Matt to take us out for fancy dinner (she made him dress up too), smoothie acquisition, and a whole lot of applying makeup on me and fixing my hair in various ways.

(Photo of M's activities, invitations, and recent acquisitions during her Best Week Ever)

Happy Car Dancing and Gym and Super Awesome Fun Music, Musicians and Videos Approved by Allison and M the six year old stylist

So car ride to gym this morning with M the six year old stylist was most excellent car dancing fiesta, she is fantastic car dancing buddy and we agree on songs that require you to stay in car and continue dancing even when you get to wherever you are going.  And today one of our all-time Mommy and M car dance songs was on, Young The Giant's "My Body." That song is awesome, and we've had it on our Dance Party List long enough now that we've got a whole thing choreographed for it. Plus, M is huge fan of the band's drummer, even though I very specifically point out the taller, darker haired guy with guitar who is awesome and possibly broody, she likes the drummer, which is probably why Matt is getting her a drum set for her birthday, so she will not need to seek out drummers. (Note: She is six, and not aspiring groupie, she is aspiring Queen of Huge Kingdom and Editor of Vogue, but music education is important for children, that is officially true)

Anyway, loong lead up to us at gym, dancing to great song, and I made calculated and dumb decision to continue the car dancing, thereby making me late for boot camp class with very scary and strict but great but still scary trainer. Mid-dance, I tell M I am probably going to get in trouble and have to do something awful for being late, and she wisely advises me to think of the song when doing the awful thing, great advice because I did have to run 5 laps and do pushups and that song was a fantastic song to have in mind, so divine intervention? I say Yes.

(The answer is No, the answer is really "Allison turn the car off and go in and stop car dancing and you will not be late and will not have to do extra laps and pushups," but I cannot abide by that answer because M and I were having fun, and it IS good song to run to, so I change my mind and the answer is Yes again.)

Anyway: Young The Giant, "My Body," Seal of Approval by Allison and M the six year old stylist:

First is official video which is great, and Second is them live at Bonnaroo this year, and I would like to request someone with time machine come by so I can go back in time for this year's Bonnaroo because it looks awesome, also the band sounds great live with this song and also I love live music and also there is crowd surfing!
 (Note: I do not count it as full-on crowd surfing because security assisted, so does not totally count, and while lodging complaints not enough of the guitarist who is tall and awesome, in case official complaints are being filed, otherwise, is great and yay!)