SPOOKY SPOOKY

Here's a Halloweeny mega mix of only the best of the best Halloween ghoulish grooves (in my personal opinion).  Enjoy!

ERMAHGERD! 60's FRENCH POP MUSIC

Anyone that's seen Moonrise Kingdom can appreciate the charm and appeal of 60's French pop music.  I've known that I've been enamored with this type of music for a while now, but it wasn't until very recently that I felt the need to share this admiration with the world here on If I Haver.  I was in my friend Hannah's car the other night and she was all, "Do you like 60's French pop?!" while popping in a France Gall CD.  At that very moment I realized that, "Yes. YES I DO!!!"  This week's ERMAHGERD! is dedicated to the wonderful, the somewhat confusing (because of the language barrier.. despite my high school French knowledge) genre of 60's French pop music.

The first 60's French pop song that I fell for was "Laisse Tomber Les Filles" performed by Miss France Gall.  Here she is looking both sweet and sassy.. a difficult combination to achieve.

Haven't heard "Laisse Tomber Les Filles"?!  Give it a listen!  You won't regret it.

You Moonrise Kingdom fans will know this one.  I love this song so much.  Also, how awesome is this mock title sequence by Devon Hosford?!

Moonrise Kingdom Mock Title Sequences from Devon Hosford on Vimeo.

I just recently heard about Tiny Yong, a Cambodian-born singer that moved to France as a teenager and took over the French pop charts.  Who couldn't love a singer named Tiny?!  It's just so cute!

Also...

Oh, and..

Until next week.. Où est ma salade?!

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR

In honor of Tuesday, the least talked about day of the week - besides Thursday, of course..poor Thursday - I have compiled a collection of some of my favorite music videos of all time.  Enjoy!

"Sledgehammer" - Peter Gabriel

I can recall watching this video as a kid on VH1 and being completely enthralled in every second of it.  I'm in love with the song/Peter's hair/that fruit face/the dancing chickens/the claymation... Ah!  All so good.

"Take On Me" - A-Ha

A girl ventures into a comic strip and falls in love with a hot illustrated man who comes to life in the real world.  The guy is totally 80's hot, of course - complete with teased hair, a leather jacket and a glistening layer of rocker sweat.  Need I say more?

"Once In A Lifetime" - Talking Heads

I love this video so freaking much.  I love this song so freaking much.  I love that it looks so lo-tech now and was so hi-tech when it first came out.  Such a great time capsule of music video technology!    

"Virtual Insanity" - Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai's hat!  His moves!  But how does he do glide like that?  This man is magic. 

"Buddy Holly" - Weezer

This video will forever be associated in my mind with my family's first real computer.  Our Gateway 2000 arrived one afternoon in a cow print box and within an hour of unboxing and setting it up, I was watching this very music video.  The computer came with a Microsoft Window's 95 CD-ROM (yes, I called it a CD-ROM.. throwback!) chock-full of videos and games including the "Buddy Holly" music video.  I watched it on repeat.  Like, all night long.  Seriously.  I was already a "Happy Days" fan thanks to Nick at Nite, but this video increased my love for the show tenfold.  My 9 year old mind was convinced that Weezer had actually been on an episode of "Happy Days" that I had somehow missed.  This video brings me back to the good ol' days of slow computer processors and dial-up signals and chatrooms.  Sigh.... memories.

"Praise You" - Fatboy Slim

Created in the days before Improv Everywhere and YouTube, this video is the original guerrilla-style crowd reaction experiment.  The video was directed by Spike Jonze and created for a menial 800 bucks.  It won three major awards at the 1999 MTV Music Video Awards and I still dream to this day about somehow being in the Torrance Community Dace Group.

"Last Leaf" - Ok Go

This video is SO beautiful!  Plus, I love toast.  Directed by one of my favorite artists today, Geoff McFetridge, the video is stunning and moving and probably took forever and ever to make.  Each frame is an individual piece of toast that was, well, toasted and then drawn on with a laser.  A LASER!  Come on!  That's impressive.  

Ermahgerd!  There are so many more.  Man, I love creative and talented people!  

ELVIS WEEK

I spent the week of August 13th in Memphis, Tennessee soaking up Elvis Week 2012.  Elvis week is held every August in memory of the passing of the King of Rock 'n' Roll himself.  This year commemorated 35 years since his passing and, I can tell you from first hand experience, the fanbase has not dwindled.  Thousands of Elvis fans walked the streets of Elvis Presley Blvd. to show their dedication.

I've always liked Elvis' music, but I didn't know much about his history until recently.  What an amazing man.  Pure talent and determination.  He recorded his first hit at Sun Studio in the early 50's after a year of trying to get the attendion of Sam Phillips (the studio's founder).  A lot of people would have given up after a week, but Elvis stuck it out.  Thank goodness he did!  He opened the door for the music that exists today.

There's something really weird and wonderful about conventions.  You go from being one of the few people (if not the only person) in your social network that has some particular interest to being completely surrounded by a group of people that all share that interest.  What normally sets you apart from you usual pack becomes your main focus for a dedicated amount of time.  It honestly kind of intense.  What you may have been secretly really interested in comes into the light and is exposed for all to see.  

When I got to Memphis, I knew what I was coming into.. kind of.  I knew there'd be Elvis music, lots of sideburns, and maybe even a few tears.. but the week definitely surpassed my expectations. I got to visit Tupelo, Mississippi - the birthplace of Elvis.  We drove the same route that Elvis and his parent took to Memphis when Elvis was 13 years old.  We stopped in Holly Springs, Mississippi to visit Graceland Too (which is too wonderful for this already long blog post, so I'll be posting about it later).  We visited Beale Street where the blues started.  We stepped into the recording room of Sun Studio where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins all got their start and where countless famous musicians have gone to soak up just a little of the magic.  I put my head on the very spot where Elvis recorded "That's All Right (Mama)" back in 1954.  I felt the energy in the room.  I got chills.  I was inspired.  We met James Burton, Elvis' guirtarist and heard Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley talk about Elvis.  I heard a great episode of This American Life about conventions.  Definitely worth checking out and if you're ever near Memphis, Tennessee in August or January (to celebrate his birthday) or really any day of the year, be sure to stop in.  Visit Graceland.  Shake your hips.  You'll feel the spirit of the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

11.12.11 // it's picture day, people

So, I'm in a band. With my neighbor. Her name's Jamie. She lives in a trailer too at the art collective where I currently reside. She's going to be a famous author someday very, very soon. Our band is called Picture Day and we're all about smearing positivity all over the face of this sometimes sad world. Here's one of our first video releases. Be sure to watch out for us, because we're kind of a big deal.

february 18, 2011 // recording studio

I recently bought an old tape recorder at Goodwill for my "Neck Ache of the Month" project for February. I'm going to be taping a few songs that I wrote in Montana on cassette - Daniel Johnston style. I was able to find The Devil and Daniel Johnston online.. which was amazing. I learned so much more about Daniel's life and music. I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in his story.

So excited about this project! ...Just not sure if anyone will have a tape player to play my "album" on!

january 21, 2011 // sounds like a cat in heat..

In an effort to tap into my musical side (whether or not such a thing exists in me is questionable..you'll understand why after watching the video below), I purchased a ukulele a few months ago.

The night of my frightening drive to Jackson Hole, WY, I stayed over in a fabulously plush, newly renovated Motel 6 (seriously.. it was SO NICE). I wasn't tired after checking in.. probably the fault of the excessive amount of adrenaline that had pumped into my system during the drive.. so, I decided to do what any reasonable 25 year old would have done in my situation. I turned off the television, fixed my hair and made a music video in my hotel bathroom.

Now, I'm not promising much from this video. In fact, I won't be the least bit offended if you stop it 3.2 seconds in, close your laptop and then proceed to throw it across the room in a violent fit of rage.. In fact, I'd expect such a response. I wanted to put the video up here as a challenge to myself. I'll be the first to admit that I don't have the voice of Josh Groban (which is probably a good thing because then I'd sing like one handsome devil of a man).. but I wanted to try to put myself out there musically. Hey, not all heartfelt singers have great voices, right?? (Think about Daniel Johnston!)

So, without further adieu.. my musical debut!