Friday, April 16, 2010

Oh My Blog Award

I have been proudly displaying the "Oh My Blog Award" picture on the side of my blog, without actually having written the blog entry. It was passed along to me by my friend Una, and as it was just her 30th birthday, I thought I'd finally get around to fulfilling her kind gesture.

The options for executing this Blog Award are as follows:
1 - Take a photo of yourself first thing in the morning
2 - Blog while exceedingly drunk for 15 minutes
3 - Write about your most embarrassing moment. Or at least one of them
4 - Make a vlog a.k.a. a video blog
5 - Share the soundtrack of your childhood
Ok...
1 - Not a chance, buck-o
2 - My mother reads this blog, so I'm trying to keep some dignity
3 - I'd have to be drunk, and also, dignity
4 - I think the awkwardness of attempting this would lead to an epic Fail
5 - works for me

However, Una, I have no idea what a cooking soundtrack would entail... songs about food? Music I listen to while cooking? Too random. I'll stick with convention and follow childhood.

On of my first memories when I think of music in my childhood involves my older brother. My 6'4", four years older than me brother. You can imagine that no games or physical sports were in any way fair when played between us. However, we used to play ping pong in our basement, and at the start of the game, he would put on a random tape of 80's hair band music, and being a good sport, offered me between 3 and 5 extra points if I could name the band before the singing started.
I never got my extra points.
Somehow as a child I could not tell the difference between Guns 'n' Roses and Aerosmith, or Cinderella and Quiet Riot. I just couldn't. Luckily, my "ear" has improved with age.
A veeeeeery early childhood memory (caught on film) is my love of the song "Gloria" by Laura Branigan. I could not get enough of it. My parents even filmed me once, dancing along (read, jumping up and down) to the entire song, in full pigtail regalia. Except for about 2 seconds in the middle wherein I stopped to breathe, and then started jumping again.
For nostalgia's sake, I still sing it at karaoke on occasion.

Another  memory was roller skating in the cellar (had a cement floor, so perfect) to a cassette of some top hits of the 1960's... I remember Leader of the Pack (actually hated that song), Runaway, Kansas City, and possibly other songs like Shoop Shoop Song, Chapel of Love, Pretty Woman, Baby Love, My Guy, etc... All I really remember of the tape was that it had a jukebox on the cover, with a black background.
Next, and this can count as part embarrassment, was my obsession with The Phantom of the Opera. I was madly in love with Michael Crawford (and refused to see the show again after he left the lead) and desperately wanted to be Christine Daae and walk through the mirror on the back of my bedroom door and be swept away by the hideously misshapen and misunderstood phantom. And for me, the sweeping music score was just so fantastic. In all seriousness, I wore out two different cassette tape sets of the soundtrack, I listened to it so often.
Me <---- Nerd.
Aside: I actually do not like 90% of musical theater. That whole move of suddenly facing the audience and singing instead of just speaking has always irked me, and possibly the fact that so many musicals are cheesy or campy has secured my dislike.
A story told through music is one thing. People randomly breaking into song is another.
I mean, "Phantom" takes place in an opera house. Of COURSE they're going to be singing! It made SENSE!
Moving on to the first CD I ever owned, circa 1991. Right as I was hitting my "tween years" as they are now called, I discovered Pearl Jam, and was instantly in love. With both the music and the lead singer of course. (Do you know how complicated it is to be in love with The Phantom AND Eddie Vedder at the same time? Seriously.) I still think this is an incredible album, and I'm surprised I didn't wear out the cd since it was the first I owned, and therefore was on repeat a lot. And it breaks my heart to see how Eddie Vedder aged. Boo-urns.
My very first Tori Amos album, and yes, it "changed my life" listening to her voice and her lyrics. I loved her avidly. And I still think she is a gorgeous and talented woman. Sadly I think she went a little too far into La La Land in the last decade. Right around "To Venus And Back" her lyrics started making zero sense to anyone but her. But, an undeniable talent. And beauty.
The CD that made my mother cringe in fear! Released in 1994, one year after my chemicals went kerfluey and my parents ceased to understand how to talk to me and I ceased to have a normal emotional life. (Definitely read chemicals here, not hormones. That came later.)
You could probably put this CD on now and I would know 99% of the lyrics still.
Which brings us to 1996, and Ani DiFranco. My brother actually got this CD for Christmas (he would be about a Junior at Wesleyan University at that time... and we all know Ani is REQUIRED listening, at some point or other, for all Liberal Arts College students.) and while he does not actually remember "giving me" the CD, it ended up in my possession. At which point, I was once again obsessed. (The way I remember it, he listened to it, thought it was so-so, and thought to pass it along to his 16-year-old sister full of teenage angst issues. Could there be a more perfect album in such a scenario? I think not.)
I then proceeded to buy every album I could, and still listen to her today.
Other than being an incredible musician, her outspokenness on politics and sexuality and basic human rights has always moved me... as well as when she giggles and just ends up being a girl.
Totally <3 heart <3 Ani DiFranco.

Since that does bring us into present day listening, I think I'll stop boring you right there. That's a pretty solid roundup of childhood music. Sure, I left out Madonna, but she's mainstream and ubiquitous, and while I have many, many, many excellent memories from the last 15 years involving the "Like a Prayer" song (Lin Manuel, if you're ever reading this, you're in at least two of them!) she was not as big of an influence on me as the others I mentioned.

Now, to pass this on to others who (hopefully) have not already received it a dozen times. Sassy only sent it on to 3 others, without explanations, so I shall do the same, hoping I am not leaving out any guidelines.
And I shall pass it along to people that I know actually read my blog from their frequent comments, thus not making this a moot post. (Corrie, get your blog going!)
Melissa at Think On It... you blogging outraged and drunk would be a hoot.
Candy at Warrior Candy since you are a rock star at heart, as well as in reality.
The chick at A Mainland Streel because OH MY GOD I just saw that you have a post about Beaker and I just shared a YouTube video of Beaker getting Rick Roll'd and I laughed out loud. So, obviously, you're cool and deserve an award.
Congratulations Winners! ;)
And enjoy your weekends.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Hooray! I actually created this award recently, in response to all the other awards--so I doubt anyone you named has received it yet. If you'd like to see the original post, which has the rules and such, you can see it here: OMB! origin . :)

I think the Childhood Soundtrack post is the best option, and I really enjoyed yours! I had a similar love for the song "Gloria", probably due to my repeated viewing of Flashdance as a child. Why my parents were letting me watch that movie is beyond me, especially now that I've seen it as an adult.

Joe Ambrosino said...

Yikes! It's shocking to me how old I am. My earliest musical memories are fighting with my two older sisters over radio time! They always wanted to listen to something called "The Make Believe Ball Room" which played Sinatra, Tony Bennett, etc. and I preferred the Lone Ranger. I think the first "record" I actually owned was a rock and roll song which we used to hear on an obscure Connecticut station you could barely hear on Saturday nights if the wind was right. BTW, I like your new format.

Melissa's Espresso Shot said...

Sorry I haven't gotten around to writing my Oh My Blog award post. I'll get to it later today I promise!!!

I don't get drunk much lately though so we'll have to see what option I end up going with.