New Release Tuesday

Some great new things this week!

1)  Kelly Clarkson has a new CD out - not her strongest effort im my opinion but a good album from Kelly is better than most others these day. The highlight for me is a bonus track on the iTunes Deluxe edition called "Why Don't You Try" that sounds like it was ripped from the Aretha Franklin songbook. Here's a live performance of it -

2)  She & Him is a guitar/vocal duo with a unique sound. The "She" is Zooey Deschanel, movie and TV star, and I really enjoy her voice. Their new CD is Christmas-themed and they cover many of the usual suspects. Here's "Blue Christmas" - 

3) I'm not a big Puccini fan, but I do enjoy the music from Tosca. Here's a great rendition of the aria E lucevan le stelle by Joseph Calleja - 

4) Jay Brannan is am indie singer/songwriter that really should be at the top of the charts. I love his new song, Greatest Hits, because when read on their own the lyrics are like a poem. I'm copying them underneath if you want to follow along. 

to bitter from sweet
like liquid to concrete
it's tough to digest
life rips through your chest
and just takes a heartbeat

you can't check your pain
aboard the shame train
and maybe i'm out of line
but if you show me yours
i'll sing you mine

[chorus:]
a punch in the gut
some black 'round the eye
there's red from my lips
and i'm asking god why
there's a bump on my head
and a hole in my heart
if there's one thing i've learned, it's
that these are my greatest hits

i don't sing for the rainbow
cuz i taste the rain
they spit "cheer up" and they scoff
i laugh "cheer down or fuck off"
then get roughed up against the grain

you may never be happy
and i still see your worth
someday we'll be less miserable
we'll dye our heads invisible
wrapped up in robes not of this earth
not of this earth
not of this earth
not of this earth

[chorus]

would you read a book if somebody took out all the good pages?
so we did some drugs, gave out some hugs, rattled a few cages
have you made mistakes, let off the brakes? confess uncleanliness
not to feel bad about but to embrace your humanness

[chorus]

Last but not least - THE ZOMBIES ARE COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My age on Mars is 21 and that's good enough for me

"Being this side of 40 feels like what I should have felt being this side of 25: in my body, in my heart, happy with my life, and OK with whatever bumps in the road present themselves." - Jennifer Aniston

"Bullshit, Rachel." - Michael Hall

Your age on other worlds

It's been almost 6 weeks since I turned 40 and I think I've finally wrapped my head around it. I tried to avoid the thought of it, as if that might keep it from being real, but having to also get a new driver's license last month really drove it home. Now the picture in my wallet matches what I look like today, for better or worse. However, for the first time in decades, the weight on the card is the truth and not my best guess or wishful thinking., so there's a plus.

I'm not sure if it bugs me to be 40 or if it bugs me to read what other people think of being 40. 

For example:

Let's face it, after 40 you're past it

Of course, this article is talking about writers, but if a writer (who isn't exactly a celebrity and doesn't have to be camera ready or even attractive) can't find success at age 40 or older, then who can? Luckily, I was not the only one to think of that - here's a great rebuttal:

41 Over 40

So if Alex Haley can hit it out out the ballpark with his first book Roots at the age of 56, I guess I have a few more good years ahead. And if I miss that deadline, don't forget Grandma Moses, who became the darling of the art world in her late 70's. Just one thing - please don't call me Grandpa Mickey, or I might throw my walker at you.

Not-So-Extreme Couponing

If you've seen the Extreme Couponing series on TLC, you probably wonder how realistic the actual shopping trips are - sometimes these couponers end up with hundreds of dollars of groceries for under $10, or even for free! In my experience, those kinds of savings are nearly impossible without a lot of time and energy devoted to gathering, clipping, and sorting many coupons, as well as hours of research and planning. 

However, with minimal effort and time spent, you can easily cut a shopping order in half. I get three papers each Sunday, so I have three sets of circulars at my disposal. I save these together by date - in fact, Maggie's sharp eyes have spotted the stacks in some kitty pictures I posted on Facebook. I also save any coupns that come my way in magazines or inside product packaging, just in case.

There are tons of coupon websites that do all the research for you and post the deals, listed by store, as items go on sale or new coupons are released. The ones I find most useful are:

Couponing 101 and The Krazy Coupon Lady for national chains

Giant Eagle Deals and Saving in Akron for more localized information

Of course, there are a million others that you may find are better for you and your needs and geographic area. 

I've gotten many commonly used items for free - cat food, toothpaste, shampoo/hair care items, even skin care and cosmetic products. There's about 20 bottles of body wash as well as many toothpastes and deodorants  floating around in various cupboards throughout the house. These are items that will get used eventually and do not expire for many years. Of course, lots of store shelves are empty by the time I show up, but I have enough success to make it worthwhile and keep it fun too.

I check the websites once a day - it takes maybe 5 minutes, if that - and gather any coupons that look worthwhile. I live within 2 miles of just about every store you can imagine, so it's easy to stop by and pick up the best deals. Here's what I went shopping for tonight:

2 toothbrushes - these really should be replaced fairly often

Coffee - my mom likes a cup every now and then

Cranberry juice - also for my mom

Toilet bowl cleaner - I wanted to try the new Scrubbing Bubbles One Step kit and I had a high-value coupon

An all-purpose seasoning - I like these for finishing a dish before serving or on salads and in canned soups for an extra kick

...and some Breathe Right strips - I don't need these but with coupons, the store will pay me to take them, so why not?

Here is what I brought home:

And here is the receipt for the transaction:

As you can see, the total dropped from $21.59 (pre-tax) to $9.09 (pre-tax) or $10.09 after tax. It's like I paid full price for the Scrubbing Bubbles kit and everything was free. I had three coupons for $1.50 off Breathe Right strips (10 pack or smaller), and was lucky enough to find sample packs for 97 cents each. Walmart is one of the few stores to allow overages, meaning they honor the full amount of the coupon regardless if the price paid for the item is less. In this case, they paid me $1.59 to take the strips home. 

Bonus saving - My debit card (from a free account, by the way) gives me 1% back every month on any signature-required purchase. In this case, that's 10 cents. Not much, but because I use it almost exclusively for every payment, it comes to $30-40 dollars each month. Every little bit helps!

So while it's not always a million dollars worth of groceries for 42 cents, there are ways to coupon in a casual manner and save a little money each time. Don't throw those circulars away - try it and see for yourself!

From The Kitchen Of ... Me!

Two standout recipes this week - yesterday I made Pork Chops Hongroise with herbed noodles and green beans, and today's dinner was Red Wine Crockpot Roast with mashed potatoes and corn.

The Pork Chops Hongroise was my favorite of the two - I highly recommend it if you like paprika (which I do)! I made it as instructed by the recipe, with one exception - I broiled the pork chops for a minute on each side at the end, for a little bit more color. The sauce was delicious but you may need to add more salt to taste.

The Red Wine Crockpot Roast was super easy, as usual for slow cooker recipes. I used a cheap red wine - there is never a need to use cooking wine, it's really just oversalted swill and is normally higher in price than a budget drinking wine, plus you have the leftovers for later. The sauce did not thicken up like a gravy, but more like au jus (as mentioned in the recipe) but it was very flavorful and went well with the mashed potatoes. I did add a bit more salt to this at the end, as the meat had soaked up the original amount added.

Scarf - what an odd word...

It's getting to be scarf weather, but sometimes they can be tiresome and simply in the way. I just love this fun and informative video that offers a lot of variations on the basic hang-it-around-your-neck option. 

New Release Tuesday - Sandi Patty Special

Finally, the Sandi Patty Broadway CD is out today - it's a fabulous collections of songs, with several original thematic medleys. Sandi is certainly in my top 10 favorite singers list and has been since the 1980s. Those of you that went to high school with me may recall that we did many of her songs in choir (along with Amy Grant's entire body of work, it seems) and I have remained a fan to this day. You'll Never Walk Alone is one of the songs from the new CD and it's a great arrangement.

Her voice remains a marvel and I have always admired her ability to bring classical vocals to a larger audience. Here's one of her early and biggest hits, We Shall Behold Him - the first performance was sung in 1983 and then another just last month.

Sandi has criss-crossed musical boundaries by changing her vocal style from a more classical style to a purer pop sound. From time to time, she will even go to an urban gospel sound which I particularly enjoy. Here are some examples:

And finally, her version of the Star-Spangled Banner is legendary and unrivalled. Here's a live performance of it from 1997.

What a career, and she's still going strong! Congratulations to one of the finest vocalists ever recorded!

Music Monday

Here's a 1990 flashback - a great album track ballad from Heart's Brigade CD. We listened to the album in its entirety this weekend and I have to say that most of the unreleased songs on it are far superior than the two hits, All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You and Stranded. Of course, Ann Wilson could sing the Yellow Pages and I would like it, so what do I know?     :-)

Do skinny people do all this?

There was an interesting article yesterday in USA Today about long-term weight loss.

 You can read it here.

The takeaway was that there are certain actions that help people who have lost weight keep that weight off. Quoting the end of the article, I've pasted the list of actions below. What I'm curious about is  - Do those of you that have never had a weight problem do all or some of these or is it just not necessary for you? If you do any of these, is it an automatic thing that you don't even thing about or a conscious decision?  Or perhaps, is this list only is applicable to those with a weight problem in the first place?

Track their food intake.

Count calorie or fat grams or use a commercial weight-loss program to track food intake.

Follow a low-calorie, low-fat diet. They take in about 1,800 calories a day and less than 30% of calories from fat.

Eat breakfast regularly.

Limit the amount they eat out. They dine out an average of three times a week and eat fast food less than once a week.

Eat similar foods regularly and don't splurge much on holidays and special occasions.

Walk about an hour a day or burn the same calories with other activities.

Watch fewer than 10 hours of TV a week.

Weigh themselves at least once a week

Sickness Wednesday

I'm feeling a little under the weather today , so I'm sharing a hysterical blog entry about when someone else was sick. It's really worth the time spent reading it, and the cartoons only add to the festivities.

Click here to read it

New Release Tuesday

Not a lot new that interested me this week, so instead I give you Carol Channing, first as silent film star Cecilia Sisson and then as Dolly Levi in the 1994 revival of Hello Dolly. A unique performer in every way!

Bonus Raspberries!!!

Discover this song for Columbus Day!

Tina goes country! I really like her version....

I also love this Glamourshot album cover, even if she doesn't look like the more recent versions of herself..

I believe the children are our future...

I love this kid! Learning to cook is one of the best things I ever did as a kid and is something that I continue to do as an adult. I still enjoy dining out, of course, but cooking at home is one of my favorite things. It's a life skill as important than balancing a checkbook or being punctual. 

My favorite recipes changes frequently - right now my household seems to be obsessed with rice pudding, so that's the next one I will be making. Does anyone have a recipe for it that they love? Please share if you do!

An Operatic Moment

I vividly remember watching this in 1993 on PBS. The whole performance is just wonderful, but if you are pressed for time or unsure if this kind of music is for you, at least jump ahead to the 6 minute mark and listen to the end. The ease and smoothness of the the coloratura, the sheer joy of her singing, and the way the penultimate note floats out of her mouth are great pleasures to behold. 

I was doing this same thing and didn't know it!

Personal Trainer Gains 60+ lbs to Show People How to Go From “Fat 2 Fit”

This doesn't seem like a good plan - what does it prove? Naturally fat people are not like naturally thin people, even when the fat person is thin and the thin person is fat. Boy, that sentence is confusing!

How wrong would it be to hope he can't lose it?

Not that I would do that ;-)

New Release Tuesday

1) The title track of the new Bangles CD - very low-fi and unpolished but I sorta love it. It's nice not to hear Autotune once in a while!

2) Mayer Hawthorne falls somewhere on the blue-eyed soul spectrum between Daryl Hall and Robin Thicke. This song from his new CD has a great Motown sound.

3) My favorite kind of Beatles song - a cover by someone else :-) Roberta Flack still sounds great after all these years.

4) No one can replace the late great Teena Marie, but Marsha Ambrosius (best known from the duo Floetry) is giving it her best shot. This song and her cd is not new but I've been listening to it a lot. I also love that she is not typically pretty (although I think she's beautiful) and also not a stick figure. The safe-sex message of the video rocks as well. 

Lifestyles of the poor and unknown

We Are The 99%

Tonight's entertainment

Jazzy Mariah Moments

I may not have mentioned it (HA!) but I have been a Mariah Carey fan from first hearing her debut song Vision of Love on the radio in summer of 1990. I actually drove directly to the record store (kids, ask your parents what that is) and tracked down the release date of the single. When it came out, I bought at least 10 copies of the cassingle (that is an obsolete word!) and gave one to anyone who came into range. So - it was no shock to me that she became and remains one of the biggest musical stars in the world. She is at or near the top of every poll and list of the best singers ever, due to her five-octave vocal range as well as the extraordinary command she has over it. She also has a unmistakable tonal quality that is often compared to velvet. 

Mariah works mainly in the pop and R & B genres, with forays into other genres from time to time. Here I've collected some songs from my favorite alternative category in which she performs, jazz. OK -Don't Play That Song is an Aretha Franklin cover, but in the cabaret setting I find it quasi-jazzy. I fully expect that as Mariah ages, we will see more and more jazz and standard recordings from her, as the "pop" music machine spits out most artists who no longer appeal to the youngest of music listeners. But, like Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett, those artists like Mariah whose careers are based on talent are able to remain relevant well into "retirement age" and beyond. In fact, Tony Bennett's Duets II CD, from which I feature below his recording with Mariah, is the #1 selling CD in the country this week - and his first #1 album, at age 85!

From Tony Bennett's new Duets II CD

The Wind, from Mariah's Emotions CD 

Christmas Time Is Here, from Merry Christmas II You

From her video collection "The First Vision" - a live performance prior to the release of her debut CD - Randy Jackson from American Idol can be seen playing in the band (behind the back-up singers, with a Kid-n-Play hi-top fade)

Wednesday Reading

I read an article this summer that I've revisited several times since and that I've been meaning to share. It's a bit long but is extremely interesting (to me, at least) and discusses what has been called at various points in history "the rat race" or "keeping up with the Joneses".  You can read it for yourself at the following link:

 The Medium Chill

Even after re-reading it several times, I'm still unsure of my opinion about what the author is saying. A part of me completely agrees that there comes a point where you have just enough to make you happy and anything else is just icing on the cake, and another part of me likes icing a lot and thinks that it is the best part! And now I want cake.... I hate food references!

ANYWAY - I'd love to get some other opinions on this article and what the author calls "the medium chill". Are you living in that sweet spot, still trying to get there, or pushing ever ahead to the next level?

New Release Tuesday

This remix of the current Erasure single makes me even more excited for the new CD (coming Oct 3rd)

The new LeAnn Rimes features this great cover of "Help Me Make It Through The Night" as well as many other remakes of classic country hits. First album from her in a long time that I actually like!

Like Enya and Sarah Brighman had a baby that they dressed up like Jane Eyre. This song is the Single of the Week on iTunes - a free download! 

Seth McFarlane (best known as the creator of the animated series Family Guy) releases his standards album today. He has a great 40's big band sound for those that like that style of music (which I do). 

Music Monday

Trio of Odd Duets

Life in The Tank

I've been fighting a major depression this week. I'm not sure if it's the arrival of fall, with winter quickly following as it does here in Ohio, or just the distressing events in the news all week, or just perhaps I'm pre-manopausal. My breasts do feel tender, if that's any indication. :-) In any event, it's been less than fun. 

     During the recent Borders closing sales, I picked up several books on my reading list. One of my purchases was The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo. It's basically a collection of daily reflections, each one short and easy to digest before bedtime or whenever the moment occurs. Searching for some kind of inspiration to get through this funk, I picked it up and started reading. I have to say that although I am only a few days into it, it's certainly helping. 

     I wanted to share an excerpt that I found thought-provoking. It reminds me of a favorite quote, attributed to Robert Schuller - "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

Love, and do what thou wilt

St. Augustine

It was a curious thing. Robert had filled the bathtub and put the fish in the tub, so he could clean the tank. After he’d scrubbed the film from the small walls of their make believe deep, he went to retrieve them.

He was astonished to find that, though they had the entire tub to swim in, they were huddled in a small area the size of their tank. There was nothing containing them, nothing holding them back. Why wouldn’t they dart about freely? What had life in the tank done to their natural ability to swim?

This quiet yet stark moment stayed with us both for a long time. We couldn’t help but see those little fish going nowhere but into themselves. We now had a life-in-the-tank lens on the world and wondered daily, in what ways are we like them? In what ways do we go nowhere but into ourselves? In what ways do we shrink our world so as not to feel the press of our own self-imposed captivity?

Life in the tank made me think of how we are raised at home and in school. It made me think of being told that certain jobs are not acceptable and that certain jobs are out of reach, of being schooled to live a certain way, of being trained to think that only practical things are possible, of being warned over and over that life outside the tank of our values is risky and dangerous.

I began to see just how much we were taught as children to fear life outside the tank. As a father, Robert began to question if he was preparing his children for life in the tank or life in the uncontainable world.

It makes me wonder now, in middle age, if being spontaneous and kind and curious are all part of our natural ability to swim. Each time I hesitate to do the unplanned or unexpected, or hesitate to reach and help another, or to inquire into something I know nothing about; each time I ignore the impulse to run in the rain or to call you up just to say I love you - I wonder, am I turning on myself, swimming safely in the middle of the tub?

6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon - Musical Version - Elvis To Whitney

This is a simple one but it gives me a chance to shine a light on one of the most talented and under-appreciated singers of the last 50 years.

Elvis Presley doesn't really need me to tell you who he is - still one of the highest earning and most loved singer more than 30 years after his death.  What you may not know is that Cissy Houston (Whitney's mom, Dionne Warwick's cousin) was in his backing group The Sweet Inspirations. A talented choral arranger, she arranged his version of Suspicious Minds and of course sang the backing vocals.

Cissy eventually left the Sweet Inspirations to go solo, but found limited success as a lead singer. However, she was in demand for decades as a session vocalist and vocal arranger. She can be heard singing on many recordings singing for Aretha Franklin (the operatic descant in Ain't No Way was written and performed by Cissy), Luther Vandross, and even Whitney herself. Whitney's first television performance was with her mom at her side. Nearly 20 years after the original recording with Aretha, Cissy's soprano is still intact.

Here's another great live performance from Cissy, of the Duke Ellington classic Come Sunday.

Whitney Houston doesn't require introduction either - she is both famous and infamous. One of my favorite performances from her is a very casual live one with Natalie Cole.

But back to Cissy... I can't know her thoughts, but I sometimes wonder how she felt watching Whitney descend into her drug use. Did Cissy bring up Elvis and his tragic end as a warning to her daughter? I do know from interviews that she did as much as humanly possibly to get Whitney healthy again, as I'm sure any mother would do. Cissy is nearly 80 now and is no longer singing professionally as far as I know, but she has left behind a great legacy of work. I'll end this post with a song that shows off the best of her abilities from an early 1980's Broadway show about aging (she was barely 50 at the time!).

Better is Not Good Enough

Whales live mostly in the depths of the ocean, but because they are mammals (like humans) and have to breathe air, their lungs demand that they come up to the surface from time to time to inhale and exhale. Under the water, their sheer size keeps them safe from most predators. The time of their greatest vulnerability, when they are literally gasping for breath, is also when humans can most easily attack them. It's a waiting game, really - we know that eventually they will come up for air and then we strike.

___________________________________________________________

The It Gets Better Project has one goal - preventing teen suicide by adults making videos showing that things do get better. To quote their website, www.itgetsbetter.org ,

Many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.

There are over 22,000 videos from politicians, military personnel, sports teams, singers, actors, and everyday people so far, and the number grows each day. But as inspiring as these video can be, it doesn't help a lot when you are faced with abuse from bullies without a reprieve.

Jamey Rodemeyer, a teen who had been bullied, made an It Gets Better video in May of this year. In it he offers hope to those that face similar bullying and tells his own story. Please watch it below.

The video is really busy right now and may not load - click here to watch it on YouTube

He knew all the right things to say, and maybe he even believed it for a while, but after near-constant torment over a period of years, Jamey killed himself on Sunday. It's no coincidence that Jamey had just started high school this year and that he felt it better to die than have to go back there one more day. It devastates me that this is still happening today.

_______________________________________________

All animals instinctively want to live, even if the cost of living is great pain and suffering. So the whales rise to the surface, facing whatever slings and arrows we may throw at them. Humans, however, have the ability to choose, and so when the pain at the surface becomes too much, we stay under the water and eventually drown.

New Release Tuesday

These are the five new releases that are exciting me today - click the links for more information.

• Bridesmaids Unrated DVD - Funniest movie of the year, by a mile. 
• V.V. Brown's new single "Children"
• Stephen King's e-novella "Mile 81" - Christine meets The Tommyknockers (that sounds like porn, but it isn't!)
• Tony Bennett's Duets II featuring 6 of my 20 favorite singers ever - a most excellent collection!
• New Girl - promoted as THE show of the new television season - starts tonight

Music Monday - Adam Lopez

After singing every day for 40 days straight, I'm happy to post someone else doing it!

Adam Lopez is a an Australian singer and vocal coach perhaps best known for his Guinness World Record for highest vocal note performed by a male - a C#8, a half-step higher than the top note of a piano! There's usually not a lot of substance left once you are singing in that range. A human voice is normally something like a bell curve - mostly found in the middle with decreasing abilities toward the high and low ends.

Adam posts videos on YouTube from time to time, and his most recent post is a cover of the 1980's hit "Take On Me" by A-ha, featuring a less extreme but still quite thrilling display of his vocal range from low to high to HIGH. I love that he re-interprets the song as a ballad - I had never thought of it that way but it works well and the listener can certainly understand the lyrics better. Also note that he is using split-screen so it appears that he is accompanying himself. If time is of the essence, be sure to listen to the 20 seconds following the 2 minute mark.

I think this is his best performance yet. I'd love to know what you think, so tell me :-)

Birthday Countdown 2011

Adele's CD "21" has reigned supreme for me this year, so it's only fitting that the last song in the countdown is the closing song from that album. "Someone Like You" is also the current #1 song in the country, propelled to the top by Adele's sublime performance on the VMA's a couple of weeks ago - one of the few bright spots on that telecast.

Why do I like it? It's an amazing song - simple and timeless. It could have been written any time in the last 40 years, or in the next 40.

About my version - There's no way to match Adele's stunning live versions, but I do my best. And - I manage to not burst into tears! I'll surely be singing this in karaoke bars around the world for years to come. 8 out of 10

Tomorrow - Nothing! I'll be taking a break for the rest of the week, and then actual blogging with words and stuff will resume next Monday. Thanks to all of you that have visited, watched and commented, I really appreciate it. I hope you've found some enjoyment in my little self-indulgent exercise. I'd love to know which were your favorite and least favorite songs - leave a comment, won't you please?

Birthday Countdown 2010

I downloaded Rolling In The Deep as a free iTunes Discovery Download near the end of December 2010, so it counts, even though it reached the pinnacle of the charts in 2011. Don't argue!

I've written about this song before, but to sum it up - It's one of the best songs I've heard in a decade or more. Even with the constant radio play, I'm not tired of it. Also, it's the opening song on the best album of the year. 

Why do I like it? It's a mix of every genre I like, and Adele herself is such a breath of fresh air. YouTube a few interviews if you haven't seen any - she's as delightful in person as she is on record. 

About my version - Today was crazy busy, so it's a one-take day! It came out pretty good, given those circumstances, and I will probably sing it again sometime, even though it's not the best fit. 7 of out 10.

Tomorrow - The end is in sight! One and done...

Birthday Countdown 2009

Today's song was sung on a reality show early in 2009 by a woman who would become that year's highest selling artist. Of course it's I Dreamed A Dream, performed by Susan Boyle.

The story of Les Miserables has been around for a century and a half and has been adapted into many movies over the years. The stage musical opened in France in 1980, and then in London, in the more common English version, in 1985. It's one of the most successful and also most depressing shows ever, and the music is thrilling and beautiful. In this selection, the character Fantine reflects on her life and thinks back to happier times just before dying, (SPOILER!)

Why do I like it? It's perhaps the best song in a wonderful score, and never fails to move me, evidently even when I am singing it!

About my version - I've listened to this song for over 20 years, but as it is sung by a French woman driven to prostitution to care for her young daughter, it's not exactly in my repertoire (I'm American). I chose to sing it in a higher key as it is written for an alto, and I am not on of those either. I found myself having a special moment at the end of the song. I also cry at Hallmark and Folgers commercials, and during the last episodes of MASH and Roseanne. So sue me :-)  Anyway - I'd sing this again with some more practice if the opportunity arose. 7.5 out of 10.

Tomorrow - 2 more days! 5 songs on the list, but I'm open to suggestions.....

Birthday Countdown 2008

Someone sang Memory on America Idol in 2008, so I can do it too :-)

Memory is from the Broadway smash hit Cats, of course, but I am most familiar with the Barbra version. I've been singing along to this song for nearly 30 years but have never sang it, as I am not a cat.

Why do I like it? It's a Broadway, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Barbra triple scoop of awesome, what's not to like?

About my version - ...except for the key, which is for a Broadway mezzo from hell. As I am none of those things, I feel like I am growling my way through most of it. This is a cut version, which doesn't give a lot of time to build to the wonderful conclusion, but it's also a lot easier for you and for me :-) If the occasion arises, I will certainly sing this again - or maybe just in my living room again. But either way, I love this song and so I'll give my rendition an 8 out of 10.

Tomorrow - 3 days to go! These recent years are hard because I've used up a lot of my favorite artists.