Today In Earbugs

Via Bearotic:

I just discovered The Cliks today. Now it's your turn.

They have a Web site.

Utterly Bizarre

Via World of Wonder:

Just in case you haven't gotten your vomiting Asian trans bass player fix for the day...

I don't get it. But it's like a train wreck; I can't turn away either.

Today In Earbugs

If you don't live in Spain or Sweden you might not have ever heard of Billie the Vision and the Dancers. At least, I had never heard of them until the Estrella Damm commercial came out in June. Now I can't get "Summercat" out of my head.

They've been around since 2004 ("Summercat" is from that first album.) Their music is worth a listen, especially if you might be the slightest bit inclined toward Swedish indie pop. Or maybe beer commercial songs. Or maybe the mild suggestion of ménage à trois. The commercial:

In a video on Youtube there seems to be some cross-dressing going on, which of course just endears them to me a little more.

You can't buy their music on Itunes. They give it away for free - actually they ask that you donate whatever it's worth to you on their Web site. They say the money goes straight to the band, circumnavigating the whole music industry, which also endears them to me just a little more.

Today In Earbugs

Via Joe. My. God.:

Alright I've now heard this song exactly once and it's irrevocably stuck in my head. I absolutely adored Mika's last album for its infectious hooks (cheesiness notwithstanding), its myriad allusions, and the fact that it made me just feel good over and over again. For you listening pleasure "We Are Golden":

Apparently I have to buy his new album now.

I knew I Loved These Guys

Garfunkel and Oats recently posted a pro-gay marriage music video. It's a response to Pat Robertson's claim that legalizing gay marriage would inevitably lead to legalizing sex with ducks. 

Enjoy.

Eurovision

For you American types who don't know, Saturday was the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. This is, apparently, a BIG deal. Forty-two countries enter, including several that are not actually in Europe. The scoring system is almost as complicated as tennis. This year's winner, Alexander Rybak from Norway:

Isn't he adorable? This video is from Norway's final. I'm sure there are a billion versions out there, but in this one he's not smiling so much. His big scary grin kind of gets on my nerves after a while. 

This year was my first time actually experiencing Eurovision. We had plans to celebrate with some friends of ours who live in one of the nice neighborhoods overlooking Sitges. However, my illness prevented me from moving more than a few minutes dash from our toilet. 

The partner, bless him, was so excited about viewing the contest he couldn't sit still. A pub, just a few doors down from the flat was celebrating Eurovision with a raffle and a 250 Euro prize for the person who correctly selected the top three acts. We decided to go. Or rather he decided to go wether I felt like it or not. He went down early to get a good seat in front of the big screen. Two and a half hours early. That's how excited he was. 

By the time I had loaded myself down with painkillers and was sure I'd have a while before the diarrhea kicked in again, it was still more than an hour before the contest, no one was in the bar (except the partner), and tennis was on the television. We sat for a while, cheering on Rafael Nadal and racking up tickets for the raffle.

Eventually a British couple occupied the table next to us. They had flown in to Sitges just for the night to watch the contest. Yeah, that's how important Eurovision is to some people (read here homos). Forms were distributed for scoring the acts. The bar began to fill as tennis ended and the preliminaries played on the screen. Then the show began. 

A brief summary of Eurovision for the uninitiated: Each of the 42 countries has a contest. One artist or band is selected to represent that country at Eurovision. Over several days the 42 are reduced down through quarterfinals and semifinals to 25. On the night of the final, all the artists perform in a big (very expensive) show. People from all the countries phone and text in their votes. You can't vote for your own country, but many do vote for their neighbors and allies. Also, there's some business with a group of people in each country who award points  to 10 entries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 12 points) of their choice. The group points count 50% and the phone-in votes count 50%. And somehow at the end of this there emerges a winner. Simple, right?

ABBA's "Waterloo" won in 1974. Sandy Shaw won for "Puppet on a String" in 1967. Usually the winner has a silly pop feel. And nonsense words help as in Lulu's 1969 winner "Boom Bang-a-bang" and Teach-In's "Ding-a-Dong" from 1975.

Imagine the insane popularity of American Idol multiplied by 42 and concentrated into three or so days. 

We watched. We scored. Some of the songs were bizarre, some weird amalgam of pop and folk with awkward dancing and beaming smiles. Some were pretty standard fare pop with blatant borrowing from the likes of Skakira and Madonna. 

Once the performances finished there was a New Years Eve-style countdown to the end of phone voting. Then one by one the countries appeared on the screen to deliver their scores. Cheers went up as favorites received high scores. Boos also followed for countries that blatantly gave high scores to less gifted performances from neighboring countries. 

Norway, the obvious favorite, quickly pulled way ahead in the scores. I admit, I hadn't liked the video for "Fairytale" when I first saw it. But Rybak and his entourage's performance was stunning. And the song grows on you like a stomach virus. A couple of other songs I really liked didn't do as well:

and

And the entry from the U.K. was terrible. The performer had an amazing voice. She was immaculate. The song, however, was utter rubbish.  I think Joe. My. God. said it best:

Written by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Diane Warren, Jade Ewen's entry for the UK sounds more like a song justifiably cut from the second act of Wicked than the usual over the top Eurovision fare. Show queens will lurve it, of course.

And they did. That song scored very well. Others I though were pretty good didn't. But overall the evening was enjoyable. We (of course since we were there two hours+ early) won several of the drawing prizes. I have yet to use my handcuffs, but I'll convince the partner to try them out soon enough. Anyway, by the end I understood some of the excitement surrounding Eurovision. And yes, unless I'm spending my days on the toilet again, I can't wait to watch Norway host it next year. 

A Sweet Little Fuck You

Via every blog I've read today:

I've got to start listening to more Lily Allen

La Vida Toca (La Guitarra)

(Yes, I know my title makes no sense whatsoever.)

Alright ladies and gentlemen and the rest of you, I know I was bitching a little too much yesterday about living in Spain and all that. It was a bad day all around, but it's over. Sometimes people get jealous when I talk about living in Spain. (And maybe they should be.) But if my post yesterday says anything of worth it's that life in Spain isn't all sunshine, amazing cuisine, and gorgeous bodies. But (much more often than in the US) the true beauty of living here is the little surprises that come up in one's day to day life. 

It's the little differences that add so much value to the experience of living here. Not just the strange, entertaining differences like there are no penalties for growing up to three marijuana plants for personal use; or everything closes between 2 and 5 in the afternoon for siesta; or it's completely legal to be naked anywhere in Spain; or or everyone owns eyeglasses as fashion accessories; or it's perfectly acceptable to bring dogs and children into bars. But there are other differences too, things that seem never to happen in the US. 

Like today. We had a few errands to run and the partner had a break between work calls (the trip to Ghana was canceled at the last minute). So we went down to the new mercado by the train station. Our little market is something like if a mall and a farmers' market had a baby: It's indoor, but there are all kinds of stalls with fresh fish, meats, cafes, flowers, vegetables, and (for some reason) one little hardware store. I wanted to get some more herbs for my balcony boxes. The flower shop, however, only had one edible herb which was something I already had. We meandered the streets for a while, stopping by all the flower/plant shops in town.

Before going home we stopped into Cafe Sitges which is run by a couple friends of ours. We ordered a couple of coffees and paninis. After a few minutes two men walked in carrying guitars and dressed in medieval garb. At first I though some kind of festival must be going on nearby. (These things do tend to spring up periodically.) But it turned out they were some kind of traveling musicians out of Terragona. They ordered a couple glasses of wine and sat down at one of the tables. 

Then, as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do (as I think it was for them) they began playing their guitars and singing. It was absolutely beautiful. If you've never heard decent Spanish guitar music you're seriously missing out. Not to mention, one of the guys playing was absolutely beautiful himself. It turned out they were part of a program where students earn money for school by performing as wandering minstrels. Their Web site (in Spanish) is here. They played several sweet romantic songs as we sipped our coffees and ate. Their voices leaped and twined around one another as their fingers danced intricately over the strings. Some of the regular crowd in the cafe sang along.  

It was one of those brilliant and yet completely unexpected experiences. Like something you'd see in a movie about Americans traveling to Europe. Spain is like that. You stumble on random instances of beauty almost every day. A shopping trip turns into a parade. A walk to a friend's house leads you into a neighborhood festival. Stopping by your favorite cafe yields gorgeous men making gorgeous music. 

Today In Earbugs

I needed some happy today after I found out Bea Arthur died. Luckily there was a post on Slog about this duo. 

I can think of a few people I should have played this for. 

I Dreamed a Dream

I tend to avoid shows like [sic] Britains Got Talent. But the partner showed me this video. Follow the link. The video below is just an interview with her. You really should hear her whole rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream."

It's fairly surprising. The singer, Susan Boyle looks like someone's frumpy great-aunt. And to be honest, when she was talking about her cat in that accent I got the impression she hadn't been out of her little village in a long time, if ever. 

Then she started singing. Just thinking about it gives me chills, those deep-down crawly goosebumps that start somewhere in the center of your spine and slither down your legs. Elaine Paige indeed. Susan Boyle has a simply amazing voice. 

Today In Earbugs

I drove my ex to work today so I could have the car. She had The Weepies in her CD player. This stuck in me like the adrenaline needle in Uma Therman's chest in Pulp Fiction. It pierces my heart just a bit but at the same time makes me feel more alive and somehow more awake to the world. 

I miss you Si.

Some of my friends are Gothic, some of my friends are new wave, some of my friends are straight edge

I'm too tired to post anything new. Maybe tomorrow I'll share my very bizarre travel experiences. So enjoy this video via boing boing in the mean time. 

White Wedding: Literal Video Version - watch more funny videos

Today in Ear Bugs

Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons was on Fresh Air this past week promoting the new album The Crying Light. 

If you've never heard Antony's voice, I highly recommend the song "Shake That Devil" as an entry point. It came out a few years ago, but it has the magical ability to reappear in my head again from time to time and stay there for days. But I think the real joy of their music comes from a deeper listen. It is alien and etherial but also familiar and deeply, deeply human. Their songs are what my ex used to call a "good sucker," something so wonderful, so delicious, so good it actually hurts to know the experience of it is only temporary. 

Today in Ear Bugs

I know I'm a sarcastic bitter mean-ass bitch most of the time. So here's a little something to let you know it is possible to pour a little ethylene glycol on this charred frozen stone of a heart. I heard this song yesterday and I can't get it out of my head. The usual cure for such things is to listen to it, right? Or maybe to force someone else to listen to it. I've done both. So now I'm passing it on to you, ladies and gentlemen and the rest of you. It's up to you to decide now what to do with it. 

The artist's name is Matt Alber. His debut album, called Hide Nothing can be bought via his Web site. Or, I think Joe. My. God. may be giving away a copy for Swag Tuesday. Excuse me now, I have to go cry again for the fifth time in 24 hours since Joe posted the song to Facebook yesterday. 

P.S. while you're on Youtube check out his cover of "Mad World." Lovely.

Today in Ear Bugs

Trust You-Tubers to take a perfectly inane piece of technology and make it sublime. Microsoft Songsmith creates music to go with your vocal tracks. As if American Idol didn't already drag every tone deaf moron out of their parent's basements. But what happens when you apply Songsmith's magic to established acts?

Sheer craptastic genius.

Beard Song

I saw this on Joe. My. God. today. Now I can't get it out of my head. Damn you Joe. I hate that I love you and your questionable taste in music. 

I (sadly enough) actually like this song. Before you judge me listen to it all the way through. Then let it simmer in your head for a bit. Before you know it..."beards and soup, beards and soup."

BEARD SONG! - watch more funny videos

The beards and man-dates line is just icing on the cake. 

Ben Lerman

Once in a generation (Please god make it only once in a generation) comes an artist who paints with the twin brushes of comedy and the ukulele. I imagine the majority of you clones out in the blogosphere are too young to remember much about Tiny Tim. But his passing left a magnificent vacuum in the entertainment community. Now one stands poised to dip his toes in the kiddie pool-sized shoes of the late ukulele genius. Okay, so maybe I should have discovered Ben Lerman ages ago like everybody else. Or maybe I should just follow the mainstream and ignore the tiny black hole that is the queer ukulele-playing comedy niche. 

No, that shit is just too damn funny. And if you'd like to see more of his material he has a Web site. I highly recommend downloading "Anderson," especially if you have a boyfriend or other loved one who is obsessed with Anderson Cooper as I'm not. Or maybe "The Librarian" for the bibliophile-phile in your life. Anyway check him out.