Double Feature • Anna & Birthday

About a year and a half ago, I had the idea about bringing 'Date Night' to the blog. After all, many seem to think Friday night is date night, either going out to find love, or just to satisfy more physical needs. The first short film I posted was 'You Can't Curry Love', and I can honestly tell you I just watched it again the other day, and still enjoyed it! I've offered up short films, and a few full length feature films. Either way, I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I has. I love helping people to find some of the great talent found in the LGBT community, and to get to hear the stories they are telling. Tonight I am bringing in a double feature with an international flavor, and I hope you will find both interesting.

First up, I have a film from Hungary, written by Anikó Astarte and directed by Petra Palotai. 'Anna' is a lovely story of finding yourself, no matter how you do it. Some might need depp reflection, while others might need a great prop, like a magical timepiece. The film stars Timi, Nóra, and Figura, and runs just under three and a half minutes. This is 'Anna'.

The second film tonight is from India, written and directed by Suresh Shelar. 'Birthday' runs about twelve and a half minutes, but says so much in that time. The film tells the story of Abhay, a handsome young man with a penchant for remembering birthdays. On this particular day, he go to visit his friend, Alex, to help him celebrate. It turns into something more, but not the same thing for Abhar and Alex. Shelar obviously helped his actors, as he got excellent performances from Sunil Kumar as Abhay and Bobby Vats as Alex. Please enjoy 'Birthday'.

Have a great weekend!

Great Songs of 1928

Clockwise: Helen Kane; Duke Ellington; Cliff Edwards; and Al Jolson.

Well, today I celebrate the birthday of my mother, born on January 13, 1928. I was wondering how I would handle this, and decided that I would start off with some pictures of her through the years. They are just below.



Clockwise: Mom with her father in 1928; Mom with my eldest brother James; Mom with Dad; and Mom & Dad with great-grandson Reed.

Then I figured I would look up the music of 1928, and since there were no real charts from the year, the Top songs are mainly made up by opinion. Therefore, instead of that, I would just pick out four great songs from to represent the year. And I will begin with Helen Kane, best known for singing "I Wanna Be Loved By You", written by Herbert Stothart and Harry Ruby, with lyrics by Bert Kalmar, for the 1928 musical 'Good Boy'. Her style led her to be known as "The Boop-Boop-A-Do" girl. Later the cartoon character Betty Boop, the quintessential flapper, was based on Kane.



Back in the 1920s and 1930s, Al Jolson was the singer so many looked up to. According to the 'St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture', "Jolson was to jazz, blues, and ragtime what Elvis Presley was to rock 'n' roll". His music influenced some of the great performers of the 20th Century, including Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bob Dylan, who once referred to him as "somebody whose life I can feel". And while he might be well-known for performing in black-face, he was lauded for promoting racial equality wherever he worked, including on Broadway in 1911. His iconic recordings included some great songs, including a song written by Jolson, Billy Rose and Dave Dreyer, "There's A Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder".



The next up is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, baby", first appeared in the highly successful Blackbirds of 1928, and recorded by Ukelele Ike, also known was Cliff Edwards. Edwards would have another huge hit the following year with "Singin' In The Rain", written by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown. Later on, he did the voices of several cartoon characters, although perhaps none as known and loved as his voicing of Jiminy Cricket in the 1940 Disney film ''Pinocchio'.



One of the great names in jazz music, Duke Ellington, certainly made his talent known in 1928. Ellington, who liked to refer to his music as American Music rather than Jazz, was making his music on a large scale since 1923, and soon Duke Ellington & his Orchestra became one of the top names in all of music. In 1928, he released the epic and wonderful "Black & Tan Fantasy".



Happy birthday, Mom!

Frank Zappa - The Torture Never Stops

Well, since I have posted videos featuring both Dweezil and Moon Unit Zappa, it seems only appropriate that I also post one featuring the father, Frank. There are some who might say his music was an acquired taste, but I think that is debatable. His music was the easiest part to get - it was the humor that was tough at times. Honestly, I think there were some of my friends in college who listened to Zappa who never got it, and just like screaming 'you're an asshole...' They never realized they were that asshole that was being discussed. Well, that said, here is a favorite of mine, The Torture Never Stops.



Rest in Peace, Daddy-Zappa.

Jay Brannan

I have seen Jay Brannan live a couple of times, and if you haven't, you really should. He is incredible, and also charming as hell. My fascination with all things Brannan started on YouTube, where he perfected to self-promotion of his music with amazing ease. He would shoot videos of himself playing his music in his bathroom, or in his kitchen - wherever, really - and post them. Soon, he had more and more people appreciating his amazing tone and truly interesting phrasing, and his career was born. But first, there was the music, with songs like Half-Boyfriend.



The boy has such a sweet texture to his voice, and it seemed perfectly suited to doing a cover of Zombie by The Cranberries. Give this a listen, and tell me you don't want to run out and buy that album? That's what I thought...

Happy Birthday, Uncle Howard

Having asked nicely if she could guest blog, I of course said "yes!" So here is my niece, Mandy.


Left to right: Me, Tom Goss & Mandy

I get to guest Blog, I hope I live up to the S2MD Standards!

My earliest music memories are marked by the presence of my Uncle Howard. My first tape I ever got was a mix of “happy” Cure, Howard Jones, and the Communards. I loved that tape and still consider it one of the best presents I have ever gotten. In one cassette tape a whole new world of music was open to me. In that 120 minute cassette, I was held captive by melodies and lyrics that I can still recite today. To this day if I hear Love Cats or Fire in Cairo, I cannot help to sing along and remember those agonizing moments when I listened over and over to learn all the words.



From that Christmas forward, I looked forward to my mix tape gifts. The next tape contained a mix of Crowded House, Some more Cure, and the Housemartins. Once again I listened to that tape until I knew every word. I couldn’t get enough of the music. More mixes followed, and my love for music grew. The bond that was forged during those formative music years between Uncle Howard, Aunt Kim, and myself is something I carry with me to this day. I can remember them teaching me to dance and keeping me in the loop with great music. INXS, Billy Bragg, U2, Fun Boy Three, Tears for Fears, I could go on and on. I couldn’t get enough of the music, of conversations, and being included. I love those childhood memories.



Although the years have passed and my music taste has diversified, I still love talking music with my Uncle Howard. Take any given day when we hang out and listen to music. Once again I am a 10-year-old girl, listening with a fresh ear to the latest music Uncle H has found. I still get the same little kid excitement when he gives me a new CD he put together for me. He has introduced me to some many new voices, including Eric Himan, Tom Goss, and Aiden James. In the past few years he brought it back old school and made a birthday CD for me. It was filled with all sorts of wonderful songs and it’s always in rotation on my iPod. You cannot believe how excited I was over that CD!



Uncle H and I have become quite the live music buffs. Whether we are going to a small venue to see Eric, Aiden, or Tom or large concerts like Staind. My all time favorite Concert moment was seeing The Cure live, and being there with Uncle Howard. It was like one of my childhood dreams come true! I cannot think of a better person to go to a live show with than him.

In fact, Uncle Howard is such a big supporter of local artists and arts, he “voluntarily” takes photos of my dance studio’s annual show. Although I think some of those photos are for him to embarrass me with! But, the love he has for music and dance is evident in the wonderful photos he takes and shares with the dancers. I am truly lucky to have had such a positive influence in my life who instilled in me the love for music and all the arts.


The many dances of Mandy.

This love is what keeps me coming back to all the great music of my childhood and looking forward to the next great thing. So I may be rocking out to the latest Deftones or singing along with Chris Dallman, but it’s all one love.

Smooches!- Mandy

Happy Birthday Casey Stratton

Today Casey Stratton celebrates his birthday, and I just wanted to mark the day with a big hug! And the way I do that best is to pull up the video, and make it music from the 80s, and I am good to go. So, what better way to terrorize a great singer/songwriter than to celebrate his birthday with some clips of him doing covers of songs by other artists? The first is Casey singing live, doing a cover of the Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark song, If You Leave, from Pretty In Pink.



When Michael Jackson had passed away this summer, Casey was so moved to cover one of his songs, Man In The Mirror. Here it is, with a picture taking up the video, but Casey's magnificent voice handling the audio.



One way you can wish Casey a happy day is to stop by his website here, click on the digital store, and buy some great music. I'll tell you I own the first four CDs on that list, and love them all. You could also skip over to iTunes and check his music out there. Or you could check in to Amazon [click here] and do a digital download of the Standing At The Edge album, which kicks some serious ass. So you have the covers here, but you want the original material, I suggest clicking one of the spots above!

Happy Birthday Christopher Dallman

Today is Christopher Dallman's birthday (thanx for the tip, Casey Stratton)! Christopher has been quite busy, working on a couple of EPs, a new song that was just released, Anthem, and his first music video, Over My Head. Christopher shares this special day with several other talented folk, like Jason Alexander, Julio Iglesias, Mickey Rooney, Kip Pardue [he's adorable!], Ray Charles, and The Boss, Bruce Springsteen.



Top, L to R: Cover for Anthem, Cover for Race The Light.
Bottom: The opening for Over My Head video.

I am a fan of Christopher's, enjoying his music and his amusing tweets [@chrisdallman], and can't wait to get a chance to see him perform live in concert. The reason I know I wanna see him live? Great music always intrigues me, and a couple of videos I found on YouTube. This is Green Camero, a song from his first album, Race The Light.



And this is one of my favorite songs off Race The Light, Driving In To You. And by one of my favorites, I mean one of the eleven songs I love. They are all fantastic.



As I mentioned when I talked about his latest song, Subterranean, I noticed Race The Light is on sale at CD Baby. For just $5, you can get an MP3 download of the album. I am sure Christopher would accept this as a great birthday present, and you would be getting great music. Click here.

Happy Birthday, King of all Bunnies!

Happy Birthday David Dust!

You have a fine tradition to uphold, that of the leader of the Dust Bunnies, so do celebrate!



Try to avoid dehydration, since it is still in the heat of summer.



Be sure to allow your company to show you a good time this weekend.



Remember that lying down and relaxing can be a good thing.



Know that Dust Bunny Nation is thinking of you!

And in a good way!

Mwah!

Happy Birthday Robert Plant

On August 20, 1948, Robert Plant was born in West Bromwich, England. He made a name for himself as the lead singer for Led Zeppelin, and went on to do solo work, as well as put together the group The Honeydrippers [and the hit song, a remake of Sea Of Love], and duet with Alison Krauss. For the last 4 decades, he has been the wet dream for countless girls and boys. To celebrate, here is a solo project, the song is Big Log from the album, The Principle of Moments.



Happy 61st birthday, Mr. Plant!

Happy Birthday - Juanes

Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez, better known as Juanes, was born August 9, 1972, in Columbia. I'll be honest, I don't know much about Juanes except that he is scorching hot, I enjoy his music, and he is str8. A new studio album is due in 2010.



Feliz Cumpleaños, Senor Juanes.

Happy Birthday Louis Armstrong

Today August 4, 2009, Louis Armstrong would celebrate his 109th birthday. He was a gifted and talented musician who graced us with many wonderful songs, but his best known is What A Wonderful World.



Happy birthday, Mr. Armstrong. May you be playing with the best orchestra ever up there.