Went to see Duran Duran at the slightly shabby but altogether fine Rosemont theater last night. First time I'd seen the boys since July '05, and they were in fine form.

Fortuitously, my outing (Wednesday night) coincided with the one-day-a-week I'm working from home this week (today). So.

Unfortuitously, I was at the Cubs game Tuesday night WHEN Simon (Le Bon) and John (Taylor) threw out the first pitch AND sang Take Me Out to the Ballgame. I missed both performances. Sonofa. Cubs game, incidentally, is why no Idol review.

I'm a bad fan because I didn't exactly dig their new album, and as a result was not at all familiar with it.

Set list:

THE VALLEY (don't know it - decent))
RCM
NITE RUNNER (don't know it - boring)
HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF
PLANET EARTH
FALLING DOWN
COME UNDONE
SKINDIVERS (don't know it)
THE REFLEX
SAVE A PRAYER
A VIEW TO A KILL

ELECTROSET;
LAST CHANCE/ALL SHE WANTS/LEATHERETTE
I DON’T WANT/SKIN TRADE/TEMPTED

NOTORIOUS
GIRLS ON FILM
ORDINARY WORLD
SUNRISE
WILD BOYZ

THE CHAUFFEUR
RIO


So ... nearly everything I'd reasonably want to hear, keeping in mind that they will never play "UMF" or "Want You More!" or "Late Bar." Sigh. Some "New Moon on Monday" would be nice, but that's never happening, either. The "Electroset" was supremely cool, especially Roger's drumming.

Things of note:

1. John was wearing a Barack tee for the final encore. Which, of course, was "Rio."

2. Billy "ZWAN" Corgan, looking all of 19 if a day, came out and played guitar on "The Chauffeur."

3. My left ear is still ringing and I pretty much can't hear out of it. Next concert? Earplugs. No joke.

4. Simon had some lyrical misfires ("Reflex" chorus, "All She Wants Is" verse 2), but reprimanded himself so smugly that I almost wonder if they were intentional. He continues to be my forever favorite preening bastard. Did seem as though he was in a good mood last night. He's not good at hiding the irritation.

5. I don't feel physically and emotionally exhausted. Maybe I'm in better shape? Or had less space in which to dance so exuberantly.

6. There was a tee shirt I wanted but it was forty-five bleeding dollars. These people are out of their tree. Of course, nearly everyone I saw had bought some merch of some sort.

Allrighty - back to work with my one good ear ...

TMZ Spoiler ... David Cook to be singing "Hungry Like the Wolf." Could it be true? Now I have to actually watch the show. Damnit.

1. It's 62 degrees right now. In Chicago. In January. I'm sweating with the windows open and contemplating turning on the A/C. That's the inconvenient truth.

2. I am basically quite happy while also deeply frustrated. Stress is killing my immune system. Meanwhile, I have reached the sudden conclusion that several of my girlfriend's significant others don't particularly like me. I'm a bad influence with the crack smoking and all, I suppose. Oh, well.

3. Still not liking Red Carpet Massacre.

4. Am still liking Friday Night Lights, but they need to bring back little Bo/Beau from next door to the Riggins' so he can go "Hey Tim Riggins ... we's like brothers!" again and make me smile.

5. Lynette is the only tolerable Desperate Housewife. Bree would be close to likability if she'd unwind a notch.

6. I ruined a pot of red beans and rice last night. Don't know what I put in there, but they were close to inedible. The biggest tragedy is that I used up a bag of imported Camellia red beans in the process.

7. I've got a severe case of the Mondays, but starting one's workweek at 5:30 A.M. will do that.

I cannot justify paying $134 to see the Spice Girls at the United Center. I've heard the show is truly fabulous, but $134? Per? Hmmm.

Meanwhile, as I was watching Boston Legal last night, I was especially taken by the fact that I was seeing Murphy Brown, Dan Fielding from Night Court, Steff from Pretty in Pink, and T.J. mother-feckin Hooker share one screen in late 2007. (Side note: who knew Night Court was on until 1992???) This was brought home even more a couple of weeks ago when Mere "St. Elmo's Fire" Winningham was guest starring.

Duran Duran in concert Friday night. Can't go due to Mr. Whirled's office party. There better be some damned good cocktails at this open bar. Is all I'm sayin.

I'm using my default image for a change, as it reminds me of a glossier time.

Like many good Duranies out there, I've listened to the leak of Red Carpet Massacre, the new album from the boys that drops on Tuesday, along with the Goo Goo Dolls' greatest hits and a mash-up of random cast-offs from The Killers. It's my own Super Tuesday.

ANYWAY, so unlike many good Duranies out there (bigferret and genericzombie for two, I'm not impressed. I'm not pissed at them for evolving, I just don't LIKE the songs. The title track is my favorite at first listen, but even that is just sort of "pedestrian," as one John Taylor might say.

Don't hate me, y'all. Of course I will still buy the thing, DD being one of about 4 artists from whom I buy tangible CDs these days. And will listen again, and maybe songs will grow on me. But I know that while some DD songs have taken a while to catch with me (e.g. "Sunrise," "Sin of the City," "Mars Meets Venus"), every album has included at least one track I love right off the bat.

Maybe I'm just in a mood. Maybe after 24 years I've outgrown them and need to focus my efforts on the All-American Rejects. Maybe my hangnail is bothering me. Maybe teaming with Timbaland will earn them sales (and I hope it does, honestly) but will alienate grumpy old-schoolers like me. But how old school can I be when I liked 2/3rds of Astronaut?

Ehhh ... never mind. Those who understand this rant will be irritated at me for it, and those who don't stopped reading paragraphs ago ...

When two fandoms collide.

1. The Cardinals are in the World Series! Yay! They are wining some games! Yay! We have tickets to game 5, at which, if we're lucky, they might clinch! My first World Series game in 32 years! Yay!

2. Duran Duran is playing in New Orleans and blathering has invited us down and even though Andy has fled the scene, it has been 16 months since I've seen them, and Mr. Whirled has NEVER seen them and ... Yay! Plus I'll see my "twin cousin" who I haven't seen in two-plus years, and the rest of my family that I haven't been around since April.

Such is my luck, tonight's World Series game rained out for the first time since 1996, pushing all games forward by a day. FUBAR'D every way but Sunday.

As everyone across LJ land and much of the world is noting today, Andy Taylor (guitarist of Duran Duran) has fucking bum rushed. Again. The fab five, reunited for Astronaut for the first time since 1983, is now splintering once again. It's like I'm in 5th grade all over again, but without the tasty ice cream snacks in which to drown my sorry. Plus, I need to keep my maturity in check this go-round. Check this press release:

( Read more... )

U2 was last night. Observations.

1. I liked their Elevation tour entrance better. They strolled out nonchalantly with the lights still up. Very anti-climactic, but that was what was so unique about it. Last night, there was more lights-down stuff. Heightens the anticipation, but not as coooool.

2. I prefer the tunes on All That You Can't Leave Behind a lot more than Atmoic Bomb so this tour, in support of the latter, wasn't as enjoyable for me, personally.

3. A LOT of politicizing from Bono. Much more than in 2001. While I expected some, I was surprised by the extent of it. Mildly uncomfortable. On one hand, I agree with much of what he is saying, and I understand and appreciate their use of an admiring audience to spread the message they recognize as very important. On the other hand, we paid to hear the music, not to engage in 15 minutes of self-flagellation for living in a country that offers blessings many of us don't deserve.

4. The Edge cemented his spot as my favorite.

5. During "Yahweh," one of my not-so-favorite songs, this teenaged kid was brought up on stage from the audience and played the piano. Pretty well. It seemed very spontaneous, especially toward the end while Bono and The Edge tried to give him instruction on using the foot pedals. When finished, the kid ran back to his seat, along the outer ring of the in-the-round stage, and raised him arms, like "YEAH!!," knowing full well that it would probably be the only time he had 25,000 people cheering for him.

6. They did do many of my favorites: "Until the End of the World" (first encore), "Beautiful Day," "Where the Streets Have No Name" (me: "downtown Los Angeles turned into a concert stage today, when the band known as U2 shot their upcoming video ...") "Sunday Bloody Sunday." A fairly groovy, crowd-engaging rendition of "Instant Karma." No "All I Want Is You," to avocadoze dismay. No "Bad" or "New Year's Day." No "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)," which is one of my favorites, but I know full well I will never hear it performed live. I think they deny Rattle and Hum and Zooropa with all that is within them. And I really, really wanted to hear "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" so close to the 25th, but it was not to be. "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me?" Ummm ... no. "Miss Sarajevo?" Why, of course.

7. I think the two Duran Duran concerts this past year spoiled me. First of all, being in the fourth freaking row made sitting in the 37th row, BEHIND THE STAGE, seem like I was watching a Superbowl halftime show on a 20-inch TV. And Duran Duran closes with "Rio," for God's sake. High-energy, well-known, upbeat, and wonderful. U2 closed with something I daresay I'd NEVER. HEARD. BEFORE. And it was slow and almost gloomy. Probably from "October." Edit: It was "40," the last track on War.. Clearly their decision to go out introspectively rather than with a bang. Fine for them, but I wanted to leave rockin' out.

Happy Birthday Simon Le Bon!! That is all.

I can't believe you are 47. Because that means I'm almost 31. Yeesh.

Because I am both the dorkiest person alive and with a touch of OCD, I am currently in the midst of compiling my top-500 favorite songs of all time. Hey, Rolling Stone and Blender both did it this year ... why can't I? I wrote a top-100 in 1994 but alas, typed in on a typewriter and have no idea where the hard copy is. I do recall Belinda Carlisle being on there. Twice.

So this is a hard thing to do. I mean, shouldn't 1-50 be Duran Duran songs followed by 50-85 (U2) and so on? It's interesting. While I have more ALLEGIANCE to a Duran Duran song I'm lukewarm about ("The Reflex," for example), there are legitimately 500 songs on this earth that I ENJOY more. Maybe even 897.

It's also hard because 500 is hard to nail down. Were I doing 1,000, I'd just assume everything on my iPod mini is fair game. 100; it would be a struggle, but I'd know that every song I wrote down would have to have some SERIOUS love toward it.

So right now I'm at 148. And convinced that any other song out there is TERRIBLE. These aren't 1-148, mind you, they were just the first 148 to spring to mind. I could be forgetting about my second-favorite song, for God's sake.

I'm leaving out paradies and comedy songs (e.g., "It's Easy, Mmmkay") but allowing remakes. Recorded remakes, no Hullabhoos. :-(

Some observations so far:
1 song by Aaron Carter
2 songs by Roxette
1 live-version Richard Marx
1 studio-version Richard Marx
"Ice Ice Baby" makes the cut (but how could it not)?
I've allowed myself just 11 Duran Duran songs and 5 U2
2 country songs
1 Christian rock

My cousin, emerybored, has to write a two-page paper for her college composition class ... an analysis of the lyrics of a popular song. Per my suggestion, she is using Ordinary Whirled World ... yay! And as well she should. It's such a beautiful song, and can be interpreted in many helpful ways.

I'll have her singing "Late Bar" and "Secret Oktober" any day now! ::insert evil maniacal laughter::

(X-post)

I've long suspected it, but y'all, it's official. I am the WORST. DURANIE. EVER.

Friday night, at Avocado's BBQ, I was sitting outside playing Songburst with Mr. Whirled, Sprite, Sprite's boyfriend Feldman, and Sprite's boyfriend's best friend Haim. Follow? Good.

Songburst is a game of lyrics, basically, but we were making it a tad more difficult by not naming the song/artist in question. Now, please bear in mind that at this point, I'd had my fair share of Summer Beer, courtesy of girl_about_town's dangerous recipe.

The following clue is spoken:

"You own the money ... "

I shout out, gleefully: "You control the distance!"

??? WHAT. THE. FECK??? I know. ::hangs head sheepishly::

Making it WORSE, Haim retaliates with: "You control the witness!!!"

I begin to walk away from the group, shamed, while behind me Sprite defends my Duran Duran honor, telling them, for example, of my license plate (RIORIO), which, the next day, Mr. Whirled told me I need to get rid of, as I haven't earned my stripes as a "good" Duran Duran fan.

Damn you, Notorious!! ::shakes fist::

Happy Duran Duran Appreciation Day, everybody!!

Seriously.

This month's Blender confirmed the urban legend that, at the time anti-drug anthem "White Lines" was originally recorded, Grandmaster Flash was actually a raging cokehead. In fact, Flash himself noted "…I think we were probably all dabbling in drugs … we were actually all fighting to get off drugs." When Duran Duran covered the track in 1995, guess who was on bass guitar? Admitted former coke fiend John Taylor (and the fiending wasn't so "former" at the time .. I think! Don't flame me!). And there's the almost famous stories of Corey Haim filming "Just Say Noooooo!" commercials while high on reefer and speed and God knows what else. The moral of the story? Drug addicts are amused by irony, yo. So don't do it!!

In other news, I just procured the new YingYang Twins album, confusing them with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I'm sitting here all, "This doesn't sound like those 'Maps' people?! And why are they singing with Busta Rhymes?" ::bangs head against door frame::

Back from Oregon ... and ... fresh from the DD show. Flight got in in perfect time, thank you Mother Nature (she's a single woman, too). Fantastic seats. Awesome show. Different set list from the Cincy concert. They began with Planet ("Switch it off!") Earth. No bodily contact this time, because Simon L. Bon decided to pick some hag beast crack addict wasted embarrassment to "introduce" him. And that is not just my bitterness talking. Crack. Addict. Maybe my bitterness is talking a bit. And my envy. Damn, the envy.

And now I'm sad again. If life could be 45% a DD show, life would be splendid. Especially if "Late Bar" got a spin or two.

But I had SUCH. FUN. And Simon totally laughed at my ass during "Rio." Totally. I am 100% sure, as is everyone sitting within 10 seats of me. Because I'm a goober, but a goober who is a weensy bit cute.

More deets later.

AND!! I got to meet, live and in person, angelsmom, which was awesome, because not only is she another Duranie, but she is so sweet and nice and kind.

Well, Mr. Whirled is out with the boys, so you know what that means … senseless meme time! This one I ganked months ago from someone or another … maybe sofvckinghot? Anyway … read on, those who truly have an interest …

( A Duran Duran Meme )