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Me: hey girls, whatcha doin?
Bobbin: we are the outerspace girls. We are heroes of destiny. We use
gravity to trap all the bad guys.
Zed: yeah.
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My most vivid memories of the cottage, other than playing with the frogs and snakes, are clamouring through the ditches along the side of the road scavenging raspberries, wild strawberries, and blueberries to make "mush". :-) Was there anything better in the world?
Posted by Sarah on July 2, 2009 6:09 AM.
Ignore this. I'm trying to figure out how to get a bunch of stuff to work together.
I tried Twitter for about a day. I just couldn't get into it. It's too labour intensive...constantly notifying other busy people about what you're busy doing. That's what FaceSpace is for, isn't it?
Posted by Saedigh on June 29, 2009 3:53 PM.
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Apparently it is Pride Day at Seattle Center. Bobbin said it was a
party for rainbows. That works too. :-) I'm just glad she didn't notice all the naked people. Cause I wouldn't want to have to explain "why does that man have his p*nis painted like a rainbow, mommy?". Not yet, at least.
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The very first music video I ever saw was "Billie Jean". It changed a lot for me. From a visual perspective, I just loved the squares that lit up under his foot with each step. I liked the song, the rhythm, the music. The story that the combination of images and words told. The concept of a music video. I liked the way he danced. I became a fan.
Prior to seeing that video, music was really only background noise for me. I didn't have a musical "taste" until then. I listened to whatever my parents were listening to (Willie Nelson, Nana Miskouri, Abba, Boney M, and of course, the military pipes and drums), or I listened to my sister's "Smurf" albums, which she seemed to want to hear all the time. After Billie Jean, I discovered music for myself. Music that was different than the music my parents listened to.
I was mildly disappointed to learn that Michael Jackson had an existence, even celebrity, before I had learned of him. My parents informed me that in fact, they knew who he was. He started as part of the Jackson Five. But I decided I would still think he was cool.
In 1982, I was 11 years old. I was in 6th grade. I remember no sooner had I been awakened to the phenomenon that was Michael Jackson, than my classmates were already deciding he was "yesterday". Not cool anymore. But I still liked him.
I had a poster of him up on my bedroom wall, above my desk in my bedroom in London, Ontario. He was wearing a white jacket. I developed a major crush on him.
The first album I remember wanting was "Thriller". I entered a call-in radio contest to try and win one. I won the contest, but they were all out of "Thriller" so I had to settle for Hall and Oates. My aunt listened to Hall and Oates. They were not cool. I eventually got "Thriller" on cassette tape. I listened to it all the time.
By the end of 6th grade my infatuation with MJ was over. But I still liked his music. And I was starting to listen to other music too. I had developed a taste. I had opinions about music. But I was still pretty self conscious about it for some reason. I think because I remember my classmates thinking his music and image was not cool anymore, and that they had moved on to some dude named Rick Springfield, whom I hadn't heard of. So when it came time for us to write and present a paper on a "well known musician" in my 6th or 7th grade music class, I opted for Andre Gagnon, the Canadian pianist, at the suggestion of my aunt. My classmates snickered behind their hands when it was my turn to present. I hated them.
I had however heard of, and seen, Michael Damian - "Danny Romalotti" from "Young and Restless". My friend Shannon and I went to a concert of his in 7th or 8th grade, I think. At the UWO campus. He was dreamy. It wasn't so much about his music as it was about his total dreaminess. That totally made up for my lack of interest or knowledge of Rick Springfield.
In 9th grade I met my friend Jen. We bonded. She introduced me to David Bowie via "The Labyrinth" when I slept over at her house one time. I still have a crush on him and love his music to this day. How can you not have a crush on David Bowie.
U2, Aha, INXS, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, and all the big 80's pop stars were what I listened to in high school. I listened to Kasey Cesum and the American Top 40 in 10th grade every week. I watched a LOT of Much Music whenever I could (we only ever had basic cable, so most of my watching was done at friends' houses :-)) And then came Gowan. He was cool. I had a big time crush on him. Me and my friend Lisa. We went to a Gowan concert together I think the summer following 10th grade. It was at Landsdown Park in Ottawa, where I was living at the time. I think Glass Tiger opened for him. That was the second concert I had ever been to, if in fact you can count Michael Damian as a legitimate "concert" :-). I have yet to meet a single person in the United States who knows who Gowan is.
In University, I remember listening to a lot of Depeche Mode at Pam and Eileen's place. There was one particular song that I would actually play to fall asleep to.
In the summers in Montreal I would walk out my apartment door and immediately find myself in the middle of the international jazz festival. I would walk the entire festival at night, and sleep with my apartment window open. Not just to hear the music, but to hear the sounds of people enjoying the music.
Towards the end of University I was listening to a lot of angry female bands and singers. It was a short lived phase that went with the state of mind I was in at the time.
A little while after moving to Seattle I was introduced to Bumbershoot. I added Pink Martini and Paris Combo to my list of all time favourites. Then one year, for Debra's birthday, we all went to the St. Michelle Winery to see some Celtic rock band, I can't remember which. Opening for them was "Great Big Sea", who I had recently discovered on my own on a trip back home. I was one of the very few people in the audience who had heard of them, let alone knew all of the words to all of their songs. That didn't last long, as they became an instant hit in the Pacific Northwest after that concert, and I have seen them in concert on almost every return they've made to the area in the years since.
When I started dating Tim, I bought us tickets to the EMP grand opening concerts. We sat in prime seats for No Doubt, Matchbox Twenty, Alanis Morissette, Eurythmics. We saw James Brown. All amazing performances and amazing experiences.
Tim has since re-acquainted me with Metallica and a host of other bands from his own musical past and present. And he also taught me how GOOD music can really sound :-) My ears are very spoiled now.
My musical tastes continue to evolve and grow as the years pass. Now there isn't really any music that I don't like. Except the stuff that literally sounds like static. But at least once a day I turn the XM radio dial to the "80s on 8" station or the "Hair Nation" station, and immerse myself in the Pop and hard rock music of the 80s. I am not self conscious about the music I like anymore. And I blare the 80s pop and sing and bop in the car, regardless of who sees and hears me. I am who I am and I like what I like.
But it all started with Michael Jackson and "Billie Jean". And for that I will always have fond memories of the Michael Jackson of 1982. The one who lit up the sidewalk squares with his footsteps.
Thank you, Michael.
Bobbin has taken to requesting "Abba" after school and on the weekends. Usually she's dressed in a sparkly princess dress, with a tipsy tiara perched precariously on her head. When the music starts playing she launches into a spirited combination of ballet twists, turns, and leaps; hip-hop moves; disco inspired dance steps; all with a flare of funk thrown in for good measure.
I'm in the process of downloading the most recent dance video now. Stay tuned; it'll be a good one :-)
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