August 23, 2007

1. Murder By Death ~ A Neil Simon classic that makes fun of nearly every literary detective (as of the 1970s), plus an all-star cast. Nancy Walker, Truman Capote, Peter Falk, Peter Sellers, Maggie Price, David Niven…the list goes on and on.

2. Young Frankenstein ~ Mel Brooks' classic that, for some reason, scares the bejeebers out of my kids! As for me, my favorite line is "Roll, roll…roll in ze hay." 

3. Austin Powers ~ Gotta love those teeth. And the fashions.

4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail ~ Not only do my children watch this one and quote it mercilessly, but my daughter is going to be one of the Knights That Go "Ni!" for Halloween. Now, if I can just find her a couple coconut shells….

5. Spaceballs ~ I've been subjected to this flick too many times in the last year, since my kids discovered Star Wars, and then this Mel Brooks spoof. Part of my morbid fascination is wondering whatever happened to Daphne Zuniga, grieving over the loss of John Candy, and realizing yet again that Bill Pullman is a dead-ringer for a guy I nearly married.

6. The Princes Bride ~ The classic. Too bad Janet Mullany hasn't seen it.

7. This is Spinal Tap ~ Wow! I haven't seen this one since…well, since Lenny & Squiggy were on daily reruns. I'm sure I'd enjoy it even more now that I'm a bit more worldly. 

8. Robin Hood | Men in Tights ~ Love Mel Brooks! Love men in tights! Cary Elwes rocks. (Did you notice that he's graduated into villain roles now–he played the bad guy in the recent Ella Enchanted.)

9. Naked Gun ~ Leslie Nielsen, the Prince of Spoofs. (Brooks is the the King.)

10. Blazing Saddles ~ You knew I'd put this on the list!

11. Airplane! ~ Leslie Nielsen and Robert Hays. Mmmhmmmm. 

12. High Anxiety ~ I'm a big Hitchcock fan, so I really enjoyed this one. Especially the "Vertigo" scene.

13. Best in Show ~ I'm cheating and putting this on the list though I haven't seen it yet–my friend Binger loves it, and so I'm including it on his recommendation.

Your favorites? Come on, share! 

April 5, 2007

It's been a few weeks since I've done this, but here goes…

Thirteen Records I Can't Live Without

1. Jeff Buckley | Grace  "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" has the most beautiful, poignant lyrics ever. "…all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter…she's the tear that hangs inside my soul forever…." Love the entire album.

2. U2 | Rattle and Hum  Every track on this double CD set is fabulous–from "Helter Skelter" through "Bullet the Blue Sky" and Bono's commentary to "All I Want is You." "Heartland" is one of my other favorites.  

3. Liz Phair | Liz Phair  Gotta love a girl rocker who says it like it is. Even though my favorite track by her isn't on this album ("Supernova"–"…your kisses are as wicked as an M-16, and you f&ck like a volcano and you're everything to me…" ), I have to put this whole album as my fave. Particularly "Why Can't I" and "Extraordinary."

Love the line in "Rock Me," (an autobiographical song about her picking up a younger guy): "Your record collection don't exist…you don't even know who Liz Phair is…"

And don't even get me started on "H.W.C."!

4. The Phantom of the Opera Original London Soundtrack (2 CDs)  My friend Colette would likely agree, don't you think?

My favorite tracks are "The Point of No Return" and I can't think of the title, but it's the song Christine sings when she's in the graveyard visiting her father's grave. (Speaking of Colette and her erotic Phantom novel…she's been so kind as to offer me to give away an advance copy of it verrrrry soon. So stick around.)

5. Two Rooms: Celebrating the Music of Elton John and Bernie Taupin  I usually listen to this CD while cooking. Love all the covers of the Elton/Bernie songs, but particularly Sinead O'Connor's "Sacrifice" and Sting's "Come Down in Time." In fact, I prefer Sting's version to John's….but that should come as no surprise to any of you who visit here often. It's an amazing song, perfect for Sting's voice. Mmm.

Plus there's the cover of "Tonight" by George Michael. That song has a particular meaning to me, because when I first met my Music Man, I had no idea how talented he was (I had dated wanna-be musicians before). But then he sat down at an open-mike-night piano one night and began to play this song…if you've never heard it, and its long, piano intro, hie thee to Rhapsody or iTunes and give a listen to either the original or George Michael's version. And then you'll see why I was a lost cause after that!

6.  Rob Mathes | Christmas is Coming You can't find this album anywhere but on Amazon anymore, but it's fabulous. It's a beautiful jazzy Christmas album, also featuring Michael MacDonald and Vanessa Williams. My favorite tracks: "William the Angel" about an angel who's been sent to earth to find good in man and he can't go back until his broken wing is fixed, and "My Mother's Prayer."

7. James Blunt | Back to Bedlam  Since Jeff Buckley (see #1 above) died so young and tragically, I was lost without this kind of operatic rock (as I describe it)…so when I first heard Blunt's music, I was blown away. Now, although he'll never replace Buckley as my fave, he's pretty darn close. Love "Goodbye My Lover" and "Tears and Rain."

8.  AC/DC | Back in Black  My first heavy metal album, and still one of my favorites today. "You Shook Me All Night Long" still stops me in my tracks, and gets me to doing the air-guitar thing. 

9. J. Geils Band | Blow Your Face Out  Man…I was a JGB freak in high school. Loved them, owned every album they ever put out, and cried when they broke up. This double album set is the JGB at their best…my faves are "Shoot Your Shot" and "Lookin' For A Lover."

10. Sinead O'Connor | I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got  This whole album is brilliant, including the overplayed "Nothing Compares to U" (which I still love). My other favorites are "The Last Day of our Acquaintance" (remember when she did that on SNL, strumming her guitar like she was going to kill it?) and "Black Boys on Mopeds." 

11. Oliver! The 1994 London Soundtrack  My Music Man and I met doing this musical in 1990, so I love all the songs to it, and have many memories of backstage antics, etc., during this show. My favorites include the exchange between Mr. Bumble and Widow Corney "I Shall Scream" and also "Oom-Pah-Pah" and "As Long As He Needs Me."

12. When Harry Met Sally… Soundtrack  It stands to reason that I'd love the soundtrack to my favorite movie, and it's true. Harry Connick, Jr., does a great job remaking those fabulous Sinatra songs…My faves include "But Not for Me" and "It Had to Be You."

13.  Sting | Nothing Like the Sun What can I say? I love the guy. I love the literateness (I know that's not a word, just go with it!) and the depth of his lyrics…and that voice. Love the voice.  My faves are "Little Wing" and "Sister Moon."

…Since it's Thursday Thirteen, please let me know in the comments if you want to be entered in the contest to win a copy of The Rest Falls Away.

March 14, 2007

Thirteen (More) Albums (Mostly from the '80s)

Hanging on My Basement Wall

(this is a follow up to Thursday Thirteen #22)

1. Bryan Adams   Reckless

2. Robert Palmer  Riptide

3. Led Zeppelin IV  

4. J. Geils Band   Blow Your Face Out

5. AC/DC  Back in Black

6. Foreigner  Head Games

7. The Fixx  Reach the Beach

8. U2  October

9. Stray Cats  Built For Speed

10. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers  Long After Dark

11. The Babys   Anthology

12. The Romantics

13. The Cars  Shake It Up

And, so…how many of these do you admit to have owned? Or still own?

March 8, 2007

Thirteen Reasons it's a Bright & Sunny Day

Here in Colleen Land

February 22, 2007

Thirteen Things I've Researched for Books I've Written

(both published and unpublished)

1. Tarot Cards–the Major and Minor Arcana and what all the cards mean

2. The Gaia Theory–the theory that the earth is actually one living organism

3. Making rose beads–beads that are made from the stewed petals of roses

4. Indian Vampire mythology

5. What it was like behind the scenes at the Opera Garnier (The Paris Opera House) during the late 19th Century

6. Different types of antique lamps

7. Working at a radio station

8. The oil industry

9. Earthquakes and geological faults

10. The flora, fauna, geology and climate of Siberia 

11. Flying small planes (I didn't actually fly them–just researched!)

12.  Caving and cave rescues

13. Rome in the 19th Century