I'm A Very Stylish Girl

Well, I am not really a stylish girl, but I do love that song from Dimitri From Paris.

In the next month, I have three weddings, two rehearsal dinners, and a baby shower. You know what that means? I need dresses. I haven't bought a dress since last spring and I bought it only because it was the first one I tried on. It's not that great. In fact, it kinda sucks.

But for the first time in my entire life I purchased three new dresses in two weeks. So here are my purchases.

This little red dress is so cute. And I found the perfect necklace for it at Cameron's. The dress is cotton with a tulle underskirt that makes the skirt poofy. It has hidden pockets perfect for fidgeting in. It looks very 1950s. It is for wedding #1 and possibly wedding #2:



This next dress is silk and fits me like a glove. I look super hot in this dress, especially with my new black patent leather heels. It's for at least one of the rehearsal dinners, possibly both.



I am a bridesmaid in wedding #3, so this green dress was chosen for me. I'm instructed to wear a sash with it.



All these weddings and social occasions kinda stress me out. But there is a light at the end of all this.... in ITALY!!! Two weeks after I return from wedding #3, I leave for Italy. I won't need to wear dresses there. But I was told to wear super tight jeans. Apparently the women in Italy wear their jeans skintight. Hmmm.

Lunchtime with WKNC

Today, I had to run a couple errands at lunch. I jumped in the car and heard Camera Obscura on the radio. I thought, "COOL!" And then, the dj played some Magnetic Fields, Andrew Bird, Of Montreal, M Ward, and Billy Bragg & Wilco.

I felt like I was listening to one of my own mix tapes. It was great. I just LOVE stumbling across a dj that plays song after song after song of music that I love.

I don't know who he was, but I should find out and try to listen every Thursday around lunchtime. My only complaint was that he talked about every two songs, which I find annoying. But his talksets were short and to-the-point. His playlist was great.

You, too, can listen to NC State's WKNC on the internets.

Now That I Know How To Embed YouTube Videos

Do you want to watch a Richard Hawley video? Here's one.

I really don't get this one. But again, I don't get music videos at all. But I watched this video over and over this summer just to hear "Tonight The Streets Are Ours" before the album's official release.



I heart Richard Hawley.

Now That I Am On A Busby Kick

The first Bubsy Berkeley film I ever saw was Golddiggers of 1933. I rented it from VisArt Video over by the Harris Teeter. It was on VHS. They had three films choreographed by Berkeley in their collection: Dames, Golddiggers of 1935 and Golddiggers of 1933. I remember watching them with Craven and we were both absolutely in awe. I have no idea how we learned of Busby Berkeley... I think that maybe we saw a documentary on PBS or something? The last time I was in VisArt which was YEARS and YEARS ago, I checked and they no longer carried any Busby Berkeley musicals... probably because I was the only one who ever rented them.

I received the Busby Berkeley DVD box set as a Christmas gift this year. It was my favorite Christmas present. There is one entire DVD that is just of various money shots from his films. Oh yeah!!! Busby Berkeley spent over $1 million for a spinning circular stage. In the 1930s!!! Gotta love that.

Here is a great clip from Golddiggers of 1933. Unless you are a fan of Dick Powell, I would skip the first 2:30 seconds. In other words, begin it with 3:23 left and watch from there. But if you're like me, you are a Dick Powell fan, too. He's is so weird. But I could live without Ruby Keeler. Why is she in so many of the Berkeley films? Why her? She bugs me. And she looks like a clod when she tap dances.



And if that isn't enough for you, here's another one from YouTube. It's cut up and I hate that... because to get the full effect of the "I Only Have Eyes For You" dance, you need to see it uninterrupted without breaks or cuts. Oh well. At least you'll be able to see why Ruby Keeler creeps me out.

Speaking Of Busby Berkeley and Dream Jobs

I want to be Carmen Miranda when I grow up. In Busby Berkeley musicals. With bananas. And monkeys.

It's Not Just A Summer Fling

It's for real. I thought that my love affair with Richard Hawley would only last a few weeks, like so many of my obsessive musical crushes.

Last summer, my musical affair was with Camera Obscura. I listened to their record, Let's Get Out of This Country, over and over and over on the way to the beach and back. When I hear a track off that record today, I get pangs in my heart for my old flame. I loved that band so much. My dream job is to one day play tambourine in Camera Obscura. Seriously. I'm not kidding. But I betcha they don't offer health insurance and a 401K package which is mandatory for me. But I'll always dream.

Anyway, this summer, I fell in love with Richard Hawley... first it was just a few tracks that folks sent me. Then I got his record Lowedges. Then it was Cole's Corner and then Lady's Bridge. Oh, and then there were the live recordings. Ahh.

This summer, I was doing alot of driving around the triangle... more than my usual two-minute commute to work. It seemed that I spent most of this time driving in a love-induced haze obsessively listening to Richard Hawley. I'd be headed off to a particular destination and I would find myself lost or headed to Raleigh when I should've been driving to Chapel Hill. It didn't matter. I just loved to be alone silently listening. Alone in the car with Richard Hawley on repeat. I was cuckoo for cocoa puffs. And I still am.

I've been good lately listening to other music... the Rosebuds, Josh Ritter, the Shout Out Louds, and the Sea & Cake. And I've been listening to my Ipod on shuffle, instead of on Hawley. I took the afternoon off today and was rushing all over town for appointments, cocktail dress accessories and shoes, post office, etc. As I pulled into the post office parking lot, Richard Hawley's "Darlin'" came on. I sat in my car and cranked that song. (Supposedly, the Prius is sealed so that sound doesn't penetrate easily, but I know that everyone around could hear it.) I was sitting there in this blissful state practically in tears... wishing that I could play "Darlin'" on my ukulele, but there are no chords on Chordie. I am kinda glad that there aren't chords as there is no way I could ever play that song like he does.

After that, I switched the Ipod back from shuffle to Hawley again. When I was driving back from the maul with my new cocktail dress shoes (some hot patent leather heels with a peep toe) listening to Hawley's "Valentine", I was thinking... if this is what "love" feels like, I sure haven't felt like this about anybody in years. But then I felt weird... is it normal for someone to fall in love with someone's music? Is it pathetic for someone to fall in love with someone's music? I gotta get out more.

So, I am feeling much better than I did on Saturday. I no longer want to kick people in the shins. I want to spread the Richard Hawley love bug to everyone I know.

Watching a new-to-me Busby Berkeley musical made my weekend too. Oh, and chocolate chip muffins. Wootie woot woot!

Radio Show, Friday August 31st 8-10AM

The Reflections - Just Like Romeo and Juliet
Dwight Yoakam - Free To Go
Patsy Cline - Back In Baby's Arms
Django Reinhardt - Embraceable You
Harry Nilsson - Moonbeam Song
Ivy - I Get the Message
Little Name - I Always See the Sun Rise
The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset
Pearl Bailey - Frankie and Johnny
Linda Thompson - Versatile Heart
Sun Kil Moon - Neverending Math Equation
Love - Always See Your Face
Chris Isaak - Two Hearts

When I was pulling music from the library on Friday, I went to get the Summertime Gold box set, thinking that I would find something good and summery to play. As soon as I saw the words "Romeo and Juliet," that Reflections' song got stuck in my head. It's still stuck now. What will make it stop?

I also discovered a new band, Little Name, who play sugar sweet pop along the lines of Belle and Sebastian. I really like it. If you're into that sort of thing, call up WXYC and request it. Or listen on their MySpace page or on the band's website.

My entire playlist can be found here.

So, that was yesterday.

Today, I feel like I could kick someone in the shins. Stay outta my way and don't ask.