best tv show theme song this year

I'm one of those people who select their music based on the emotions, or memories it evokes in me; either of a decade (hi, 80's and early Jazz), or a favorite TV show.  The latest song I've added into my song rotation of obsession is this intro theme song from the newly debuted show, Outlander, on Starz. It perfectly evokes the feelings of... well, the show, yes, but so many more intangibles. It's a good thing, despite my inability to articulate it.



You can tell I loved Enya when I was a kid, can't you?
 

japanese salaryman style karaoke

According to the website, Seattle's "Rock Box" (located off Pine Street in Capital Hill) offers the experience of "Rocking like a salary-man".  Well, this salary-woman had seen enough Japanese and Korean TV shows where a group of people sing really bad karaoke in a private room -- slamming back drinks and appetizers --  that she really wanted to try it, too.

And since it was my birthday, and everyone had to do what I wanted, it was done. And I loved it!

Anyone who's read my blog for any amount of time knows that my family is not just big into music, but also musical (unfortunately, that doesn't include me...)  With a 10+ year age range difference in attendees, we had a pretty eclectic mix of tunes blasting, including:

• Queen
• Frank Sinatra
• Phantom of the Opera
• Bonnie Tyler
• The Lonely Island
• Dean Martin
• Air Supply
• David Bowie
• Morrisey
• Fun.

There was more, but three drinks in three hours have pushed them from my mind.  Some of the raps I never knew in the first place, but that's alright.  I actually got roped into singing a couple duets myself, which I never thought would happen.

It turned out to be surprisingly affordable, despite appetizers, multiple drinks all around and a private room for 7 people. I'd definitely recommend it.

[More pictures to come.]

that one's mine, hehehehe

Johnny finally started a blog, and one of the perks (besides another look into what's going on in his head when I'm stuck at work all day and sometimes all night) is that he's adding some of his songs, live. Here's the first:



More here.

I'm coming to terms with being a groupie. It's a little embarrassing, but inevitable. :)

for making my life rich with laughter, thank you lady gaga

I realize I've posted about this Lady Gaga video before, and I'm just being mean by picking on it. I have no particular issue with Lady Gaga... this song, Alejandro, is actually annoyingly catchy and I periodically, voluntarily, listen to it. As far as Johnny and I can tell, she's just the new generation of Madonna---so what's all the hullabaloo about?

But my sister is self-professedly obsessing on this video right now, so I watched it again... and like clockwork, I'm struck utterly mindless with laughter on one particular section of this video. Check out minutes 5:45-6:35 below:



 This guy absolutely cracks me up.

 

Don't get me wrong, he seems like a great dancer. He's really got those moves down, and he's really passionate (tee-heehee) about it.  He stands out... unlike the other dancers.  I feel mean, picking on him; guy's just trying to make a living.  But the costume they've got him in just makes him look like Planet of the Apes cum Dominatrix. Rock Lee with leathers and cat ears -- only, whoops!, they ran out of cat ears and only had monkey ears left.

Look at those ears <3

 So wrong. Still wiping away the tears of laughter.

i won't find you (song)

I won't find you by John Lindsey (featuring Claude Lindsey) on Spotify

This song is a project Johnny and two of his brothers were working on earlier this year.  He wrote it for our daughter during a particularly difficult time of her adolescence, when the two of us thought we might just go mad with worry and frustration. I think Johnny took comfort in putting some of it to words. 

I won't find you

storm chase in your eye
start it wild
but no, not now

start a fire with a lie
water wild
can you teach me how

never kept you from flying
but you want to fall
to hold any eye

never stepped into my mind
but you know it all
to hold my denial
we find no word true

[chorus]
I can wait for you
I won't find you, I don't need to
I can wait for you
it's only just one moment in time
I won't find you
never need to

storm taste as we die
little wild
but we still smile

storm catching your eye
running wild
wait a while

all caught up in one motion
tear in a heart this hole
for feeling so

so
you find me this way

[repeat chorus]

and this is the end
of one one place in time
one you and me

but I'll still pretend
I don't break apart
and hold as I start to hold on

for you

[repeat chorus]

Johnny (vocals, guitar)
Claude (vocals)
Jesse (drums)
me (groupie with connections)

wherein i'm delighted and traumatized

Thursday's mini-Thanksgiving for those in the family who couldn't make today's big, formal Thanksgiving at my sister's house went off spectacularly well. I ended up making great mashed potatoes, if I do say myself (and I will!), mom brought yummy pies and Mary brought a feast! Turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes and wine... and 6 crabs, many of which were left over (because crab doesn't seem to be how my family rocks. What can I say.) 

Mary had the forethought to record the sibs playing "Creep" by Radiohead, later in the evening when we inevitably wandered downstairs to see what Johnny and Jesse were up to. Jesse on the drums, Johnny on guitar and Emily singing.  This was on request, and Johnny's never played it before... but I thought they did spectacularly.  I love Em's voice.



Also amazing is that she can sing like that on a full stomach.

E&O singing "No-one" by Alicia Keys

Jesse on drums

M&E singing

Johnny singing requests

  ~ * ~

In the end, there was lots of crab left over, and Mary left a good plate piled high for us. I spent hours yesterday shelling my first ever crab without any of the necessary utensils, much to my consternation; my daughter was frozen a couple yards away from me with her face in a grimace, unwilling to abandon me to the trauma of dissecting corpses on my own ("Can I get a wet rag?! Ugh!" & "Um. Do we have any wrenches?") but barely able to suppress her gorge at the smell and sight of it. I can only imagine the content of her furious texting with friends during those hours. But we lived, minus a little skin on my fingers, and today... we make crab pot stickers, Mmmmm! 

And now? Off to do it once more.

better to light a candle...

It's a perfect day to hole up at home and work by candle-light. Watch the winds whip the trees around outside the window, and feel relief that you didn't try to wade out into that this morning. Listen to some Sinatra, and turn it up loud enough to drown out Family Guy in the background.







"Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
Chinese proverb

goodbye, by zero (song)

Here is a song titled "Goodbye", sung by Korean singer Zero.  Without any badass Korean reading skills, I have the hardest time finding anything out about Zero, outside of a couple songs uploaded on Youtube. But I heard this song on a South Korean drama, Beautiful Days, and simply couldn't get it out of my head. Listen:




I wouldn't recommend the drama Beautiful Days to anyone; I didn't finish it myself.  I don't even know if the main female character lived or not -- worse, I can't bring myself to care. But I love this song, even years later. Listening to it makes me feel a little heart-breaky. Perfect for a rainy day.

death and the powers -- the singularity. in opera form. with robots.

Death and the Powers, a blend of opera and robotics that was going to turn the entire stage into a robotic musical instrument, using new performance tech from the MIT Media Lab. Next week, the robotic opera premieres live, playing Sept. 24-26 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. US dates will follow in 2011; follow on Twitter for more details. Gearlog might have put it best: they call it “The Singularity. In Opera Form. With Robots.”

On TED blog <3

come see Emily Lindsey perform...

 I am remiss, a year's worth of remiss, in posting this. But I was going through my videos, and found these videos I shot of Emily's performances at the New Orleans Benefit concert hosted by Jennifer Wildflower (linked below).  I thought I would share them, because she was amazing -- despite the bad quality of my camera's audio.

Etta James' "At Last", performed by Emily Lindsey.
 
(With impromptu accompaniment by John Lindsey [guitar] and Jesse Lindsey [drums].)

And a little piece she did for an encore; I'm not sure of the title.

 

Originally posted on 7/11/2009

...at the Friends of New Orleans' benefit concert, July 18th (next Saturday!)

She's the bomb.


She'll be joining God Made Flesh and performers from the Lindsey jams.

birthing pains -- albino blood monkeys

A new band debuted this 4th of July, at my mother-in-law's house. 

Introducing... (drum roll) the   

Albino Blood Monkeys!

Song title: Leaf Cookies (it's actually pie)

Hahahaha, just kidding. Sorry, the audience started dancing, which was apparently fatally funny. 

So, here's the real song. (And remember, no clapping! Or dancing! It's distracting.)

... wait! Not Albino Blood Monkeys? Guess it's hard to get a set of five 13-16 year-olds to settle. :) (And anyone who has a teenager can imagine exactly how this song came about!)

Band consists of an aunt, an uncle and three cousins. Can you guess which ones are the aunt/uncle? (I'll give you a hint: aunt is blond, uncle has a mean rhythm.)

Look for their CD in 2012, coming to a series of tubes near you.

fun on the fourth

This year was a bittersweet one, our first fourth of July without Tiffy. We ate too much, played on the trampoline, watched fireworks and then sat around the firepit for s'mores and singing. Emily sang a song Tiffy wrote, which was amazing to hear.

But this holiday has always been about fun with the family. We missed those not present, but with so many kids around, there was no way the day could be all somber.

I shot this video of the trampoline antics.

Also, the last year of the infamous "Lindsey Presentation", where the older brothers of John's family made a big presentation as they set off fireworks, to include, but not limited to: singing, skits and many wisecracks. (It is also acceptable behavior for mucho heckling from an easy-to-please but full-of-spice crowd.) We've spent many years of fun with this tradition--born about 14 years ago when we had babies and little money--and it's been decided that the tradition needs to be handed off to the next generation, which have finally reached an age where they'd like a part in the family traditions.

100 years of hard... (ahem)

What do Lady GaGa and Naruto have in common?









 This:

Oh, Rock Lee. Whatever did you do right in this life, to land that gig?  Must have been that 100-years of hard work.

Go, Rock!

a taste of lamb

Gorecki by Lamb:


Angel Gabriel by Lamb:
(I couldn't find an official video to share, but it's a beautiful song)


Wonder by Lamb:
(Not an official music video, but a compilation created by and posted by the band on iLike)

halleluja on request

Sorry, my camera is overwhelmed by the audio down in the studio. But you can get an idea, at least. Johnny's voice is amazingly versatile and vibrant.

emmanuel jal

You can feel the bleeding sincerity of it.

At the age of 23, Emma McCune an aspiring young sojourner, departed the comforts of Western life and traveled to war-torn Sudan to work as a volunteer teacher.

So touched by her experience, Emma returned to Sudan in 1989 as an aid worker and proponent of education for the children of Sudan. Courageous and full of zeal, Emma helped erect more than 100 village schools in South Sudan before her tragic passing at the young age of 29. She was once quoted as saying, "In my heart, I am Sudanese."

Emma met Emmanuel as one of 11 survivors from a group of over 400 war children whom, in fear and desperation, made a three month trek across Sudan attempting to escape the horrors of civil war. In that empty and hopeless moment Emma rescued Emmanuel, hiding him in the cargo bay of an aid plane destined for Kenya. To Emmanuel, Emma is an angel who was sent by God to rescue him from the cold reality of a life plagued with war, famine and death.

You can visit the site to learn more about Emmanuel's effort to help his home in Gua Africa overcome war and poverty through education (as mentioned in his TED video.)

david bowie has a song for everything

I made this set for a couple who are fans of David Bowie. This is from his song "Beat of your Drum" from the movie Labyrinth.

I fused these for ease of posting, but the originals are two pieces.

Photograph king, watches you go
Fashions may change, heaven knows,
but you still leave a stain on me
Supplement queen,
your colours may fade
Seasons may change, weather blows, but you still leave a
mark on me

Wrong-negative fades-never the twain, reckless and tame

I like the beat of your drum
I like to look in your eyes
I like to look thru your things
I'd like to beat on your drum

I like the smell of your flesh
I like the dirt that you dish
I like the clothes that you wear
I'd like to beat on your drum

I thought the lyrics were just the perfect thing to describe the rhythms of their relationship.

benefit for new orleans a success

Loved the:

gumbo,

art,
music
and company.

Face painting! ^__^

There were only two performers from the Lindsey family, but they sounded fantastic.

John Lindsey/ guitar and vocals
Jesse Lindsey / drums and vocals

Other featured musicians were God Made Flesh, who coordinated the benefit, Emily Lindsey and the Gullywhumpers.

Artists include Jenna Colby, Emily Lindsey, Penny Bergman, Daysha Gunther, Heather Corinna of Scarleteen, Kate Cendejas and a few others (and a little piece of my own, which I'm very happy to say "sold!")

All Jenna Colby art for sale was snapped up!

The extremely talented Kate Cendejas

collages by Emily Lindsey

and many wonderful paintings by Penny and Drew Bergman

I'm proud to have been a part of the Friends of New Orleans music and art benefit.
Thanks, JW!

singles

Bat for Lashes has produced one of my favorite music videos ever in "What's a girl to do?":



She's now come out with a new single from her Two Suns album, called "Daniel". Enjoy.

i feel like a god

After being inspired by my friend for years now, I finally manage to inspire her! Check out her delicious taste in music here.