Mmmmmmm.... Pop.

Sometimes I must admit my unapologetic sweet-tooth for the sugary goodness of pure orgasmic, melodic pop.

Tonight as I was sitting at work ridiculously late with little or no reason to be there other than not wanting to go home to an empty apartment, I decided I would indulge in a trip to HMV. (The big one on Yonge) I figured I'd spend as long as I wanted going through every single row of CD's and pick one or two. I spent over an hour and a half doing so, and enjoyed myself thoroughly, 'cause I haven't done that in forever.

I was hoping to get some really, really good deals and wind up with a bunch, BUT... because I was determined to at last pick up the latest Sam Phillips CD: Don't Do Anything, (which as expected was effing expensive) I stuck to my guns and only got two. I don't regret for a moment that I bought the Sam album, 'cause it's fantastic, and I will revisit that in a later post.

Here comes the explanation of "unapologetic". Y'see... I am NOT an American Idol fan. I don't hate it for the sake of hating it, nor do I deny there are some genuinely talented young vocalists rolling off the line in it's fully greased machinery either. BUT... other than Kelly Clarkson, I have not been a patron of the factory American Idol represents. HOWEVER.... like a year or two ago, on YouTube... whenever it was that I relented some hype to pass through my gates, I saw this button-cute, little guy sing "Imagine" by John Lennon. And he sang the fuck out of it with about as much passion and tenderness I've ever heard. For those not-in-the-know, his name is David Archuleta.

Now for some reason unknown, he didn't win his season, and since even his beautiful take on that song couldn't coerce me into devoting any time to that show, I couldn't tell you with any sincerity whether he was robbed or not. All I know is that the boy can sing, and I've been paying attention to the singles from his debut album, and since the first time I heard "Crush" (the first single) I knew I'd be buying this CD. Tonight I did. No apologies. I love this kid's voice. He does not take a single note for granted and his debut is pure pop bliss. I love it. I've already listened to it 3 times.
I'd go beyond merely recommending it, and insist you go pick it up. It's simply called David Archuleta.

Repeat after me: we love him.

Seriously, I can't wait to see what he does when he has more control over the material he sings. Though he does have a hand in writing a couple of the songs, and does more than justice to a cover of Robbie Williams "Angels".

I'm a giddy school girl fan of an American Idol. Oy! Oh well. Pride and an empty sack is worth the sack. I'd wear a David Archuleta t-shirt if I had one. He's that good.

"Your Eyes Don't Lie" David Archuleta

(I won't bother posting lyrics, 'cause if you watch the video link and hear the song, --which I strongly encourage you to do-- some fan crazier than I, has already done the work in far more entertaining detail.)

Me with Martini, Jerome in Bikini

Tomorrow night at this time I will be at a Sam Phillips concert with my dear friend Jerome. Hee!

I'm quite pleased at the opportunity to see both Jerome and Sam, having not seen him for probably a year or her... well... ever.

No, she's not a very well-known singer but I'm a fan from way back when she sang contemporary christian music under her given name: Leslie Phillips. What I didn't know, (thank you Wikipedia) was that she was marketed as the "christian" Cyndi Lauper back in the 80's. Whattayaknow 'bout that? No wonder I liked her so much. However... she evidently wasn't thrilled with that comparison. And I never made the connection on my own, nor had I read a peep about it since 1986 when I first became a fan... so how good was that marketing?

I had come to assume that she adopted a new stage name when she took a step back from her faith and began singing secular fare, but like I said, that's an assumption. She may very well still be a woman of faith. I have read some disparaging remarks she has made about the church and the gospel music industry... but that doesn't make her a full-blown heathen, like me.

Jerome is a much more loyal fan than I, I might add. He's kept up with Sam beyond the expiration of her contract with Virgin Records, whereas, I kinda let 3 albums pop up and pass me by without ever hitting my hot lil hands or gracing my eager ears. Shame on me. Of course, every time I saw one of her CD's released since 2001's Fan Dance... they were outrageously priced. That's the burden of being a lesser known artist I suppose though: music outlets don't buy your work en masse and thereby don't pass any savings on to your awaiting fans.

Luckily, Sam has had some success without fickle poopie-head fans like me, and gained a lot of exposure through the TV show "Gilmore Girls". Jerome enlightened me on that stroke of luck I might add, 'cause I'd never watched Gilmore Girls (still haven't, although I hear it was very good.) and never would have known otherwise. Yay Sam! Sell those records and keep spreading your brilliance!

Her latest album is entitled "Don't Do Anything". I vow I will own it... and Fan Dance and A Boot and a Shoe ...and then my Sam Phillips collection will be complete yet again. She really is a remarkable artist with very intelligent/insightful lyrics. I so recommend her quirky bad-self to whomever will listen.

Here's a really old song (not an actual video) from her first album as Sam Phillips: "I Don't Know How to Say Goodbye to You" from The Indescribable Wow.

And as long as I'm goin' nuts... the lyrics to one of my favourite Sam songs... "I Need Love" from Martinis and Bikinis.

I Need Love

I left my conscience
like a crying child
Locked the door behind me
put the pain on file

Broken like a window
I see my blindness now

And I need love
not some sentimental prison
I need god
not the political church
I need fire
to melt this frozen sea inside me
I need love

Driving into town
tired and depressed
Like a flare a street light
burst an SOS

Peace comes to my rescue
And I don't know what it means

And I need love
not some sentimental prison
I need god
not the political church
I need fire
to melt this frozen sea inside me
I need love

Broken like a window
I see my blindness now
And I need love
not some sentimental prison
I need god
not the political church
I need fire to melt this frozen sea inside me
I need love
I need love
I need love
I need love

Zero, Zero, Zero

Since early January, I've been taking Mondays off. It's a way for me to actually take holidays without having to bring in a replacement at work (who just happens to f*** everything up royally while I'm away when he's there). And additionally, I like my long weekends with just me and the dogs and whatever I feel like doing all day. Usually that includes adding music to my iPod, and various household stuff. (Y'know... the glamour that is vacuuming, loading/unloading the dishwasher, laundry... the stuff that reminds you that life doesn't come without it's tedious necessities.)

Not once in this series of extendo-weekends have I written in my Blog. And today I'm determined to make sure I do, since I feel a lot of time I could've spent writing over the past Mondays has been squandered. Don't ask me why I feel this way. I'm a notorious time-waster and you'd think I've learned to subdue my conscience on the topic of things I should be doing. Heh, ...maybe that's what keeps me from turning into a complete couch-potato blob, and I shouldn't really try to overcome that nagging feeling as much as I should listen to it.

Right now I'm going through my collection of (Leslie) Sam Phillips CD's and downloading all my favourite songs from them. That'll be of particular interest to my friend Jerome and probably nobody else. Since Sam's never made much of a name for herself. She's just kinda bubbled-under for 20 years or so. It's both mysterious and understandable at the same time. She's a truly talented songwriter, but her voice is no-doubt an acquired taste in a "Stevie Nicks" kind of way. The closest I think she's come to success is a line-less role in the third Die Hard movie as one of the evil terrorists. (she's quite vicious in the part for someone who says nothing) and having one of her songs featured on Melrose Place and the Melrose Place soundtrack way back when. She also had a song called "Lying" around the same time that charted in Canada, but I think that was only on Much Music. That was from an album called "Cruel Inventions". After that she had one of those critical darling albums called "Martinis and Bikinis" which was highly acclaimed but didn't sell well. Thereafter she kinda torpedoed herself with a concept album that couldn't be considered anything but weird called "Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop)". I like it, but I truly can see why no one else might. I encourage you to Google her and take a look at the song titles. They're nothing if not unique. Anything else by Sam Phillips is quite good though. If you like indie simple "Beatleseque" pop-rock, she doesn't disappoint. I still have yet to pick up her two most recent albums (Fan Dance, & A Boot and a Shoe) because they're always so expensively priced. But I still have good intentions to do so.

Anybody catch the premier episode of Amazing Race last night? It's going to be a very, very fun season being that it's full of previous competitors. The "All Stars" edition if you please. Rob & Amber (reality show whores extraordinaire) are back and already hated by the other teams based solely on how they performed during their first time out. I'm already rooting for Uchenna and Joyce again. I love them, and met them in person after they won. Gracious and wonderful people I says. I'm also cheering for the not one, but two gay couples racing this time around. Wow - go Gay Power! I love the Amazing Race when it's not boring. Last season was boring, and the season before that was as well (the family edition - gaahh - couldn't handle it past the first episode.) This one looks very promising. Hey... there's a little person racing. I hear the last time she was on the show she was quite the spectacle hoisting a side of beef over her head that was almost bigger than her. Munchkins and gays and Rob n' Ambah... oh my. Bring on the hi jinx! hee

Of course you knew the song of the day was going to be a Sam Phillips song. "Zero Zero Zero" from Omnipop. Sam had the sense of humour-enough to make this the title of her "Best of/greatest hits" CD (song wasn't actually included on the CD). Aptly titled, considering none of the tracks charted. Gotta love someone who can joke about their status (or lack thereof).

"Zero Zero Zero"

big numbers go by
I close my eyes
I never count
a large amount
my lucky number
is below one
you never know
when you might need a zero

the zero
in my hand
is nothing to lose
it's hard to confuse
power with love
love with power
everything that I'm not
is all that I've got