7.26.2006

Whimsical Wednesday

Here are few noted songs with a little edge that really rocked my Wednesday:

Wrong Way – Sublime
Your House – Jimmy Eat World
Anything, Anything – Dramarama
We’ve Been Had – The Walkmen
Hysteria - Muse

7.25.2006

Holy Shnikes!!! My keys…

Just another trying day in the life of Rachiley, but then again I’m still par for the course. So you may be asking yourself how much trouble can she get into during a typical workday?

Well if you know me well it’s probably a lot more then your average Josephine. Many of you know that I’ve been super busy and quite stressed out with work as of late. But that doesn’t stop me from having a good laugh, even at my own expense. And today I was able to serve it up in spades.

In the late afternoon I scheduled an offsite work meeting with a vendor. As usual I was running right on time, but clearly recognized any additional lollygagging would make me late. So I chatted away on my cell phone until I got to office complex door.

I hung up and walked hurriedly toward the elevator as a man held it for me. My hands were full with stuff for the meeting. I tried to place the keys inside my bag, but my cell began to ring. Out of confusion or maybe sheer panic (I’ll let you choose) my keys flung forward.

In slow motion I watched myself grasp for the keys only to miss them and watch them fall through the large crack between the lobby and the elevator.

HOLY SHNIKES!!! My keys have just fallen down the elevator shaft…

I stood there circling not quite sure what to do. My only thoughts drifted towards finding the maintenance person for this building. But I decided to remain calm knowing there was not much I could do at the moment. I’m definitely no MacGyver, especially wearing a skirt and flip-flops.

I once again noticed the man in elevator beckoning for me to come upstairs with him (and wow he sure does look a lot like Shaggy from Scooby Doo). Turns out Shaggy works for my vendor and called maintenance while he shuttled me off to my meeting. I was then reassured by at least five other people in that office that this seems to be a semi-regular occurrence in the building. What cemented this feeling was a quote by the vendor saying:

“Once a client came in for a meeting and was dashing off to make a flight, but dropped his keys down when he tripped. He missed the flight. At least we know you’ll be around in a meeting with time to kill.”

All I could do was laugh and wait. Thirty minutes later Shaggy returned waving my keys outside the glass conference room. I promptly interrupted our discussion to fetch my lost keys and say thanks. Before we reconvened the meeting I decided to securely fasten the keys to my bag.

And that’s the real reason I missed hot yoga today!!!

Let's just be thankful that it was my keys that feel into the Elevator shaft not my spirit or a small animal.

7.20.2006

Like Your Favorite Song

“I’ll stay at your house all night. We’ll listen to Michael Stipe. Sing words we can’t understand.” -The Central Standards

Ok, so last night I did not stay at my house all night listening to Michael Stipe. But as some of my friends who’ve known me for a long time could attest to, I might have done so on occasion in the past wearing out my copy of R.E.M Green - my personal fave.

Instead I ventured out to hear my friends from The Central Standards play an incredible set at Otherlands. If you haven’t heard about them you should definitely give'm a spin. Or you can download a sampling on itunes.

I sometimes have a hard time describing their music styling to folks (perhaps because I like’m so much). Or maybe it stems from the fact that I’m trying to pinpoint what’s behind their assorted mix of songs. And let’s face it - I’m probably too busy singing along enough to focus on answering a question like that anyway.

What I can tell you is that anyone who samples The Central Standards becomes hooked!

Does that make me some kind of musical junkie? If so, then I guess it will wear the badge of honor proudly…

But now I’ve digressed and it’s to focus back to the music. Here are my thoughts on some of songs that made the set last night:

  1. Rosemary - a solid song with great lyrics that always draws me in. In fact the title of this entry and the quote at the top of this blog is a reference to this Jeff Capps’ song.
  2. Pretty Persuasion - an R.E.M cover and a song that randomly shuffled through my ipod yesterday. Coincidence? I think not…
  3. Great Big Cosmic - a new catchy song that is becoming a fast favorite of mine. I think I heard first at the crawfish festival. Unfortunately I was unable to fully appreciate it because I was freezing. Bonus Comment: a friend of mine started to misinterpret the lyrics, which only endears the song to me more (because it will forever cement the funny moment of the time and place).
  4. Teenage Heart – two words: Panther 3000!
  5. Perpetual Afternoon – strangely I’m always drawn to the story inside the song every time I hear it.
  6. Secrets to Sing – is a simple reminder of a fun folks who are road tripping.
  7. Changed - Ted Horrell’s lyrics speak so much to life. It resonates the feelings about a great dichotomy of who we are, who we will be or how people perceive us…

7.18.2006

Tunes For Toiling Away Another Tuesday

Here are just a few OUTSTANDING tunes that have been a backdrop behind such a lackluster day:

Suspended From Class – Camera Obscura
New Light of Tomorrow – Husky Rescue
Sour Girl – Stone Temple Pilots
Stay or Leave – Dave Matthews Band
Was I In Your Dreams – Wilco
C’mere – Interpol
Jerusalem – Matisyahu
Back To Me - Kathleen Edwards

7.17.2006

Photography Rocks!!!

On Sunday I decided to beat the heat by visiting the “Annie Leibovitz: American Music” exhibit at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. This exhibit showcased the talents of the infamous Annie Leibovitz who has shot photos for the likes of Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and more. Annie seems to have a way at gaining rare access to artists and icons to create classic stills. And you can tell that the artists trust in her runs so deeply that she is able to expose and capture something uniquely personal in each session.

How amazing would it be to glance for 5 minutes through the lens and life of what this legend sees? I’m definitely in awe of her talent and experiences at being exposed to music on a whole new level.

Here are my top favorite images that were on display and my comments on them:

  1. Emmy Lou Harris – “Red Dirt Girl” being brought to life. Just a tough, weathered woman surviving on the delta!
  2. Mary J. Blige – An amazingly beautiful raw soul captured in this still. Quite unlike this iconic image of cutting edge/gritty R&B/rapper musical styling I normal associate with her.
  3. Ryan Adams – So cool to see an artist look like a normal human being. Sitting in a messy motelish type room with killer bed head and very sloth like.
  4. Robert Earl Keen & Lyle Lovett – Old pals sitting on porch probably in the midst of deep thought and discussion. It gives you a feeling like you could jump in and take part too if you brought a couple of beers.
  5. Rosanna & Johnny Cash – A musical family sitting in rockers on the porch, probably just kicking around and harmonizing to some tunes. Just imagine the amount of talent on that porch and inside that house on that day.

The one thing missing in the exhibit was actual music. I would have loved to travel from picture to picture with something that inspired Annie Leibovitz. Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed her commentary, but to have some musical picks from her would have probably sent me over the moon.

Here are my top 5 songs that I would have listened to during the exhibit if someone asked me to select a soundtrack:

  • Hold On I’m Comin’ – Sam & Dave
  • Red Dirt Girl – Emmy Lou Harris
  • Not Goin’ Cry – Mary J. Blige
  • To Be Young – Ryan Adams
  • It Ain’t Me Babe – Johnny Cash

The afternoon was topped of by a musical documentary - Amazing Grace: The Story of Jeff Buckley. This movie used musical footage intertwined with interviews of friends, fans and even Jeff himself to give us a better understanding of the mysteries behind an artist who refused to “sellout” to the labels. This movie revealed a tortured soul whose solace was his music and the desire for perfection within his creation. His journeys lead him to Memphis to record a new album, but tragically ended as he was swept away by Mighty Mississippi.

Definitely check out his music if you get a chance. One of my personal favorites is "Lover, You Should've Come Over" the acoustic version. Jeff's music is infused with such a rush of passion it's like bittersweet treat that should not be passed up.

7.11.2006

And the drama keeps rolling along...

Materazzi says he did indeed insult Zidane during the World Cup final. You can read more about the He Said, He Said More head butting incident in the BBC Sport section.

Honestly, this is becoming way more exciting to me then Barbara Walters vs. Star Jones drama from a few weeks back. I'm envisioning a TV movie of the week. Or maybe they can take this to the people's court? It's got to be something along those lines!

7.10.2006

Rachiley Wrap-Up of World Cup Fiasco 2006

Who doesn’t love a good drama, especially when it unfolds right before you’re eyes & the world. This is exactly why I enjoyed the World Cup so much this year. Each player that competed on the pitch brought so much passion and machismo it was hard not to watch or get caught up in the excitement the last few weeks. It brought back memories of my high school soccer stardom and fondness for slide tackles that lead to being carded.

I whiled away the past few weeks discussing with co-workers, friends or anyone who cared to debate the pros and cons of the sport. And why many people in the US are really clueless to the popularity and excitement that is visited when you hear “GOAL, GOAL, GOAL!”

My initial focus was to try and root for the US, but let’s face it they were a disaster waiting to happen. And it was confirmed when you saw how they could not gel on the field during game one. I do give them made props for their outstanding PR before the tournament. And special kudos for Gatorade in making a fantastic, tug at your heart stings commercial supporting the boys.

I choose to follow and cheer on the England, which also seemed to also struggle with team chemistry. Things seemed to look up when they made it out of group B and Wayne Rooney rejoined them. Alas the star power, which included Bekham, Rooney, Lampard, Owen and company, couldn’t make it out of the quarters. So we are left with again the best showing in the tournament for England was the Bekham & Lampard cameos in fabulous Adidas commercial of Jose +10.

And if you haven’t seen the Adidas ad it’s available for viewing at http://www.adidas.com

But I digress after all was said and done it was France vs Italy in the finals for the World Cup 2006. It was a great game with all the initial scores for both teams in the first 20 minutes. At the end of regulation the game was tied, so it was off to overtime, where it got ugly. In the first OT Zidane of France got red carded for a head butt. There has been some controversy on whether or not he was provoked into this action, but subsequently this action ended his career and France’s World Cup dreams.



And honestly it saddened me to watch him walk off the pitch passing the trophy that was within France’s grasp. The Italians ended up pulling off the victory in the penalty kick shoot out (5-3).

Plus I know that for a short period of time Soccer was more then just filler or a set of highlight reels on ESPN. It was a primetime, bona fide, live action telenovela for the entire world to see. And I can’t wait for the next go around in 2010 in South Africa!

7.09.2006

I like you, but you're crazy!

So I’m quoting a little Old School today because I spent the weekend with some of my favorite men - Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell and more. Ok, so they were all viewed through my television screen, but they definitely brought some more laughter into my life. And actually I don’t even do the quote justice in my title, so below is the full line:

"You're... you're crazy man. I like you, but you're crazy." -Frank The Tank (after she shoots himself in the jugular with a animal tranquilizer)

This quote really has two meanings for me right now:
  1. There are just some movies out there that draw you in. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen the flick, when you turn on the TV it just sucks you in helplessly. That has to be the case for me this weekend. And I guess it’s a coincidence that Vince Vaughn just happens to be in most of the funny ones I enjoy most. I literally will stop and lose yet another hour of my life to movies like Old School, Wedding Crashers (damn that HBO this weekend), Swingers and even Rudy (what can I say even a girl can get caught up in the moment of triumph overcoming adversity) to name a few. And not only do some of these movies suck me in, they leave me walking around quoting sheer nonsense (good thing I have friends willing to play along) for hours.

  2. And to be honest this quote also sums up my past week. I’ve been a bit crazy, a bit kooky and probably a tad bit stressed, but that sure as heck doesn’t mean I don’t like you or life in general. Things have just been a bit pressed with me doing so much. Plus as an added incentive I’ve really been working my tush off this summer. I’m trying to see how far I can make it through the dog days of summer without taking vacation (besides what’s bestowed upon me - aka memorial day, 4th of July, etc). This gargantuan effort I’m hoping will payoff in the form of me going to Switzerland this fall for some Hot Cocoa.
Wish me luck in my venture for making it to the end of the summer without taking much time off. And don’t worry I will continue to infuse my mind with useless movies with my man Vince. I’m sure right now I can turn on the tube to find Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball, Anchorman or many other flicks to pass the Sunday night lull away.