‘…and, when it’s time, I’ll leave the ocean behind…’

I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston

RIP Whitney. May you dance with the angels and know that you touched the hearts and lives of so many generations with your voice. Turning this up and celebrating you tonight, as you were and always will be to me - joyous, powerful and incomparable.

(Source: shycityxo)

Go, Lindi! June can’t come quick enough.

…I’m gonna work the straw, make the sweat drip out of every pore…

Raaaaaaaaawwwwwwr! The tiger certainly made her presence known this year, with more shake-ups than a cocktail urn and a wee touch of the wobblies to go with it. Thankfully, I’m a big kid. I love to watch the world tilt. [That feeling you get from spinning around several times, then sitting down straight away…? Awesome!] It’s been rocky though and I’m looking forward to calmer times. In the meantime, here’s some of the goodness that got me through. See you on the other side, my friends, salut! =)

Songs

1. Oh, Hark - Lisa Mitchell

2. Sunday Best - Megan Washington

3. Something In The Water - Brooke Fraser

4. You’ve Changed - Sia

5. We Speak No Americano - Yolanda Be Cool + Dcup

Albums

1. Down the Way - Angus and Julia Stone (If I could crawl into an album sleeve and snooze forever, this would be the one. Julia’s voice is divine.)

2. Sunny Side Up - Paolo Nutini (Sorry to everyone who had to endure this on repeat in my car for months on end. I’m sure you’re sick of it; I’m still not.)

3. Wonder - Lisa Mitchell (Bless her little cotton socks, this girl is a darling. So many gems on this lovely album. Look out for her.)

4. Curioser - Kate Miller-Heidke (More mainstream than Circular Breathing, but still excellent.)

5. We Are Born - Sia (Never fails. Video for Clap Your Hands is the most ridiculous display of crazily creative awesomeness I’ve seen in awhile. Go watch it. Now!

Books

1. Impractical Jokes - Charlie Pickering (I had my doubts initially, but this was hilarious. Made me laugh till I cried. Highly, highly recommend it.)

2. The Last American Man - Elizabeth Gilbert (Whatever you think of her memoirs, let it go. Though there’s some eating, a little talk of loving, and possibly some praying, this ain’t that book. But, the lady sho’ can write. Shares some similarities with Into The Wild without being agonising or aggrandising.

3. The Autism Prophecies - William Stillman (In a word, fascinating. I would argue that blindly accepting every word of this book might be dangerous, but the premiss is encouraging. It’s so good to finally have a book that looks at autism beyond the realms of disorder.)

4. The Happiest Refugee - Anh Do (Cemented this man, in my mind, as one of the most down-to-earth, likeable comics around. An easy read with plenty of heart and humourous moments.)

5. Room - Emma Donoghue (Though I’ll never read this book again, I can respect it for creativity and commitment. Turned my stomach and held me captive. It’s everything The Memory Keeper’s Daughter hoped to be. If you liked The Lovely Bones, you’ll love this.)

13 years ago, Bill drew a green dot on the wall and told us to play through it. I looked at my nails, watched light reflect off the polish. Around me, the troops blew fire. It was a massacre. Bell to the ground, Eamon’s sound was intense. He rocked it like a man possessed. Unsurprisingly, that gift still gives. These days, he’s the brass man behind various projects and, when he’s not winning prestigious jazz awards, he’s flapping about with this joyous band of lovelies who are so contageously fun, you will practically burst. Today, they got some much-deserved interstate recognition so I’m sharing the love. Congratulations, guys! Flap on!

Soundtrack of [My] Life, as borrowed off zenlikeme.

Instructions:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool…

Opening Credits:
For All The Wrong Reasons - Deborah Conway

Waking Up:
Eternal Life - Jeff Buckley

First Day of School:
Fallin’ - Alicia Keys

Falling in Love:
Willing To Fight - Ani Di Franco

Fight Song:
Ooh La La - Goldfrapp

Prom:
Middle of the Hill - Josh Pyke

Life:
Wind and the Mountain - Liz Phair

Mental Breakdown:

Por Amor (Per Amore) - Andrea Bocelli

Driving:
Bird on a Wire - k.d. lang

Flashback:
Come All Ye Sailors - The Wailin’ Jennys

Getting Back Together:
Tiger In The Night - Katie Melua

Losing Your Virginity:
Haircut [Live] - The Waifs

Wedding:
Hey Hey My My (Into the Black) - Neil Young

Birth of Child:
Tip of Memory - Elixir

Final Battle:
Man Gave Names To All The Animals - Bob Dylan

Death Scene:
To Where You Are - Josh Groban

Funeral Song:
True Love Leaves No Traces - Leonard Cohen

End Credits:
Geek In The Pink - Jason Mraz

ohheygreat:

“These Ain’t Raindrops” - James Carr

Remember Soul Sunday? Yeah, I kinda don’t either.

But this week I was listening to James Carr and holy Jesus did that man have one of the best voices in the history of the world. If you know him, you know “The Dark End Of The Street” or “Pouring Water On A Drowning Man” (that’s a link to a vide of him singing live, and I highly recommend you watch it).

So anyway, if you don’t own You Got My Mind Messed Up, you should get it now. You should listen to it all week. You should kick your own sorry ass for having come this far in life without being familiar with a singer who never got his due, a soul singer who was always overshadowed, a voice as great if not greater than so many others we celebrate regularly.

You know how much I love Otis. I mean, I love Otis so much that last night I spent most of a 40 minute drive thinking about how much I’d love to be able to go back in time just to be able to see him live, while also wearing a really cute outfit in which I would dance all night. I didn’t even fantasize about meeting him, just seeing him perform. So when I say that James Carr deserves to be as celebrated as much as Otis Redding, you best believe I am serious. Listen to the way he digs down so deep and kicks you up out of that chair! I throw my hands up in the air and from across the room Pablo looks over at me and laughs because my headphones are on and all he sees are two little hands waving and shoulders writhing involuntarily, I am swooning and I can’t help it - plus that goddamn organ and is there someone singing duet? How can you even tell! He’s blowing everyone out of the water.

You won’t hear anything better this week. Trust me.

Damn straight, sister. Sing it!

Greenday, you’ve come such a long, long way since Dookie. So impressed right now. I’d love to hop on a plane and see this when it opens. ::applause::