Current Listening: Three Weeks in Paris by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Current Reading: Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews
Recipe of the Day: Restaurants I want to visit...
Daily Quote:
Rona: Good luck doesn't happen to people like us. Good luck happens to Madonna. - Drowning Mona

Madonna: Do we wanna be accepted by Hollywood?
Dancers: No!
Madonna: Do we care what people think about us?
Dancers: No!
Madonna: Do we want people to kiss our ass
Dancers: YES!Madonna: Okay now, do we want an "R" rating or an "X" rating?
Dancers: "X"
Madonna: "X" for extra fun! - Madonna: Truth or Dare

Edina Monsoon: Well, dahling, just try to be little bit less Western in your thinking, if you can, please. I mean, you realize in Zen terms everything in the universe is just molecules, don't you? Ying and yong, ping and pong. Mmm? You know that, dahling? These are my molecules and that's your little clampen molecules over there, sweetie. I mean, in real terms, there's no difference between me and the coffee, me and the table, me and a tree, me and Madonna, for God's sake! - Absolutely Fabulous

And now for...

1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why?

At first, I didn't think I would be able to participate in this survey, because I couldn't think of any one artist that I could choose. But, now I am out of the closet: It's got to be Madonna! The first time I heard of Madonna, it was while I was in Angers, France. My friend, Barbara, would send me tape recordings of the Weekly Top 40 to listen to, and I think that maybe "Lucky Star" or "Holiday" or whatever her first hit was was included. I thought she was okay then, but hadn't seen any pictures of her, and wondered what the big deal was. When I returned home, everyone was done up in "Madonna Gear" - layers of beads and jewelry and lingerie. Madonna's been around for a long time since, and I admire her attitude and ability to change styles - she is sort of a reflection of many of us who are in our forties now.

2. What one singer/musician can you not stand? Why?

Now, that one, I can't really say. I will say that I dislike misogenistic rappers who write only about drugs, violence, and the way that women can pleasure them. I hate it that my students listen to that.

Other than that, I will immediately turn off the radio if a song that will become an "earworm"... Don't know what an earworm is? I just read about it in Prevention magazine. According to Word Spy.com, it is "A song or tune that repeats over and over inside a person's head. Also: ear-worm, ear worm." I hate those! I thought I just had Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder!

3. If your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?

That depends upon what phase of life I was in, or what phase of life Madonna would be in... I used to work for sort of a "Madonna" type - sort of the benevolant monarch type - when I was in retail. It was a young woman whose mother had financed a shop for her in Phipps Plaza. She was fun to be with, as long as I "kept my place" as loyal court jester, but she did not like it when I started to pull away from the store and move on to better things. Anyway, we all three - this woman, Madonna, and I - are Leos, and it's difficult when 3 wannabe "benevolent monarchs" inhabit a room! But, if Madonna were in the right mood, I think it would be great to meet her!

A book I just got finished reading, My Life on a Plate by India Knight, has this funny chapter where she and her best friend "Do Madonna" in order to help themselves make important decisions. They get comfortable, and start singing or humming "Respect Yourself" while inwardly asking themselves, "What would Madonna do in this situation?" According to them, it always works! I loved that!

4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?

I have been to many concerts. I went to see Barry Manilow on my own, and then my concert choices were mainly made by my boyfriend, Marc. Later, I was turned on to other music styles by other boyfriends. My husband is a sometimes music journalist, so he makes a lot of unusual choices - he's a prog fan, so I have gone to hear some wacky music, such as King Crimson and other proggy. However, he recently took me to see Don McLean - I love Don McLean, and no, not just for American Pie.

Speaking of American Pie...and Madonna. We won't go there. Don was pretty funny about it, calling it "that Madonna song." If he's not bitter, then I'm not.

Later, I would go to clubs and listen to music that I had chosen. In those days, I went to hear a lot of songwriters, and I also sort of became a "groupie" to a great local Atlanta blues group called Mudcat. I used to hang out at the Northside Tavern, a 10 minute drive from my mother's condo, and write in my journal while listening. They are wonderful people, and Danny Dudeck, the lead singer, always comes and gives me a hug whenever he sees me. I can't think of better people. That, to me, is the essence of a "best" show: you love the music, the atmosphere is great, there is dancing, and you have a true emotional connection with the members of the band.

By the way, I have seen Madonna in concert - at the Philips Arena in Atlanta for my 39th birthday - and with the help of binoculars. I can always say that I was there, but I could also just have stayed home and listened to a CD.

And that makes up the last element of a "best show" - you are actually able to see the musicians without vision enhancers! Say what you might about the Northside Tavern, but you are definitely rubbing elbows with the musicians!

5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music?

Okay, I've talked a lot about the things that I do feel strongly about. And I am married to a man who has been in the music business and has strong feelings about it. It is WRONG, and even if I wanted to do it, I couldn't. ;-) It's not something I have been tempted to do in the first place.