| Belinda's profileSeventh Row MusicPhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
November 30 Friday Night Wrap UpEvel Knievel died.
I didn't think that was possible.
---------
My friend Ned is a great banjo player. He is touring with a famous banjo player right now. Last night they played a gig in NYC. Guess who sat in with them on a few tunes? Steve Martin. Yes, the comedian Steve Martin. He's an accomplished banjo player, too. Needless to say, Ned was in Heaven.
---------
I'm in Sweetwater, Tennessee, for the weekend. Don't ask. Tony let me borrow the new Trisha Yearwood CD and I listened to it all the way here. I'm buying it off iTunes as I type this. I've never heard Trisha sound better. Her performance on the last song on the CD, I think it's called "Sing You Back to Me," should cement her a place in the Hall of Fame. She is brilliant. I submit that there is no better female country singer. Yes, maybe it's a matter of opinion, but I just don't hear anyone else moving in and out of expression and power and control and nuance so seamlessly and seemingly effortlessly. Not like this, gang. Not like this. There's talent...and then there's TALENT. Trisha has the latter. Enjoy.
-b Build a Bear Workshop
Sudan protesters seek Briton's execution - Africa - msnbc.com I'm not really even sure how to give you my opinion on this. After this teacher's 32 year marriage fell apart, she decided to create the life she wanted--travel, adventure, see more of Africa, a place she loved. And, now, the Sudanese call for her DEATH? Because she let her students name a teddy bear a name commonly used by men in the country? Are. You. Kidding. Me. Well, I guess now we have a better division of the 'line' in Sudan. Finally, the clarification for which we misguided Westerners have been thirsting. See, it's okay to rape children. It's okay to rape and kill a mother in front of her children. It's okay to ride into villages, burn them to the ground, and kill whomever is in your way. Actually, chase them down to kill them. Why should they even have to be in your path. As many as 400,000 people have been killed in the past four years in Darfur and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes. They have allowed thousands of their own to be systematically murdered, tortured, and raped. Genocide=tolerable. But may God have mercy on your soul, literally, should you, in your naivety, allow children to innocently name a teddy bear the wrong name. The money quote in this article is this:
"...her actions part of Western plot to damage Islam." No, gang, I think they're doing quite enough damage without anyone's help. -b
Just Passing it Along...or not"Body toxicity – Did you know that addressing colon and liver toxicity issues will make a huge difference in your health? Did you know that an average person carries around 7-25 pounds of fecal matter internally? If you lower your body toxicity levels, you can reduce gas, bloating, bad breath, and body odor. You will also non-surgically flatten your tummy, while correcting constipation and/or diarrhea issues." November 29 Producing MyselfAs you know, and have most certainly forgotten, I am making a CD.
I am making this in my home studio, which means I'm doing every instrument (except acoustic guitar) myself. 
I took 6 weeks off while I was sick and now it's back to getting this LONG PAST THE DEADLINE project knocked out.
Well, here's what happens when I am my own producer.
I've recorded...er...yes...THIRTY-EIGHT vocal versions of "Leaving Eden." Gang, I'm not even kidding. It usually starts out that I punch myself in and then I keep going and fixing things--that truth be told you'd never notice--and then I just think it would be easier to just do the whole thing again. I listened to version #1 and version #38. And, a few in between. I don't know guys. I just think I have a better one in me.
Am I ill?
Probably.
But, in my defense, I did "Beautiful" in one take and I won't change it.
Perhaps it will all end up even in the end...
-b
November 28 Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday (posted again)...if you say Tuesday over and over again, it starts to sound like it's not a real word.
I wrote with Sue yesterday. Have you ever had one of those days when your mind is a blank slate? Gang, it was as if I'd never had a creative thought in my life. I readily admit that I was the "B" writer. Actually I was the "Q" writer (quit while you still have some self-respect left). God bless Sue. Next time I shall arrive with a brilliant idea fully pre-written to which all she will have to do is add her name and accept 50%. It seems like the least I can do. The kicker was when two fellows decided that the writing rooms were actually just practice rooms and holed up in the room next to us with a guitar and a CLARINET--
 ...at which time they proceeded to rehearse a lovely (if not misplaced) rendition of "Silent Night." Gang, I've met my match with the clarinet. I can't possibly THINK with that going on the other side of the paper thin walls at BBMP! Besides, I have some post-traumatic stress related to that instrument. I had to learn how to play it in college--all of the woodwinds, actually--and I specifically named the clarinet the official instrument of Satan during that time. Some old wounds never heal.My friend Bill D. came over last night. Bill is going to be huge one day...maybe as big as Sue...well, now I'm getting carried away. Nonetheless, he's great. Good musician, good writer and a good heart. We'd written two songs and hadn't recorded them and so I played engineer and made him sing and then we hashed out a cool idea to work on next time.
Bill provides us with our quote of the day. "Does Pete ever bark?" Yep. He actually asked if my yappy, schizo min pin ever barks. Amazing. I told him Pete was being quiet because he's insecure about being overweight and he didn't want to draw any attention to himself.
Anyway, it was nice to be back to doing what I love.
Cheers--
-b
p.s. I didn't say I definitely wasn't going to WAJ in 08. I don't know all of my dates yet. Gheesh! November 26 Being HumanOkay, gang. I'm ready to regroup. I've basically been, well, 'off' since mid-October. I was the lucky recipient of the MRSA strain of a glorious staph infection which is the allusive illness I've been referring to. I will finish my antibiotics on Thursday morning (because I took off without taking one this morning) and I cannot be more SICK of taking medicine. I'm finally getting my energy back and I owe scads of apologies to all of the people I've had to cancel co-writes with (Tony may never schedule with me again) since the whole drama began--that was way back when I went on antibiotics for the ear infection. I guess sometimes your body will force you to take some down time if you won't do it voluntarily. And, so, rather than being knocked off my rear again like this, I'm going to try to do better about scheduling some "me" time. I used to be very protective of it, but I got a little lax. When they took my blood pressure and it was 155/110, I kind of freaked out a little. A week later, it was 154/111. For someone who has always hovered around 120/70, that was shocking, to say the least.
So, I went home for Thanksgiving. I've mentioned it before, but I have no cell service there and only dial-up internet (for which I lack the patience). It was good, as always, to hang with the family. I also got to see some friends from college, which was a nice surprise. WAJ always falls on my college homecoming and so I've only gotten to go once since I graduated. I'm going to change that, too. Sorry WAJers, but I may not be there next year. It's crazy that I haven't made more time for my friends than I have. We email, yes, but you all know that face-to-face time is totally different. I just can't keep letting time race by without tending to some things.
Speaking of WAJ, I'm writing with Sue tomorrow. I don't even know how long it has been since she and I have written. She's one of my favorite all-time human beings and so I'm looking very forward to catching up.
My brother got a new job. I'm going to have a celebratory dinner with Joel and Wayne this week. Trust me, gang. We're ALL very happy about it.
Pete is fat. How sad is it that I have to put my dog on a diet? Well, if relate to him in no other way, I soooooo relate to him on this. I've been on a diet since before conception.
...okay, off to rejoin the human race. Thanks for checking in. Hope you are all in a good place today!
-b
November 21 elephantsIt happened.
If I were being interviewed on the news right now, I'd say, "I just really never thought it would happen to me. I know these kinds of things happen, but I never expected to be a victim."
I'd be that person that we'd all call the moron for thinking something like this could be avoided. "Duh?"
It happened just a few minutes ago. I was having a casual conversation with a friend and he asked why I wasn't leaving town today for Thanksgiving.
I said the following: Well, I'd thought about leaving this afternoon, but we're fixing to have some really bad storms which would be miserable to drive through in the dark.
...and there it was. The room grew silent and we were both uncomfortably aware of the enormous pink elephant which had entered the room.
 Someone had to do something. Say something. Anything. And so I did.
"I realize that I just used the word 'fixing' in a sentence. I don't know how this could happen and I don't think we should ever discuss it again."
And we both walked away, stuggling for breath in the heavy awkwardness of the moment.
-b November 19 IronySo, I've been out playing some shows for the Frank Brown Songwriters Festival.
The ocean is still there, in case you haven't seen it for a while. And, yes, they still have the wave machine turned on.
The sound at my shows was particularly great. I forget how much easier it is to sing when there's good sound. I just don't wear out...or I mean, I probably would, but my time is up before I have to worry about it.
The best, though, was the last show I played. I had a lovely audience who seemed to be genuinely into the set. Picture this--I'm playing on a stage alone. The stage is METALLIC SILVER and there's a DISCO BALL on above my head. 
I now know what Donna Summer feels like.
...but I bet she never sang a big fat southern gospel song under the glare of disco lights!
-b
SleazeWell, gang, I tried to be an ambassdor of international goodwill on here by allowing a few people I didn't know to comment. I admit that I didn't know if these people were Japanese or Chinese...sorry, I can't tell the difference in the alphabets. I'd translated one of the comments a while back and it seemed okay. However, I got back and realized that someone had commented with a link to...well...photos that none of us cared to see. You just can't keep sleaze out all the time. So, if you clicked on the link, my apologies. I've taken steps to remove anything I can't verify and if the whores of the world persist, I'll stop all the commenting.
I'm very grumpy about this.
People are just so gross lately.
-b November 16 familyMy brother works for a raging cow.
But not for much longer.
The real side of people seems to come when you give two weeks notice, I guess.
The sad part is that his direct supervisor has been completely wonderful to him.
It's her boss that is...the pile of dung spewed forth from the raging cow's anus...if we need to specific.
Can you tell I'm OVER her?
You know what? You can insult me and I can handle that. But DO NOT insult my family. Do not, do not, do not. Ever.
-b
November 13 Privacy, please?I was writing at Universal today. In a perfectly benign move, I went to the bathroom. I walked in, closed the door, and turned around to see a giant, wall-sized picture of half the face of a really good looking man staring back at me. He was looking around a corner or something so you could only see half of him. His eyeball was probably the size of my big purse. I studied the poster, considered the toilet, looked back at the poster, and then just washed my hands and left.
There was absolutely no way I could use the toilet with that man watching me.
-b November 12 simple thingsSo, ever since I had the dream about the Krispy Kremes, I've been wanting one.
I am a testament to will power, thank you very much.
Meanwhile, I'm not a shopper. I used to be. In college, I think. But, not now. Regarless, I went shopping today. All I wanted to purchase was a plain button-up white dress shirt. That's it. Just a white cotton shirt. Gang, did you know these are virtually impossible to find? I would've never guessed. I suppose, though, they just aren't interesting enough. 
Nonetheless, three malls later, I declare to you: Mission Accomplished. ...yes, I said, "THREE malls later." Stunning, isn't it. It took three malls in Metro Nashville to provide me with a simple white shirt. If I were a guy, it would've been so much simpler.
-b November 11 Fat Free (Really) donutsMy favorite donut is a Krispy Kreme glazed donut with chocolate icing. Obviously, I can never have one. I can't remember the last time I had one...unless we're counting last night.
Last night I had a dream that there were 8 glazed donuts with chocolate icing on the tops. One of them was actually creame filled and one had lemon filling, too, but they were still that glorious glazed texture with the wondeful chocolate icing. I tasted one, then I couldn't decide if I wanted that one or a different one. I distinctly remember saying in the dream, "You know what? I don't care. I'm going to eat every single one of them." And I did. I ate every single bite of all eight of them...and then I licked the extra glaze off my fingers.
That may have been the best dream ever.
Of course, I got up this morning and jumped on the scale to make sure my body didn't get confused and attribute those fat calories to me anyway.
November 09 ...deep thoughtsRandom thoughts in no particular order:
-b November 07 CMA AwardsI'm sorry, gang, I just don't get the whole Taylor Swift thing. There are high school seniors all across the country who could sing her under the table. Let that be an inspiration to you who aspire! But, good for her, I guess. Or something.
Carrie Underwood may not have "paid her dues" by some Nashville hard core standards, but at least she can sing. (Rascal Flatts, anyone?)
I think Rascal Flatts should always sing duets with people who can sing on pitch. Kudos to Jamie Foxx for pulling it out.
Is Kelly Pickler adopted? I hope so. Otherwise, I was sorely manipulated.
Sugarland. Jennifer Nettles. Stunning. She never, never lets me down. The girl can flat out sing.
Brad Paisley. WooHoo!! Go Mountaineers.
George Strait is reliable. Take that as a compliment, George (who I know reads this blog every now and then.)
The Eagles...I still don't like their record...and I've really, really, really tried. But, it was a good premier awards show performance, I thought. Don Henley is like Dick Clark in that he never seems to get older.
Is it just me or can anyone else not understand LeAnn Rimes? I sincerely tell you that I can't understand her words on her new single. I've tried...hard. Because I really like the way the single feels. When you put her with Reba, who makes 30 syllables out of every vowel? Well, I was just lost.
Keith Urban looked rested. It was nice to see him looking healthy. And...I love that song.
And, finally, regarding the Brentwood High School band student who got to do that overly indulging dance behind Brad Paisley: way to inhabit your 15 minutes of fame!!!! Well done.
-b CMA Awards-from the hipI just flipped on the CMA Awards a few minutes ago. I'm not going to blog right now. All I'm going to do right now is plead for the universe the get Sarah Evans off the stage. Bless her heart. There may be many things that she is, but she is NOT a host.
-b November 06 HousekeepingYou would think that with being in exile I would've blogged a lot. For some reason, though, I've been a total dope. Moreso than usual.
Yesterday afternoon I got a prayer blanket in the mail from my Mom and Dad's church in WV. The ladies in the church make the blankets and then the pastor prays over them and then they send them to sick people. I was finally sick enough to score one. ha! So, I'm thinking I must have gotten a hell, fire and brimstone prayer because that blanket didn't keep me warm last night, instead I was just plain HOT under it. Pastor Mark may need to dial it down a notch.
 I spent the rest of the day listening to music. Just listening. I surfed myspace and then I found that Bobby Pinson had released a new record back in May. I don't know how I missed that one. He's in my top 5 with songwriting--the guy has pulled out some really amazing stuff. So, I bought his "new" record. I bought a few songs off the Faith Hill greatest hits record (why have greatest hits records these days when we'll just buy the unreleased songs alone on iTunes?) and I listened to The Eagles new one. I wish I liked it more, but I admit to not having given it my undivided attention. I'm going to try again.
Oh, and I journaled. The thing is, I tell people they should journal and I actually believe they should...and some of my best song ideas came from back when I was journaling..., but the truth is I haven't journaled regularly since someone read mine uninvited a few years back. It never felt safe again. I've tried, but I haven't had the will to be honest in the writing and that rendered it pointless. I'm giving it another try now. Who knows if I'll continue. I think I should, but some things take a long time to heal, and I don't know if it is time yet.
Speaking of healing, gang, I'm looking at three more weeks of antibiotics, but I should be back in the wild by weeks end. Hooray!
-b November 03 ColorsI was reading online about this ridiculous medication (one of them) that I'm taking for my infection. It tells me that it can turn my tears a red-orange color. How freaky would it be to cry red-orange tears? I've been trying to make myself cry all day just to see. No luck.
I keep laughing.
-b |
|
|
