Shakira covers the xx

A surprisingly good cover of "Islands" originally by the xx.



No fair. I too want to frolic around a stage barefoot.

Worth noting: I first started listening to Shakira around the same time I discovered Manu Chao - when I was 13 at summer camp in Mexico. Her Spanish-language stuff is much better than the American pop she's put out in the last 10 years, but regardless, she's pretty fantastic, and this cover is pretty great.

Trying to make my "interests" interesting... (or that time I wrote a lot about myself)

I was just looking at my Facebook profile, and realized I updated my "interests" somewhat recently. Some of them are a little odd. Some are heavily connected to the TV pilot I'm working on, actually a surprising amount (and the last batch of interests also had a large influence on the script, now that I think of it). Some are really obvious and require no further explanation, but I figure why not share a little bit more about these interests... not that you care, because you probably don't, but I'm indulging my narcissistic side a little more than usual today. Pretend you find it endearing or something. Now, in no particular order...

sweet'n'sour sauce
The greatest thing McDonald's ever created. Especially good with Chicken McNuggets or French Fries. These are the only things I will ever order at McDonald's. And I always ask for extra sweet'n'sour sauce because you never know when you might be craving it, and surprisingly, it also tastes good with Morningstar Farms fake chicken nuggets.

my animal spirit god
I'm convinced I have one and maybe I've even seen it before. Maybe not. They're tricky that way.

tv on dvd
This doesn't need explanation beyond my opinion that this might be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Although I am not sure sliced bread is all that great. Sure, it's convenient... but what's the origin of this saying? Anyone? But yeah, TV shows on DVD are just really fantastic.

astronaut ice cream
This shit is crazy. Crazy delicious. (Also crazy). I love it so much it's become a major plot point in the TV pilot I am writing.

the silver lining
There's one of these in everything and I like finding it. Cheesy? Probably. But I mean it. Finding the silver lining in things has been pretty helpful in getting me through the bad stuff in life.

fig newtons
I fucking love fig newtons. Always have.

gender neutral first names
My mom's name was Palmer, it's also my middle name, and I have to say that in the years after she passed away I really considered going by Palmer. But I'm much more of an Annie. Actually I am much more of a Stamos. In general, I love gender neutral first names because they are often old-fashioned and different - and I don't know... fun. Although names like Pat suck. Perhaps I should revise this to unique gender neutral first names...

aquariums
Sometimes an aquarium can make me so happy my heart hearts. Truly. The Boston Aquarium is my favorite aquarium. There's a nostalgic component here, sure, but also... I love fishies. I think that if I had either been better at science, or more willing to work harder at it, then I would have ended up a marine biologist. And yes, I love aquariums so much that they are another major plot point in my TV pilot work-in-progress.

Maine
duh.

freedom
I love freedom. Both in the ironic and non-ironic sense. If you don't understand what I mean, you clearly love freedom as well, but only in the non-ironic sense, which is unfortunate for you.

insensitivity
This is something I excel in, at least by Hollywood standards. Thus, it is of great interest to me.

theme songs
I love theme songs - from movie themes to TV themes, to personal theme songs. Everyone should have a theme song. Mine changes on the regular.

manu chao
Probably my favorite band. In the history of music. Bold claim? Yes. But I feel strongly about this.

local ads
who doesn't love a budget local ad? Oh man, there used to be some GREAT ones growing up in Maine, many with excellent jingles about local geography.

dudes
This interest is twofold: (1) I, like most heterosexual women, like guys - so that's sort of a no-brainer and (2) I love guys who are dudes in the total dudetastic sense of being a dude - and I love hanging with dudes. Dudes are awesome. Chicks who are dudelike are also awesome.

the toaster oven
A great invention. You can accomplish so much with a toaster oven. My roommate Becca is a culinary genius with ours.

good hair days
Never underestimate the value of a good hair day. My hair, in my opinion, is one of my best features, however I am so incredibly lazy when it comes to my hair that when I've got a good hair day happening it does a whole lot for my ego. Also, my hair is so terrifying when I wake up in the morning (and this has also inspired a moment in that TV pilot), that when I actually get it calmed down, it feels like a real accomplishment. It's the little things.

Stress Relief

Manu Chao solves all probelms (and not a tea latte, so I have learned)...

The Circle of Life - or in this case, Planet Earth

Sunday began with Planet Earth and ended with Planet Earth. I am of course referring to my favorite BBC/Discovery television program that I watch compulsively when I have nothing better to do, but let me back track for a moment.

It was another magical LA weekend. More magical than most, thanks again to perfect weather conditions--I mean, I even went swimming in the ocean on Saturday. Yes, on January 17 I went swimming. It was lovely. There are a few noteworthy moments to recap but I need to really focus this piece on what I might consider the most epic of Sunday Fundays I've ever known.

Sunday morning we ladies of 225 Montana woke up a wee bit hungover, and gravitated to our living room to watch my favorite episode of Planet Earth, "Fresh Water". (GIANT SALAMANDERS!) While watching all the fishies and interesting water creatures it hit me--I want to go to the AQUARIUM! But first, does LA even have an aquarium? WELL FOLKS, it does. The Aquarium of the Pacific is located just south of LA, in Long Beach. All we needed were some willing companions to join our fish tale.

In the end, it was DiTonto, Adam, and myself headed south listening to the road trip-ready tunes of Manu Chao, arriving in the very Disney-like Long Beach harbor sometime around 2 pm. We just missed a Whale Watching tour, which was a bummer because who doesn't love whales or the prospect of WATCHING them IN REAL LIFE. And it was in the 80s outside, so we thought a boat ride would be a lovely way to spend the afternoon before we logged some hours with some fishies. But we figured it just wasn't meant to be and seeing as the aquarium was the main attraction, let's get on with it.

Fun fact: They serve beer in aquariums. (I bet you can guess how this day ended up).

The aquarium was AWESOME. First of all, as I have mentioned before, I love aquariums--truly, I do. If a guy were ever to propose to me, I think an aquarium would be a lovely place to do so. (So just tell my future-fiance to read this before proposing marriage). This aquarium had some lovely features, like the tanks where you could touch sharks and skates and sting rays, but to do so there was a strict TWO-FINGER rule, which conveniently provided us a lot of inappropriate opportunities for many "that's what she said" jokes. Obviously, we're not very child-friendly. I think a few parents were shooting us dirty looks, what with the beer and the swearing and the juvenile behavior.



Another highlight of the aquarium (AND I BET YOU THOUGHT IT COULDN'T GET ANY BETTER!) was the 3D movie MONSTERS OF THE ABYSS where upon we journeyed to the deep unknown trenches of the ocean to observe some very unusual fishies (HEY DID YOU SEE THAT GIANT SQUID!). I was a little disappointed we only bought one 3D movie pass and not the combo ticket but WHAT CAN YOU DO.

We are total suckers because we bought two copies of a hilarious photo of us entering the aquarium, one in which they (they = aquarium people) digitally inserted FISHIES! As in we are HOLDING THEM! I am jealous of DiTonto though because she's holding a Nemo-lookalike and I am just holding onto some crappy starfish (side note: when I sea kayaked the coast of Maine one summer I put a giant starfish onto my face because I wanted to prove to everyone I was both hilarious AND a daredevil, so a fake starfish is SMALL POTATOES for me). Adam was pleased because he was holding a turtle and we had all discussed earlier in the day that we think turtles would make lovely pets and I would like to get two and name them Manu and Chao or maybe just one and call him Consuelo.

ANYWAY we had BIG PLANS to end the evening at THE OLIVE GARDEN (classy!) but as we were aimlessly wandering around the harbor an odd looking young lad in a giant sombrero approached us and asked if we'd like to join him and his friends on a sunset cruise?

WOULD WE? WE SURE WOULD!

About five minutes later this young lad, Sailor Taylor, had fallen in love with DiTonto and was calling her his future ex-wife. All aboard Captain John's boat, and fortunately they'd recruited some other normal women so in all there was the three of us, the two other ladies, Captain John, Sailor Taylor, Darryl, some dude wearing an NRA hat (he loved freedom but was SCARY) and George, a Native American dude who was on something, but had a biting sense of humor.

We left the harbor as the sun had already gone down so it turned into more of a nighttime cruise. By nighttime cruise I mean drunken boat party that was probably dangerous. BUT AMAZING. Disco ball, tiki torches, Christmas lights, and great jams.

And what do you know, but much like a minister or any Justice of the Peace, both Sailor Taylor and Captain John, being legal boat captains, can marry people. Well as we were dancing to Manu Chao (because I obv took over as DJ) we decided how perfect! DiTonto and Sailor Taylor (who may or may not actually be her soulmate) should get married. And then Captain John, with two bottles of booze tucked into his swim trunks, and a sword in his hand (I was confused if it was a wedding or if someone was being knighted) and the wedding party consisting of Adam and I as maids of honor and the two other chicks as bridesmaids, and to the sweet tunes of the Talking Heads, watched as Ashleigh and Taylor were married.

Adam and I were concerned. Mostly for our safety, especially because at one point no one was steering the boat, and we wondered and if we were going to make it back to the harbor, but also because was this a real wedding? Well she didn't sign anything so the answer is NO... we think....

Anyway, then Taylor married Captain John and one of the other chicks and then it was happiness and jubilee, a quick sail-by of the Queen Mary, some photos on the bow, some waves, the NRA dude passed out, we switched to reggae, and then we were back in the marina.

THEN, I went for a nice kayak around the marina with Captain John and the other chicks and returned about a half hour later to learn that not only had Adam and DiTonto been given a tour of one of Darryl's big pimpin' boats, but that Taylor had invited her to dinner with his parents, aunt and uncle and grandparents.

No, none of this is a lie or exaggeration, I PROMISE.

Why the family gathering? Well, Taylor had turned 25 the night before and it was pre-planned, but now the lucky guy got to introduce his family to his new wife.

So Adam and I went for dinner (dinner = drinks) at a different restaurant and then met up with the newlyweds for... THE RECEPTION! At a karaoke bar. And I, former DJ, now wedding singer, serenaded them with some classics like "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna, as well as Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young."

And then, after we realized this karaoke bar was also some sort of mafia hang out and we were way in over our heads, we slipped away (but not before Taylor's mom, DiTonto's mother-in-law, invited both she and I for Christmas!) and Adam safely drove us back to Santa Monica, with a quick stop at one of our favorite bars in Venice, then back home, where we decided to end our day with...

Planet Earth. "Shallow Seas"--another good episode.

Fuck IT

I am currently wearing stunna shades AND listening to Manu Chao while I work. Music = mood enhancers.

Celebration, Panic, Celebration

I am a lucky asshole.

Seriously.

So, as noted in my airport post yesterday, I spent most of my 25th birthday traveling. While on the 6 hour flight to LA I read a lot in a new book (YA Fantasy, obv) and watched several episodes of 30 Rock before my computer died. Upon arrival, I was so excited to be back in LA I packed up my various carry-ons quite quickly, booked it to the baggage claim, and met DiTonto outside, who had decked out my car in some serious birthday decorations and was blasting Manu Chao—a great welcome home/birthday surprise. (And thank God she brought my car because my 60+ lb. bag would not have fit in her VW Bug). We went straight to one of our fave dinner joints: Panera (so classy) where I got a lot of Happy Birthdays and perplexed expressions when people realized we were, in fact, serious, and yes, in fact, celebrating a 25th birthday dinner at Panera of all places.

While Ash and I were catching up we both commented on visiting friends back East and how everyone else’s apartments seemed to be a lot more “adult” or together than ours is. Then we ran over a giant palm frond, and then in the middle of the road pulled over and I got underneath the car and yanked it out, and we then decided we would bring it to our apartment (and we wonder why our place looks like a cross between a deserted beach shack and a fraternity house).

Back at home we played some video games for a little bit and then, feeling the tug of our messed up time cycles, DiTonto went to bed and I decided I would unpack a little bit and get some sleep myself.

Or so I thought.

I walked into my room and started to go through my stuff, admiring my new shoes, wondering how I left the most random things at home in New York when all of a sudden I realized, with certainty, something, very, very bad.

I left my computer on the airplane.

Yes, I, girl with a computer tethered to her arm, left my beloved machine and keeper of all I hold dear under the seat in front of me on the Goddamn airplane.

Panic ensued. As did feelings of nausea, hyperventilation, as well as a game plan as to how I was going to finance my new MacBook Pro that I would surely have to buy—all without telling my dad for at least a month. Trying to act rationally, I told myself it would be okay because I have most all of my files backed up on an external hard drive I keep at home.

I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with various people at Continental, attempting to discern whether or not my plane had already left LAX, where it was headed to next, and if anyone had discovered a computer on board and was good Samaritan enough to turn it in.

In what felt like a race against time, around 10:45 pm I booked it to the airport, employing techniques from the 20 minutes I once watched of The Secret, reciting, “I will get back this computer. My computer will be returned to me” over and over again, begging with the Universe to cut me some slack—it’s my birthday!

Well, I guess begging the Universe/God for kindness/to return computer works because when I pulled into short-term parking, ran as fast as I could to the Continental desk at the terminal, a nice woman there made a few calls, and twenty minutes later my computer was back in my hands, and I no longer felt a strong urge to vomit.

Like I said, I am a lucky asshole.

Bienvenida a Tijuana

Bienvenida a Tijuana
Bienvenida mi amor
De noche a la mañana
Bienvenida mi amor

Unfortunately, I did not hear these lyrics pour forth from the musical genius that is Manu Chao at his concert last night in Tijuana. Did I think about going? Yes. Did I almost go, before being repeatedly told that TJ was pretty much the opposite of safe? Still yes. Did I attempt to convince the nice man who worked at Bank of America that he should accompany us on said trip to Tijuana? Yes, yes I did.

At this point you may be confused. You might wonder what could be so great to have me seriously considering crossing into Mexico via the most-used border crossing and then spend some quality time in the largest, and arguably most dangerous border town. I will tell you what is so great, and what might inspire me to go almost anywhere:

Manu Chao.

You might be thinking Manu Who? Too which I will say SHAME ON YOU. Everyone should know Manu Chao—if not for his status as a musical Che, a Bob Dylan-like global figure embodying principles of anti-globalization and radical leftism—but for his eerily beautiful voice, his profound lyrics, and his capacity for combining politics, love and winsome thoughts of hope in a style of music that could not be more diverse.

But I don’t listen to Manu Chao for his message or political ideals (he sings mostly in Spanish, French, a little bit of English, and occosionally Portuguese, Arabic, Basque, and a bunch of other languages so I can’t always understand what he’s saying). I listen to Manu Chao because, well, to put it simply—he gets my toes a-tapping! Manu Chao (and his band, known as Radio Bemba Sound System) blends a crazy mix of reggae, ska, punk, rock, merengue, and a bunch of other musical styles I don’t have the first bit of knowledge about. All I know is he’s probably my #1 favorite musical act there ever is or was (possibly tying The Talking Heads for that first spot in my heart) and when I saw him perform last year at Bonnaroo it was the best live performance I had ever seen.

It was killing me that I wasn’t at Outside Lands in San Francisco Friday night, where Manu was set to perform before Radiohead (talk about musical geniuses!) especially because he rarely plays in the US and usually only on the festival circuit.

So believe my excitement when I found out he was playing the Plaza Monumental (the bullring) in Tijuana, Mexico last night. And get this—tickets were only $25. Incredible! How could I pass up a chance to see to my all-time favorite musician for that price, and when he was just a three hour drive from LA? I’ll tell you how: TJ.

Let’s do a little examination of my thought process of the “Manu in TJ or Bust” idea.

Thursday night: I spend a few hours in Panera (we still didn’t have internet) to use their wi-fi and with the intention of doing some writing (I'm so LA). I ended up downloading music and watching music videos on YouTube. Then I started looking at flights to San Francisco to catch the set at Outside Lands. When I came to my senses that this was NOT a viable option (too expensive, too soon to call out sick from work) I settled on buying a very rare and hard to find copy of the DVD Babylonia En Guagua (look for it on Amazon for upwards of $94!—don’t worry, I bought my copy for $25.)

Friday night: Ashleigh and I were sitting at home, drinking some beers and just hanging out before going out when I started to look up Manu Chao online again, only to find that lo and behold—Manu would be playing in Tijuana on Sunday night. Five minutes later (after viewing the low ticket price, determining the short distance to the concert, and the likelihood of what was sure to be an epic evening) we were set on going. 100% determined. In fact, if Manu had been playing that night we would have driven right there and then. Thrown caution the wind, gotten in a car to San Diego, then taken the lovely Mexicoach bus across the border and straight to the Plaza Monumental. We were about to buy tickets online, then decided we should recruit others and get more info—buy them on Saturday morning.

Annie came home, and we told her of our planned adventured. She looked at us like we are crazy and said, “you guys are insane. And I don’t mean fun insane. I mean it’s a bad idea.” Our resident expert on border relations then gave us full details on the true stupidity of our plan.

Saturday: Somewhat dissuaded by Annie’s warnings of potential kidnapping, stray bullets, and just general high DANGER alerts, I was still determined to make it happen. As a group we went to Bank of America to open up a joint account for our apartment (a great idea btw, I highly recommend—makes things like paying rent and electric bills VERY easy). While Anthony, our well-dressed banker helped set up our new account I casually asked him if he’d ever been to TJ—and he had! He was a little surprised at our interest in going and when I declared “Manu Chao is playing!” he perked up—he’d seen Manu last summer at Coachella. After the poor kid struggled through endless questions from the three of us (mine mostly about TJ, Ashleigh's about some story she'd heard about some man shitting on the floor of that bank, and Annie asking him if his job ever made him depressed—“no not working at the bank, but at this building in particular!”) I gave him my number and said if he had any interest in going he should call us.

Next up I called my brother who freaked out BIGTIME (which definitely convinced me that calling my Dad for his opinion would be a BAD IDEA) so I listened to his advice, and stories of people getting raped and shot and what not and then decided to call around to few more friends to get some info.

Putting my plans on hold I went to Malibu (listening to Manu Chao all the way there, bien sur) but that night, still determined to go, I decided I would take it easy—I mean if I were going to spend my Sunday night in TJ then maybe I should spend my Saturday night doing normal Sunday night things like laundry and cleaning my room and passing out in front of the television early. All were accomplished but laundry and cleaning my room. (Wow, what an eventful Saturday night!)

Sunday morning: I wake up and go to yoga, and at this point I sort of felt it in my gut—TJ wasn’t happening. Sure tickets were cheap and it would be incredible to hear this music icon singing “Bienvenida a Tijuana” IN Tijuana, but it wasn’t worth being packed in with 10,000 rowdy Mexicans in one of the most dangerous cities on the continent. So much for staying in Saturday night. Oh and Anthony, our banker, never called—if we’d had a Spanish-speaking male with us, chances of the journey happening would have been much higher. I think Anthony was scared of by our barrage of questions. That or the fact that 3 girls he didn't know were attempting to convince him to go to Tijuana with them.

Driving back from Malibu Sunday evening we blasted my favorite Manu Chao album, the live Manu Chao Radio Bemba Sound System and I wistfully imagined catching the show. I vowed that I WILL see him in concert again, and soon.

Until that undetermined date, my Manu DVD is set to come in the next week and there’s always YouTube--I guess I'll have to settle for the next best thing.

In fact, here are a few of my favorite songs—definitely worth your time.

Could Them, Rumbla de Bacelona, Mr. Bobby


Welcome to Tijuana and El Viento


Mala Vida, Radio Bemba, Que Paso Que Paso


And last but not least, Bienvenida a Tijuana

David Byrne is THE MAN

My love for The Talking Heads knows no bounds. They would definitely rank in the top three of my top five favorite music acts (also up there would be Queen, The Police, Paul Simon, Manu Chao and probably a lot more than five) and Byrne is definitely the weirdest and coolest musician out there. He's recorded da new album with Brian Eno which is streaming live and you can order from their site. I listened a little bit this morning and highly recommend.

Top 25 Most Played

One of my favorite iTunes features is the smart playlist that shows you the songs you've listened to most during your tenure as an iPod owner and iTunes user. I especially love looking at other people's Top 25 Most Played to find something really embarrassing, although I don't think I have anything in mine that qualifies. Let's examine the evidence (in order of most played):

1. Reverie by Debussy
2. Break It Down Again by Tears For Fears
3. Universal Traveller by Air
4. Your Ex-Lover is Dead by Stars
5. Burning by Whitest Boy Alive
6. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) by the Talking Heads
7. Kaleidoscope by Kate Havnevik
8. Comptine d'été, N. 2 by Yann Tierson
9. I Don't Know You by Kate Havenvik
10. Fireworks by Whitest Boy Alive
11. Comptine d'un Autre Été by Yann Tierson
12. La Valse D'Amelie (Piano Version) by Yann Tierson
13. Ravers by Steel Pulse
14. Nowhere Warm by Kate Havnevik
15. Alone in Kyoto by Air
16. New Slang by The Shins
17. Message in a Bottle by The Police
18. Free Man in Paris by Joni Mitchell
19. To Build a Home by Cinematic Orchestra
20. Kill the Messenger by Shawn Colvin
21. Jump (For My Love) by The Pointer Sisters
22. Wanna Be Startin' Something by Michael Jackson
23. Pioneers by Bloc Party
24. Grace Kelly by Mika
25. You Know I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse

See, nothing embarrassing, right? Well maybe the abundance of classical, especially the piano music from the film Amelie (that's all the Yann Tierson stuff)... actually no, I am not ashamed that I listen to these songs excessively (especially not Debussy's Reverie which is probably my favorite piece of music ever). My love for classical music shows I am well-rounded and appreciate HIGH CULTURE. Duh.

What else? Well obviously I love electronica. Air, Kate Havnevik... yep. I also love some key jams from the 80s. Talking Heads, Tears for Fears, The Police, Michael Jackson (before the little boys phase)--they all rank up in my top 10 favorite bands.

I guess I am surpirsed by the presence of Mika and Amy Winehouse, both great, sure, but why have I listened to them so much? I think that Mika jam is probably on heavy rotation because it is on all my workout playlists and my iPod shuffle. And even though I've got Amy Winehouse on there, she's pretty badass and that song is pretty great. Fits in with the other more "indie" groups on the list like The Shins, Whitest Boy Alive, and Stars.

Really, I am quite pleased with myself. I think my Top 25 Most Played shows a lovely mix of my eclectic music tastes. I wish there had been a big surprise though, like some big musical number from Les Miserables or Wilson Phillips or even a Britney Spears tune ooooh or maybe some crazy death metal from, I don't know... Papa Roach? I guess when it comes down to it, I'm pretty vanilla, but with just enough flavor in there to spice things up a bit. I am surprised that neither Queen, Manu Chao, nor Huey Lewis and the News made it on to that list--all on heavy rotation (an odd trio I realize, but I love my wild French/Spanish/Canadian rock just as much as I love a solid 80s synthesizer and an androgynous lead singer.

So, I implore you all to take a gander at your most frequently played songs. Keep in mind that when someone else gets ahold of your iPod they might do the same (what, not everyone judges others based on their music collection? That's just me?) so it might be a good idea to cool it on the Disney hits and Toby Keith.