Hoo! I'm out of breath! ‘How come, eve?’ you ask. That’s cos I've been doing the Friday dance! The Friday dance is so enjoyable but it ain't pretty.

First, an apology - if I haven't visited your blog lately and posted a comment, I'm sorry. Employment has kept me very busy. That's Busy with a capital B. Please don't think I'm paying no attention to you.

I began the morning at 6-something-o'clock with a dazzling idea - I'd document my Friday! Sure, it would make most of you snooze, but it’s something, right? I did really well until I actually made it into my workplace. Then HELL? He created havoc and I forgot I had a crazy head. Hell, I forgot I had a name. So I give you the beginnings of the Friday Noir photo essay I like to call ‘Another Day…’

It was a dark morning in the city. The cold was enveloping. Cold’s sister, Fog was in on it too, like some friends I hadn't seen since Saturday. But I wouldn't get the day started by reminiscing.

A cup of tea was the only thing that would get me moving. A steaming cup of tea from mommy dearest who I was sure was working for the ghosts (I had no idea when she went to bed or when she woke up. She's always around when I'm up).

In my office, secure from curious eyes, I looked at the bright relics on my desk and gazed, startled. 'What is this bright box?' I speculated. And then it came upon me- I'm no hush-hush PI from the seventies. No, I'm an editor and I've got a tough day in front me.


And I did.


Planet Funk quickly became one of my favorite music ensembles in 2001 (like most kids who frequented the clubs in the city that year) when they released the fantastic electro-dance number "Chase the Sun", and then they quickly disappeared into obscurity afterwards. Until in 2003 they came out with an alarmingly appealing song, one that definitely bodes well for me. Like ‘Chase the Sun’, ‘Paraffin’ continues in that direction with a bit of a darker edge. The chorus is one of the most poppy and explosive that the band has made and the song, in general, seems more upbeat while still retaining that dreamy, moody vibe. This track certainly raises my interest level for their album which drops in 2009 and marks the return of Planet Funk.

Phew, that's all I've got for now. Stay tuned, kids.

Tuesday again, huh? I can't say I'm too pleased about that. And my brain isn’t operating too well. I've got all kinds of things I shouldn't talk about but nothing I should.
I won't talk about sleep. Or, more precisely, the lack of sleep. No matter how appropriate it might be in light of some terrible sleeping this weekend. It's a familiar, old refrain and I'd hate to bore you. But..... before you know it, the damn alarm goes off over and over again and despite being screamed at by my mom because I’ll be feeling about as motivated to go to work as I am about drinking coffee. When I do head to work, it’ll be cold and windy and the traffic will suck. I’ll stroll into my office, booted up and take a sip of tea. Instead of it being the standard measure of milk, water and sugar, with my sleepy head, eyes and hands I would’ve dumped gallons of milk or sugar into it. I’ll feel betrayed. And I’d wonder if my brain knew me. “I thought we were tight, Brain?” Soulless bitch.

3 more days standing between me and the weekend. I think it’s time to get more tea.

Over the weekend I attended a fabulous event at the Opus to watch a live performance by funny man, Vir Das. We had a terrific time--we almost choked on our food as we cackled the night away. I did have a fabulous time and the event left me all stirred up and in such a good mood.
Vir Das, a very charming actor/comedian who used to do a face-kicking funny job on two high-rated comedies, one airing on CNBC called 'News on the Loose' and the other on Zoom TV on the show 'Ek Rahen Bir'. That night, I have to admit that he looked quite sexier than ever might I add and very well toned. He succeeded in making himself sound like an absolute asshole and made me realize why I liked his show so much. Alas, it was all good, clean (well, except for the flowing booze) fun. I'm thrilled and just surprised beyond belief that he actually was nice enough to make conversation and click some pictures with us after the show. And what it all boils down to, ladies and gentlemen, is that I’m a sucker for some good humour especially when it’s been presented by a very hot looking package.

If you've spent any time here, you know that I listen to and own a lot of music. From time to time, I geek-out on your asses with a long rundown of all the stuff I've listened to in a particular week or day I've been digging. I don't plan to bring that to an end anytime soon. Hey, I've created an entire site for it.
Swing by every once in a while - I'll post new reviews of albums and songs as I encounter them. You'll probably see some familiar entries too. So, what are you waiting for? A brand-spankin' new review is up and it's a band you won't want to miss.

There's some discreet supposition that Indie bands are lo-fi, technically weak, shoe-gazers. From the sound of some bands, you'd think the members created their songs out of a hat, practiced for a fine 15 minutes, and then recorded their album in a single take. It's not an awful thing (while occasionally, it really, really is) but every so often that's not what I want to hear. Sometimes I want some of my devotion in musicianship, in uniqueness, reinforced. Enter Mazzy Star and their album ‘So Tonight That I Might See’.
I’m going with the track ‘Fade into you’ because it has something of interest, some little slice of creativity that you’ll find you enjoy. I honestly can’t believe it took me a long time to finally hear this song. It was released/ recorded in 1994 and I’m just now, finally, hearing it. Where have all my music loving friends gone? Why was I not force fed this track, years ago? This track is but a taste of how great this album is. Trust me though, this is a single that needs to be added to your collection.

Sure, I am a comment whore but I also plan on using this for good. I know my current blogroll is a little, well, dated. I'd like you to comment so I can round it out and rebuild it a bit. So, get over here if you haven't already. In the mean time, thanks. Thanks for taking time out of your day to read. I'm not always sure why you do, but I really appreciate it. I'm puzzled, but touched.

FAIR!

My friend and supervisor just won an award which is given to the best employee in our company, once a year. As part of award he gets a trip to California. He should have been nominated and won years ago, but that's neither here nor there because he just won and there IS justice in this world. I couldn't be happier for him.

In case you couldn't tell from my posts on Foosball, I'm a sucker for the game. A colleague and I had decided a week back that we would take part in the Foosball Championships. What better way to celebrate our love for the game than making sporting fools of ourselves in front of each other and a bunch of other co-workers? Good times, to be sure.

UNFAIR!
We made our way to the table where we met our competition. The game room was all crowded and we quickly grabbed our bars and readied ourselves. My co-worker was decidedly the best striker between the both of us. Although she continues to deny that she has any skills. The liar. Unfortunately yours truly was too nervous to even hit more than a shot. The highlight of the game was at the end of the game when we realized we had lost and I almost scared my competition with a punch to the face - I never fail to put on a show. The fact that he was tall and slim and twinkishly handsome was probably why I didn’t hurt him. Fortunately I wasn’t drunk to do anything that bordered on illegal or harassing.

Oh, and before I forget, one of my colleagues came to work today swimming in perfume… he must have a pool of it. Either that or Hugo Boss died in his house last night. Now, I like a good smelling man just as much as the next girl but phu-leeeeeez - there's a need for some moderation and carefulness. It smells like the perfume counter at Shopper’s Stop here.

I had the opportunity to do a little music surfing lately. What did I come up with? Here's the discovery:

Artist: Louise Hart
Track: Take Me Out
Album: Velvet

It’s rare that I find an album which impresses me right off the bat. Even rarer is the track, I'll listen to multiple times immediately after acquiring. But this is one of 'em. Louise Hart combines alt-country, roots, folk and rock elements into a subdued yet powerful album. And the strengths lie not only in her music but her lyrics. Her songs are thoughtful, well-written and revolve around things with which we can all identify. If nothing else, this track is proof that not everyone feels the need to be a pop star or a nu-metal screamer. Hart puts songwriting and instrumentation front and center and the results are truly impressive.

At long last we come to the conclusion of the All-Female artist month. If you’re looking to read/listen more entries like this you can check out any of the previous individual posts. This concludes the set. Enjoy the music. As I’ve said before these are tracks by really unpopular female vocalists. They’re not off any blockbuster album and they’re not available in big music stores. That being said they’re definitely on the top of the pile in terms of audio quality. I’ve done all I could to bring you only that which is worthy of your precious time. You are welcome. Have a fabulous weekend and see ya on Monday.

Memos!

Dear single bed,

Don't be upset that I left so hastily at first light. You were still doing a fine job. It’s just that I've got stuff to do, work and the like. I know, I know, it’s no justification for exiting the way I did. But we've got a great thing going. You're snuggly and warm. Perhaps tonight I'll come by a little bit early. Swear you aren’t mad?

Dear Alarm,

Two words - bite me! Don’t you go controlling me with your earsplitting, bothersome moaning. I tell you to seal it but a few minutes later you start in with the harassing again. If I get really mad, I'd leave you out in some chilly, isolated sports ground on a dark night and beat your ass. You've been notified. You're on my list.

Dear Head,

Firstly, what is the deal with the odd dreams? Scenes of my high school friends are bad enough without people throwing rotten fruit at the basketball hoops. Perhaps more warped is the fact that, in the dream, I recollect wearing L.L Cool J’s clothes. What's up with that, brain? Oh, and yes, I know – the English teacher got it going on. Enough already!


Before I started a review here, I decided to make a few inquiries. It became apparent that people are divided about this band. One group finds this excellent stuff...its rich, mellow, melodious and its just plain enjoyable while the other camp thinks it doesn’t follow the kind of music I usually listen to and hence, kinda blows. While it would be humorous to write about an album or song that sucks, I can't say that about Télépopmusik’s 2005 release, ‘Don’t look back’ featuring Angela McCluskey. It’s simply a fantastic song which is attuned to trip hop, downtempo, French electronic music.

Télépopmusik (a band, not a person, although there are people; They're collectively called a band, capiche?) is considered Electronic- Pop. I'm sure the fact that I don't like Electro isn't lost on you. But I'm starting to learn that this genre of music isn't necessarily a dreadful thing. There's plunk and I'm not a big plunk fan (not that there's anything wrong with that) but here it works. This is honest music. It’s not gaudy and loud. It’s just a simple, uncomplicated track. The lyrics and the beats are intensely clever, yet not too clever for their own good. The track ‘Don’t look back’ opens in a very offbeat way. It literally stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it and it still does (I mean, really, I just got through listening to it).

You're all smart people...and if you're anything like me you're a little tired of having the same old crap shoved down your throats by record companies. This is different, smart and refreshing. Join me in cleansing your musical pores. This is where we start.

I work in the IT industry, an industry with some real nerds. Really unmatched nerd-dom. I know this because I attended an all-hands event with about 2000 of my fellow workers from different branches sometime back, and looking around the conference room, I was able to group everyone into three categories (politically incorrect to draw such sweeping statements, I know...).

1. The Nerds. Members of this group are untainted and complete nerds. In all probability I think they’d even agree. They wear hight-waist pants, got thick glasses, and no social skills whatsoever. They use their own mugs, take pictures of their own PowerPoint presentations with their camera phones and wear socks with sandals. If made to attend an office party and asked to say a few words with much coercion, they'll speak excitedly and only in technical jargon leaving everyone else dazed.

2. The Top Gun. These individuals assume they've got the funkiest jobs in the cosmos, a cosmos of which they are the captains. And when you're in their space, you're playing in their realm. So don't f*&%^ it up. They buy expensive toys, wear only branded stuff (from the US preferably) and constantly hold out their pricey phones. Their conversation skills surpass the Geeks, but their attitude makes you wish they'd just put a lid on it.

3. The Normals...Mostly. Here's where I think I fall (shut up...stop laughing!). See, I dress nice but I don't have anything extra fancy. I can talk endlessly about what I do but I know when to shut up. And I can talk about other things too. I don't own a pair of high-waist pants nor would I think about wearing socks with sandals and I am reserved about whatever crazy-ass skills I happen to have.

Sure, there are some that don't fall as tidily into any of these groups, like the one guy who speaks non-stop to just about anyone, even when they’re obviously ignoring him. Or the girl who burps so loudly. I mean, if you've got to do it anywhere, I guess that's the place but how does one just burp for a minute or two solid? Oh, and the person who resembles that freakishly tall actor - Gérard Depardieu.
except this person turned out not to be a man but a strangely masculine looking woman...with lots of mascara.
I'm sure every profession has its weirdos, its nerds and its stud muffins...but this one seems to have more than most.

Lately I’ve been listening to a load of female artists that I had never heard of before this month and it keeps me sitting down for the better part of the day; parked behind a computer screen. This music is a lifesaver after lunch and it’s been quite a treat to get to listen to loads of new music (none of which I actively have to pursue).
This album, ‘Blink the Brightest’ was released in 2005 by Tracy Bonham. It starts off moody, and later on packs in a lot of guitar fuzz and distorted wall of sound, and honestly feels real good by the end. Moody, solid throughout, and drenched in a melancholic haze of guitars and lo-fi distortion. It’s almost as if you’re standing at the back of the bar after a long night of drinking and music and this is the last act on stage for the night.

‘Naked’ is the ninth track off of the album and I’m leaning towards admitting it’s my favorite song by the artist. Brilliant. The music is catchy without being overdone and the lyrics, seriously, the lyrics are really where the brilliance of this track sets it. Especially the bridge. It’s so good I’m not afraid to tweet random snippets of this song on a regular basis. It’s so good I’m still listening to it on one song repeat right now. It’s so good you’ll listen to the track and then immediately get yourself her album.

Here’s to a helluva weekend.