a commentary on various pop culture snippets
status check - present
background ambiance - it's actually eerily quiet in here ...


learned today that there is a list of music one is encouraged and discouraged to listen to while driving. of course - there's a list for everything else, right? the top song to not listen to is wagner's "ride of the valkyries."


what? how can they do this to me? what am i going to listen to now? i'll have to make my way over highways and byways in silent protest.


among those songs good to listen to while on the road are norah jones' "come away with me" and gary jules' "mad world." i love both, so was proud to see they earned further recognition.


but really? i must be honest. if i'm driving at 2 a.m. and i have to choose between norah or prodigy, prodigy's got it. even wagner would win out. because much as i don't want a speeding ticket, i'd much rather be awake. furthermore, in this world of road rage and whatnot, is it advisable to recommend driving to a song with lyrics like "the dreams in which i'm dying are the best i've ever had"? ponder that ...


speaking of death (cheery segue, eh?), caught the new britney spears video last night (i know, i'm shocked too - finally saw the "toxic" video for the first time as well). "everything" - the video gaining controversy over the suicide/reincarnation bit. while i don't pity britney for having a difficult time living as a self-made sex siren, i'll admit that i was impressed with most of the video concept. the song serves more as a soundtrack to a dramatic interpretation of the whole vegas scandal. and it shows our dear brit angry. throwing things. pushed around in a crowd. which makes her seem slightly more real than anything else you've seen lately. so i give her credit for that. as for the bathtub bit - i think it takes away from the overall concept of the video (as i perceive it). no need for it other than sensationalism. leave that out, keep the rest and i'm surprised - in a good way. (side note: i will admit that i had "me against the music" stuck in my head for the rest of the evening.)


read that joey mcintyre is married. i was saddened for a moment, then realized he still refers to himself as joey. dude, you're 31 (and i'm frightened that i still remember his birthday). joe. joseph. something other than joey. it was cute when you were joey joe with nkotb and i was making a trip to virginia to see you at my first concert. but that was 1990. i was nine. i'm 23 now. you do the math. thank you.


speaking of concerts (i'm all about the seques today), i'm looking forward to the concerts coming up on the calendar. there's nothing better than having a crop of good shows pop up out of the ground, just waiting for me to attend. damien rice on the 20th, teitur on the 30th. averi the night after that and mraz (hurrah!!!) on the 20th of may. granted, i only have purchased tickets for one of these shows thus far, but details, schmetails. i'm working on it.


and i realized this afternoon that the actf national festival is occurring this week. it's the first time in three years i haven't been in dc during festival time (granted, i was just living there last year, but becca and i made a trip to the kennedy center so i could show her what the center was like).