Friday, October 21, 2011

In Williamsburg we don't have VIP lines (except when we do)


I can't believe I am two weeks behind on sharing this, but HOLY CRAP JENS LEKMAN!  That is to say: I saw him live a couple Fridays ago at Music Hall of Williamsburg and it was just as dreamy and wonderful as I thought it would be.

Before I continue to pour out fangirl emotion though, I have a serious confession to make: I almost FORGOT about the show!  Let me repeat that: I had a ticket for a sold-out JENS LEKMAN show and I almost FORGOT TO GO.  I am so ashamed.  And also worried that something is eating holes in my brain.  To be a teensy bit fair to myself, I purchased the ticket way back in August but never put on any sort of calendar - I just trusted I'd remember such an important date.  I had to work until 8:15 that day so I had a subconscious plan to dress hip enough for work so I could just jet to the show afterward.  Well... nope.  Totally forgot.  It wasn't until I was on my last 15 minute break at work, around 7pm, that I was reading show listings on Oh My Rockness and saw Jens Lekman listed and then felt cold dread and panic wash over me.  I convinced a manager to let me leave a little early, rushed home to change, then jumped in cab to the 'burg.  I got there with just enough time to catch the last two songs of opener Geoffrey O'Connor (kinda weird) and down a whiskey (hallelujah).  That can never, ever, EVER happen again.


BUT anyway: awesome show.  As much as it's always more fun to go to shows with other people, the advantage to going by myself is that I can very easily nudge my way to the front.  I didn't make it right up to the stage but I got about fifteen feet away, which was luckily within range when Jens threw confetti during "Opposite of Hallelujah" - yes, CONFETTI!  In addition to that crowd-pleaser, he also played a bunch more of my faves, including "The End of the World is Bigger Than Love," "Maple Leaves," "A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill" (which he ended by leaning the microphone against his heart - awww the adorableness) and his new single "An Argument With Myself."

The best part was most definitely the beautifully acoustic final encore where he played the mournful-but-sweet "Black Cab" and organized a sing-along for "Pocketful of Money."  That last bit was a great way to go out - I confess that "Pocketful of Money" has never been up there in my list of Jens favorites, but when he got the balcony and the floor levels to sing the overlapping parts ("You set my heart on fire"/"I'll come running with a heart on a fire") it transformed it into something more... magical. 


Good god, I need to stop writing blog posts at 2:30 in the morning.  You get the idea.  Come back soon, Jens.

(PS: In my haze of post-paranoia and pure happiness, I completely forgot to snap some photos with my phone.  I always feel kinda weird doing that anyway.  So all of these are from Brooklyn Vegan - be a doll and read their whole article here.)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

ALIVE... AGAIN




I'm five years alive today.  Thanks, body!  Now let's go be alive... and drink some blood....

Monday, October 10, 2011

It's all happening

Yet another article on Flavorwire has thrown me into a never-ending internet wormhole of procrastination.  Jason Bailey - himself inspired by Martin Scorsese's latest documentary on George Harrison - recently posted this amazing essay about Scorsese's perfect use of music in his films and how, for some of us, those songs will forever be tied to those particular scenes.  I'm always a sucker for a good montage, slo-mo, or beautifully scored piece of film so all these carefully curated clips were like nerd candy.  I literally got out my chips and hummus and Chick-O-Sticks, pulled a chair up to my laptop, and watched every part of every clip.  SO GOOD.  (Although, just to push my glasses up my nose about it, I also would have included the "Atlantis"/Billy Batts scene as particularly... touching.  HA.)

It got me thinking about a bunch of non-Scorsese movies that have similarly well-placed music.  There are so many songs that have been changed for me just by seeing them linked to a great moment of film.  And because I want to nerd this out to its full potential, I need to share my feelings with the internet.  Ranking things in order of importance stresses me out so I'm just going to share this list in no particular order.  Get ready for... THE FIVE BEST-SCORED MOMENTS IN FILM (for now):

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - "Life On Mars?"

It's so hard to put just one Wes Anderson moment on this list but I'm trying to be concise.  This is the movie that made me fall in love with David Bowie.  I mean, yes, DUH, I liked David Bowie before this, but the winter of 2004 was the moment I LOVED David Bowie.  And the moment that made me forever want to smoke a joint in slo-mo when I hear this song.  (OK, and because I can't hold it in: other close Wes Anderson contenders are "These Days" in The Royal Tenenbaums and "A Quick One While He's Away" in Rushmore.)

Summer of Sam - "Baba O'Riley"

One of my film professors in college showed us this sequence as an example of montage - pretty extreme choice, if you ask me.  I guess it's a solid representation, since it heightens the action of the movie, but DAMN is everything fucked up.  Try watching Adrien Brody in this movie and then watching The Pianist.  Your brain will hurt.

Donnie Darko - "Head Over Heels"

This entire movie is full of great, dark, late-80s ballads and slo-mos but this Tears for Fears scene tops them all.  Something about Roland Orzabal's mournful voice makes it so perfect for a dizzy tracking shot full of angsty teachers and kids.  Also: I still really want to be in Sparkle Motion.

Boogie Nights - "Jesse's Girl"

I love it when a film takes a catchy pop song and makes it terrifying (prime example: Quentin Tarantino forever ruining "Stuck in the Middle With You").  Coked-up dudes with guns PLUS this weird kid throwing firecrackers PLUS the crescendo-ing Rick Springfield beats all make me want to clutch a stress ball throughout this whole scene.

Almost Famous - "My Cherie Amour"

Of course the "Tiny Dancer" scene would be the obvious choice here (and is still a great moment), but this overdose-as-love-scene breaks my heart a little more.  William's just oozing love for Penny while she's getting her stomach pumped!  And Penny's wearing an amazing dress! (Also: total nerd moment, but see where they're walking by that pond at the end?  I eat lunch there all the time.  No big deal.)

Give me some more ideas so I can go on another YouTube tangent!  (And so I can know that people actually still read this!)  Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go watch every Scorsese movie ever made.  OK BYE!

(PS: special thanks to Dave for letting me know that I've been spelling "Scorsese" incorrectly... for my entire life.  The shame!!)

Sunday, August 28, 2011

But I thought she said maple leaves


I know there aren't many other people out there who dread fall like I do so it's extra-nice to know that Jens is on my side:
This time of year is the saddest time of year. It is the end of the summer, the time when your boyfriend or girlfriend is moving to Berlin or New York or London and says "I just don't want the responsibility that comes with a relationship, I really need to be free right now".

And you hate the future, you want to throw rocks and empty beercans at it. You hate the changes it brings. You're late for uni, your first class of the semester, and you wish you hadn't cut your own hair two days before you started. And you think of the days getting darker and on your way home you kick the gold out of the leaves on the ground. You ride the buses and trams and trains in circles. You put chewing gums on elevator buttons.

At night you can't sleep so you go out and it's a starlit night so you sit and watch the constellations up there, and then a meteor divides the sky in two and you think of one thing to wish for but there are so many things.

I am reading your emails and I may not have time to reply to all of them, but I just wan't you to know that I've been there too. I'm there with you right now.
Maybe I just need a nice sweater.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

I've got love for you if you were watching TV in the 90s

Anyone else want to feel like they're nine years old again?



I mean.... shit.  There is so much nostalgia packed into those three minutes and forty one seconds that I had to re-assess my surroundings after I watched it because I thought I might actually be sitting on my purple beanbag in my old living room on a Saturday morning.  I would kill to be wearing Melissa Joan Hart's polka-dot headband and eating Cookie Crisp right now.

Also: how is it that I always forget to bring the trash outside on trash day but I can still sing the entire Animaniacs theme song?  I weep for my generation.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

BALLLLLLLLLLLLLLIN!!!


OK: let's acknowledge the fact that I've been so lazy about this blog that I've let a good two months breeze by without a peep about my (not at all exciting) life - to the extent that I even forgot my blogiversary AGAIN.  I don't even have cupcakes laying around that I can pretend I baked in celebration (but daaaamn I wish I did.)  Well, OK, here's a photo of some cupcakes I baked four months ago because I was being a fatty and really wanted peanut butter cake with chocolate icing:


Yay fatty blog!  But what is there to say about six years anyway?  I mean, I was a pretty rad six-year-old (braid-ponytails-on-the-side and sparkly sweaters, whatwhat!), but in the grand scheme of life it's like, meh... six.  Maybe I'm just feeling cynical.  And still lazy.

(Oh, an aside about the word "lazy": I'm determined to reclaim it as a cool thing.  Remember when phones weren't smartphones and were just "cell phones?"  I know, those were crazy times, right?  And some people still have them!  Anyway: one of the best precursors to auto-correct was the T9 word function, where you would just furiously type away on the number pad and the phone would "know" which letters you meant to type.  My old phone was the best at this because every time I tried to type the word "lazy" it would default to "jazz" - resulting in sentences like "I'm too jazz to get off the couch" and "stop being such a jazz ass."  So much cooler, right?  So don't be lazy, be JAZZ.)

But let's get back to my life.  Yesterday was a crazy day: I had to work at 7am, there was a minor earthquake that got all of NYC's panties in a twist, AND - thanks to Kottke - I discovered this amazing website.   It's a collection of stories by Questlove, sorted by name, in which he recalls encounters with different celebrities, as requested by other readers.  What makes them so amazing is not just the way they are written (which is as if he typed directly from a dictation of himself), but the kind of crazy celebrity shenanigans he gets into.  And I'm not talking like, action movie buddy cop craziness, but over-the-top displays of money that must just seem totally normal once you hit a certain level on the star meter.  The story about Will Smith's leather-floored mansion tops everything, but rollerskating Prince (part of the Eddie Murphy story) is a close runner up.  I mean.... GOD. DAMN.

Questlove: please come to a Moth StorySlam.  It would be the best six minutes of everyone's life.

PS: As a bonus, I discovered this site linked to the Questlove one: The 90s Rap Name Generator!  Mine's "Big M Da' Slim Pimp" - but you probably already knew that.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Hey ladieeeees!

It's a little crazy how many new artists I've discovered solely by watching the music video channels at Crunch while plodding along on the treadmill.  Do they secretly have some kind of deal with fledgling record labels?  You'd think this would make me go to the gym more often but... no.

Here are two of my new faves: lady rappers!




Also: isn't weird how both of their videos open with shots of the street and trucks?  SO URBAN.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Denver: I hate you so much right now

DENVER!  Jens Lekman needs you!  Get on this:
Hi
I'm in Denver, Colorado for some work. I was wondering if anyone wanted to show me around?  Maybe we could set up a small show somewhere tonight?
// J

Damn it, if I was in Denver right now Jens and I would be throwin' back tallboys and jamming on the tambourine.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

I had a feeling I'd get along with the Fitzgeralds


Fancy a drink?  Fancy a drink that makes you feel like a famous literary figure?  Because I do.  Always.  I'm a little obsessed with Flavorwire's compilation of famous authors and their buzz of choice.  I want to try each of these every time I need to write something and see which one provides the best results.  Right now I'm drinking cheap gin and tonic, but maybe what I really need is a gin RICKEY!  (What the crap is that, anyway?  Oh... pretty much the same thing.)  Because apparently a gin rickey makes you the life of the party:
As legend has it, both F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were notorious lightweights, not to mention mischievous drunks. Fitzgerald claimed that he liked gin because no one could smell it on his breath – though we bet that when he and his wife were dancing naked at parties, no one really had to.
Well I'm sold.  Read the whole thing here.  Oh, and please don't party Dylan Thomas-style.  I don't want to claim responsibility for that.

Damn, this list will come in handy for my eventual library party.

Friday, June 10, 2011

I probably have AIDS now

Here is an example of just how broke I've been feeling lately:

I went for a run this morning in my balmy, 77 degree neighborhood and as I passed a gas station, I saw a dollar bill on the ground.  So naturally I picked it up and tucked it into my sports bra.

A ONE.  DOLLAR.  BILL.

What the crap was I thinking?  That my boob sweat would transform it into a ten by the time I got home??  I'm disgusting.  And I had this thought as I continued to run with it plastered against me but what was I going to do then?  Throw it back on the ground?  NO.  I ran that wet little piece of paper all the way home to my wallet.  And then showered before touching my mouth.

Good god I need an extra job.  Or a new job altogether.  On the plus side though: my iced coffee today will probably cost only 89 cents.  Woo!

Sunday, June 05, 2011

Sunday

I magically had today off.  It was awesome: I had afternoon beers, pizza, and cake (in that order), I bought new running shoes, then came home and drank whiskey and made pretentious art and listened to pretentious music.





Happy June!

Friday, June 03, 2011

Cameo Blue

I told myself I was going to compile a list of good film and theatre monologues so I could stop making excuses for avoiding auditions.  I ripped a piece of paper from a notepad, literally wrote "Monologues?" at the top, and set it on my desk.

I have since then been using it as a surface on which to paint my nails and protect my desk.

Yeah... that about sums up my life right now.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Here's what I never want to forget

I think I found the cure for my working-on-Memorial-Day blues:



Yep, just gonna watch that on repeat.

That, and I found out I get paid time and a half for working today.  Shazam!

Why can't I quit you, Web MD?

I am in the middle of the lamest Memorial Weekend ever.  It's the kickoff to summer!  The best season ever!  Barbeques and drinking outdoors and wearing your whites and three days of no work!  Unless you're me: working all three days, pretty broke, and fighting off a weird stomach bug and the hypochondria that comes with it.  So instead of crashing that party I can hear down the block, I'm drinking some pretentious-sounding "Digestif" tea, making a Flavorwire-inspired playlist about being broke, and playing with the Web MD Symptom Checker.


I know, I know - Andrea and Mom, if you're reading this: I'm sorry.  I know I said I would stop plugging all my symptoms into Web MD because all it does is convince me that I have a brain tumor and then I call one of you and hysterically yell "I HAVE A BRAIN TUMOR!"  (Oh, and Mom, if you did magically find this blog, I think I have a lot of other things to apologize for.)

But tonight I'm lonely and Web MD just gets me, you know?  We have a special relationship.  I'm like "Web MD, I think I have food poisoning from the kamikaze dressing I bought from Sunshine Mart!" and Web MD is all "Baby doll, hush, according to your symptoms you have 20 different diseases to choose from!  And they all have dramatic consequences!"  And then I think "You know what?  If I do have Type 1 diabetes, I can deal!  I can still live my life!  Halle Berry does it!"


But now I'm coming back down from the medical high and trying to be sensible.  I probably don't have diabetes (or cystic fibrosis... or IBS...) and it's probably just something weird that I ate that's causing these *ahem* "digestive issues"... probably that dressing (which would be sad because it was so tasty).  I'm going to keep pumping myself with fluids (one Vitamin Water and two coconut waters so far) and just hope I'm better tomorrow.

OK, back to my lover Web MD though: can we just talk about how crazy awesome some of these symptom options are??  Here are my faves:
  • "Taste words when they are heard"
  • "Multiple bruises of different ages"
  • "Craving alcohol"
  • "Inappropriate behavior"
I have a diagnosis for those: YOU'RE A PASSED-OUT DRUNK.  I also love how there is a symptom option of "broken bone."  I can diagnose that one too: YOU HAVE A BROKEN BONE.  Duh.

I hope you're all having a lovelier night than I am.  Although, to be fair, I'm currently typing this while chilling on my fire balcony and it's kinda nice - there's a breeze and the city is all lit up and I haven't dropped anything.  I guess there's still hope for an exciting day tomorrow, since that's the real day we're "celebrating" anyway.  Anyone having a barbeque that I can crash?  I'm already hydrating in preparation.  Unless I'm dead from diabetes-induced kidney failure tomorrow morning... in which case, I'd like Halle Berry to speak at my funeral.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Happy Rapture!



I sure hope Jens survives.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

It's OK - just keep making crap!

Thank you, Ira Glass, for making me feel much better about my perpetual creative frustration:


(via Kottke)

OK, well, guess I'm off to finish those four beginnings-of-sketches I've been grimacing at...

Saturday, April 30, 2011

OK, for real this time

I present to you: London - a journey in photos

First night essentials:

Classic English breakfast - made even better by hashbrown triangles (err... even though I don't really seem to like eggs anymore):

Spitalfields Market:

Canned cocktails!

Art: 

Dancing times all the times:

Sally Lunn's bunzzzz - they're all the rage in Bath:

Creepy statues in Bath:

I. Love. This. Drink.

People in Bath live in style:

Booze bouquet!

THE END.  (Until I magically get a job that gives me a visa and lets me move back... let's all cross our fingers for that one.)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Future, present, past

I can only hope to be as cool as these ladies when I hit retirement age:


(via Bust)

I don't necessarily love their exact style choices, but I do love their I-don't-give-a-shit attitude.  Iris Apfel is totally right: dressing up should be an "exercise in creativity" and a way to express how you're feeling each day.  I don't have the dream wardrobe that allows me to wear exactly what I dream about wearing each day (YET), but I am trying to make more of an effort towards really wearing OUTFITS.  Luckily, I already dress like an old lady pretty often so the transition into senior citzenry should be a cinch.

Speaking of dressing up, oh yeah, Andrea and I went to London!  And wore a bunch of outfits and did cool stuff! 
I promise I will blog the highlights real soon.  Reallll soooooooon.

Oh, and just to give myself something else to procrastinate, I started another blog on Tumblr called Everything was awesome back then.  It's about my obsessions with a past that I was never a part of.  DUH.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Widget and Sassoon: London adventure times!

I know, I know - I had that burst of energetic blogging and now I've stopped.  I'm gonna get back on the wagon though, I swear... soon.  For now I'm just popping in to say HOLY CRAP ANDREA AND I ARE IN LONDON.  We're in the midst of all sorts of shenanigans right now (canned cocktails, Jammie Dodgers, hot tunes, heart-print tights, pants-less dancing, etc.) so I'll have to post a full report when I get home and I'm all sad and broke.  Here's a sneak peak though:

My pocket's eatin' cheese cake!

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Look out, Annie Leibovitz!

I would just like to make it known that not one, not two, but THREE dudes are currently using a photo that I snapped as their main Facebook profile picture.




Molly Cameron: making boys look pretty since 2010.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Let's procrastinate!

Looking for a great way to put off doing something productive and possibly expand your never-ending Netflix queue?  Watch 50 awesome opening title sequences!  This IFC list is proving to be a very effective way to avoid rewriting sketches right now.  I'm still working my way through, but so far #50 holds the most nostalgic place in my heart:



Makes me feel a little weird to know that Patricia Quinn was essentially in black face though. 

Monday, February 14, 2011

Fuck Valentine's Day

Watch this instead:



I love a hip hop video that does the opposite of everything I'm expecting.  Top that, Kanye.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Best pen pal ever


OK, so I lied about cutting back on the Jens talk, but you guys, ANOTHER EMAIL!!

You didn't think I'd let that amazing show in December just breeze by without sharing my appreciation, right?  Of course I emailed him:
Hello Jens,

Thank you for coming back to New York.  I attended your beautiful show last night (the 9th) and assume you had another beautiful one tonight.  I was in the midst of a really bad cold yesterday and your show made me feel completely healthy for a good two hours.  I hope you make peace with this great city.

Cheers,
Molly
Keep in mind that I was still pretty sick and that was sent at 12:04am.  (Also keep in mind as you read this that I'm currently killing almost a whole bottle of cheap shiraz and getting a little tired and emotional.)

So today at work I got this and did my best to not freak the fuck out in front of my still new-ish coworkers:
thanks molly !
the peace has been established, hoping to come back soon.
JL
Yay!  Jens and New York City, friends again!  I'd like to think that I had a strong influence in this decision, but two sold-out shows probably didn't hurt either.

I hope he comes back in the springtime.  In fact, I should send him an invite him right now...

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Meet my new best friends

If you haven't seen this video yet, you should definitely watch it right now.  And then watch it every day that you wake up and it's still below freezing and remind yourself that someday - someday soon - it will be springtime and you'll be able to dance around in the outdoors wearing a sweet windbreaker.




ETA: that main dancer, Anne Marsen is credited as an "improvisational dancer."  Wait, that's a thing?  That kind of crazy random dancing I do at parties and in my kitchen has a real title?  I've got to update my resume.

Friday, February 04, 2011

Please, please - hold your applause

 
OH HI.  Nice to see you again.

I've been trying to write a post for weeks now but couldn't seem to finish anything until tonight.  I know: how hard is it for me to blather some self-indulgent nonsense and hit publish?  Really not that hard.  I'm going to skip all the bullshit excuses though - sometimes I'm just uninspired and need a break.  Cool?  Cool.  So let's get back to things:

Here's what you need to know about my life since my last post:

- I actually got to see Jens Lekman!


I got a ticket at the last minute and it was so beautiful that I maybe got teary-eyed with joy.  OK, I was sleepy and full of Dayquil, but still - the show was in such an intimate space that I was only about ten feet away from Jens AND he played "Kanske är jag kär i dig," which is perhaps the best song in the world.  You should check out this Brooklyn Vegan post about the show because there are more great photos and I should cut down on the amount of Jens-obsessing I do here.

(Oh: but OF COURSE I bought one of these key necklaces.)
 
- I'm working a lot... although still not enough to stop me stealing money from my savings.  I'm either going to need to get a second part time job or quit the whole shebang and get another full time job.  Or I need to track down a rich philanthropist who wants to pay me to ghostwrite his/her blog while funding my European travels (fingers crossed for that one!).

- I'm writing and performing sketch comedy with my new group The Fantashticks.  Maybe someday we'll get our shit together and have a website!

- I celebrated Christmas by working nine hours on minimal sleep, somberly smoking a joint alone out my window, and then getting wasted on whiskey and cider.  Thanks, Santa, for the gift of reality!  Really though: it wasn't all that bad.  Andrea came to town (and got snowbound in my apartment) and a super awesome someone gave me a turntable(!!).

- My hair's getting pretty damn long.  I can't wait until it's long enough to recreate the gigantic side ponytail I had in my kindergarten class photo.

- I've been watching lots of Mr. Show.  Pit-Pat!

- I think Enter The Void was the best movie I saw in all of 2010.  Take THAT Black Swan! (Although... uh... I still haven't seen Black Swan.)  If you can still catch it somewhere on the big screen, do it, but schedule time for a long walk and a stiff drink after.

SO.  Yes.  Things are pretty swell right now.  I mean, sure: I'm dreading waking up at 6am tomorrow to go work for the man for nine hours and I'm also thinking it was probably a bad idea to drink that beer and then eat that ice cream and then do sit-ups right before bed but still... things have been worse.  I'm even working on a wintery iTunes playlist that's not full of Joy Division and Interpol!

Happy February, lovers.  It's good to be back.