Just Call Me Already!

You know a song is going to be around for a long, annoying time when it engenders, not Youtube covers, but Youtube spoofs. Here are two that was released today, based on Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe," which I first heard at H&M last Friday and have been stuck in my head, which means that it's going to be there all summer...

Jepson is Canadian and, contrary to appearances, is actually older than Taylor Swift. And me. I feel like there should be another blog post about infantilization of women but it's Friday and I'm just passing time until I can drink tonight.

So first, here is the original "Call Me Maybe":



Then, first cover, courtesy of Jimmy Fallon (I originally wrote Kimmel, not sure why I keep getting those mixed up) and the Roots (and Ms Jepson, though that's not the reason you should be watching the video. Hint: there's a kazoo.):



And finally, from the journalists at NPR in what can only be describe as a dramatic reading.

They should take on 50 Shades of Grey next.

And next week, I'll get back to blogging about something substantial.

Happy Friday everyone.

Sarah Jarosz, or, How a 20 year old made me feel like an underachiever

Bluegrass singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz

I've been in Charleston covering the Spoleto Festival for the "Post and Courier" for about two weeks now. I got in on May 12 and the days have the flowing by like molasses. Not to say that I have not been working. My days begin at 10 a.m. and end sometime after midnight (depending on if I have to submit an overnight review). I've written a feature story, I've done three multimedia videos, five overnight reviews, and five blog posts/reviews for the "Theater Talk" blog. And in my spare time, I either catch up on news or I go see shows. I may or may not review those productions for this blog. So not exactly slacking.

And then I went to a concert by 20-year-old singer/songwriter Sarah Jarosz and all such feelings of productivity flew out of the window. She has two albums out, plays multiple instruments (including banjo and guitar), and she writes lyrics so poetic, I was placed into a haze. And then brought out of when I realized that no matter how hard I try, I'll probably won't be able to write anything quite as beautiful as:

I peruse and conjure
Sit and ponder
Then go under
The blanket of your words
The way I feel
The things I sing
The songs I write
The joy you bring
To me my muse

That song placed me into a haze, which only intensified when she played this piece, one she wrote based on an experience in an NYC subway. I was close to crying, perhaps because I wanted to be in that city but also, because of how hopeful it made me. It was like all of the worries I had - about jobs, about money, about entering adulthood - disappeared in that moment. It was like I was floating in a sea of guitar strings, playing a reassuring refrain, everything was going to be all right.

That's what I love about the arts, how it can transport you to more beautiful, tranquil places. It calms you down and untangles all of the worries you previously had. Though other than those feelings, it was a perfect summer night in the South and I felt peaceful in a way that I had not felt in quite some months. 

The concert, at the beautiful tree-covered backdrop of the College of Charleston

"Your Girl is Lovely, Hubble"

So I've been a little bit (a lot) busy lately, what with work and fighting off the stomach flu and filming around town for a class project. So as not to look like I'm completely blowing off the blog, I'm just going to leave you with a feeling.

"The Way We Were," which makes me cry every time I hear it and made me cry even harder after seeing this movie for the first time in September (don't judge, I grew up in an Asian family). And with this version of the song, performed by Barbra ("K-k-k-k-Katie!") herself during a recent taping of "Oprah," Babs proves that she still has it. And like Bernadette Peters, the woman also does not age.



And like this last scene in the movie didn't make you cry? Though according to the making-of information, the amount of footage cut from the movie made the reason Katie and Hubble split incomprehensible. Watching the movie for the first time, I didn't realize it, only because there was an intuitive sense that something wasn't quite right in the relationship and it was never going to work out. Like real-life relationships, sometimes you just can't work it out and love isn't really enough. Because life isn't the movies. Unless that movie is "The Way We Were."

But enough of that, little girl is going to bed now and fight off the last of this flu. Enjoy the Barbs!

I Write About Zombies

Say hello to the newest television recapper for "TheCelebrityCafe.com." Join me every Monday, readers, as I recap the newest episode of "The Walking Dead."

And now a recap of episode 2 of "The Walking Dead" with the "Zombie Kill of the Week."

"Guts."

And some other small bits of writing.

Music: "KT Tunstall: Tiger Suit"

Op-ed: "Want to Meet Stars? Go to the Theater"

Weekly Round-up

Instead of writing a blog post for every piece of writing that I do, which seems a tad excessive, I think I'm going to just place a link for everything that I've written during the week in a blog post. And it's also for my parents (hi Ba, Ma!) who will probably check this website from time to time, now that I told them that it exists. Whoops!

"Stage Plight" - "Syracuse New-Times"

• This one took about a month and a half to write. It was also a lesson, for me, in patience and realizing that just because you need it, sources still will not reply to your e-mails promptly

"Why 'Glee' Frustrates Me" - CDinsight.com

• My first post and I get $.01 cent for every hit. It's a ways away from actually getting paid to write but it's a start. And I've been meaning to write this type of article for a while, now I can.

"Sara Bareilles: Kaleidoscope Heart' - CDinsight.com

• I've been looking forward to this album for ages. And it almost satisfied.