Lady Gaga on Repeat

Lady Gaga’s latest collection dropped this week following a slow rollout of individual songs and videos. The initial songs struck me much like previous songs of hers, I was not immediately blown away, but they grew on me the more I heard them. After listening to ARTPOP straight through a few times, I felt the same way. The songs grew on me.

Now that the album is fully released, I look forward to seeing how it is performed in the coming months through videos, television appearances, and in concert. Lady Gaga’s music can stand alone, but it is not fully complete without the performance pieces included. She is a performance artist like we have not seen in a generation. Each performance (essentially every time she is seen in public) for the next months will be completing the story of ARTPOP.

Better than any of her previous albums, ARTPOP tells a story. The songs stand alone, but they also stand together. So far I have not heard any individual songs that strike me as a “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance,” or “Edge of Glory,” which are songs I could put on repeat just for themselves. Then again, I did not pick any of them initially when listening to The Fame or Born This Way.

Despite not finding a go-to song on the initial listen, I am certain I will find songs that will grow on me and that I will return to from time to time just as I did with the previous albums. Much of that connection will come in the following months as the ARTPOP performance plays itself out. The first week has not made me fall in love with the album, but I am at the same place I was with Gaga’s previous releases and they are still among my most played collections even after a few years. As happy as I am that she has released a new cd, I am even happier that there will be another year of Lady Gaga in performance.

How to Make a Dog Happy

My roommate of the past 1 ½ years moved out last week and my dog has been miserable. Our schedules worked out nicely that we often went days without seeing one another. I leave for work by 6:30 in the morning and he leaves for work about 3:00 in the afternoon. I’m usually home about 6:30 or 7:00 in the evening, so the dog, Bart, only had a few hours of time alone. Suddenly he is having 12 or more hours alone each day.

I make a point to spend some time playing with him immediately after I get home and I even let him sit in my lap for a while (something I personally do not like, but it makes him happy). I even let him sleep on my bed a couple nights when I did not have enough time to play with him.

Tonight, though, I discovered something that makes him happier than tearing the stuffing out of a new toy.

I worked later than I intended and then had some errands to run, so I stopped off at the only fast-food chain that has an easy-in, easy-out for me on my route home. They do not have options for sides, forcing me to get their famously addicting French fries. I ate them all on the remaining part of my drive home.

Bart did his usual run in circles around me as I dropped off the bags I carried in. Finally I sat down and began playing with him and all was normal until I put my hand over his muzzle to keep his mouth closed. His bug eyes (half pug, half Boston terrier) got even bigger than normal and his tongue darted out to start licking my hands. I did not know it was possible for a dog to get that excited about anything.

His entire body trembled as he licked my hand.

He scoured every dermal ridge and valley of my right hand until no scientifically discernable trace of French fry could be found. He sniffed a few times and found nothing left.

New toys and play are great for Bart. But, I now know that when I want to make my dog truly happy, all I have to do is eat some salty-fatty heart-attack sticks and let him lick my fingers clean.

New Season Blues

         In an effort to separate life from work – at least a little bit – I have tried to watch some of the new season of television. Since I do not have cable I have been limited to broadcast television: and once again, PBS has the only shows for which I stay awake through most of the broadcast. Perhaps it is the television snob in me. Perhaps it is because I actually enjoy learning something more than sitting for gimmie punch-lines.

         Twenty-five years ago my degree in radio-television production made me highly critical of television as an entertainment medium as I could spot every microphone shadow and continuity failure. Good writing saved some of the television shows at the time. Either shows have become much better at hiding those pesky microphones (they have become comparatively microscopic) or I have lost my eye for such things (aging does that). Sadly I have yet to find any good writing this season.

         The shows I have enjoyed most consistently have had good writing and good characters. A conversation Facebook chat with a friend of mine recently explained why I do not watch some of the shows. He was anxiously awaiting the premier of one of the popular reality shows – which I confessed to watching one time. He could not believe that I was not hooked. I summed it up with one statement, “I would not be friends with any of the people on the show.” You want reality; that’s it. The reality producers effectively craft characters from all the people participating in the show by selectively choosing which bits to air: mostly drama without the writers creating a story. Reality does not need production.

         I work with people all day long. I do not need to come home to more “real” drama. The created drama on PBS, though takes up little of the programming time and creates stories and characters I look forward to watching. Downton Abbey, Dr. Who, Call the Midwife, all have stories that captivate and characters who fascinate. Dr. Who has finally captured my attention even though it has been around, off and on, longer than I have been (continuously). The other documentary and educational programming engage my brain enough that I do a better job of staying awake than any of the laugh tracks.

         I find it fascinating that the laugh track was supposed to make it easier to laugh because the view was laughing along with others. It also helped the ignorant viewer know when a joke had been made. Despite the laugh track, I can make it through entire episodes of some of the shows I have seen this season without even breaking a smile.

         Now that I have given them a few weeks to grow on me (though I mostly slept through them – seriously they could not even keep me awake), I have reached the point of giving up on television for another season and the cable company will futilely attempt to get me back.

Turning Off the Television

I finally broke down and did it.

I cancelled my full cable package and kept only basic cable because it cost less to keep that than to just pay for cable Internet.

Brilliant bundling.

I decided to make the cut in a few months ago after I started coming home, turning on iTunes radio and reading from my Kindle more than turning the television on. After a bit of exploration, I discovered I can watch almost anything I want on some Internet venue – either the network website or some other streaming service – or just check my Twitter stream if I am that desperate to know what happened with some housewives.

I never am.

But I know how if I want to.

Television’s benefit to me was noise in an otherwise quiet house. After exploring the variety of iTunes radio stations and finding favorite stations in various genre of music, I decided I could do much more with a techno or classical beat than I could with the visual distraction of the television across the room.

In two months I read three novels - three more than I had read in the last 4 years.

I rediscovered the joy of staying up past my bedtime just to read another chapter – and then another. I have a few more books on my Kindle to make it through, but may be saving those until I get through the traditional paper books I have purchased in the last few years that I have not taken the time to read.

I also have a stack of professional books I want to read and reread.

First in my queue stands a book written by one of my former students. I anxiously await his take on the Gospel – and I promise to leave my red pen aside.

It's a LIGHT BULB

I rarely watch television - mostly because I find most shows to be absolutely dreadful. Still, I almost always have it on as background noise when I am home in the evening - usually Travel Channel or Discovery Channel - something that at least sounds educational (though Man Versus Food and America's Worst Driver on Travel Channel have dumbed it down significantly).

Tonight I was just settling down to Travel Channel and a beautiful nature show on Alaska and started eating a nicely grilled steak when, "snap" the picture goes out but the sound continues. The bulb burnt out (I have a rear-projection television). It was not really a stressor because I knew the bulb had a limited life-span and there is a panel that pops off the back of the set for easy bulb replacement.

I called the local big box chain appliance store where I purchased the television. They don't carry the bulbs, but there is a convenient link on the website for ordering.

Easy enough.

I know my set model and type it in.

With shipping - $219.

It's a LIGHT BULB.

Granted - it is a fancy light bulb, but it's a LIGHT BULB!

Still - it is cheaper than a new television and I almost have this one figured out after three years, so I pulled out the card.

But I keep thinking: It's a LIGHT BULB!

O Holy Drag

A few weeks ago when I was visiting Wichita, Kansas, I finally visited some of the gay bars there. Let’s just say that I have been to better bars than those, but I must admit that the presence of the bars in Wichita impressed me.

And they have drag shows!

Who  knew?

Apparently, drag is HUGE in Wichita.

Who knew?

Austin has a few regular drag queens and the always-amazing Austin Babtist [sic] Women (comedy gospel charity group), but no real drag culture. I know other cities have a vibrant drag community, but they are all similar to Austin in the large urban, somewhat socially liberal cities. That Wichita has a drag scene surprises me.

I caught the show the Sunday night before Christmas.

It was the Christmas Special!

Christmas is the perfect time for drag. All the glitter and color and pageantry of the holiday create a perfect excuse for a drag show.

It did not help much here.

The first song I heard performed was “O Holy Night.”

It was performed like a drag anthem, but it’s not! How can I say this nicely: it was just WRONG!

Nothing else the performers presented in the special represented a real drag anthem. As a whole it was bad drag all around, but I had a great time. If anything else because it was so unexpected.

Music Review: Sound Opinions

My alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. every day. I don’t normally crawl out of bed then, but that is when Morning edition begins on my local National Public Radio station and I want to hear the news. I do not change the setting for the weekends because after years of waking at 5:00 a.m., my body is going to do it whether I se the alarm or not – still my paranoia keeps me worried that I won’t remember to change the setting for Monday and work.

I never said I was always logical.

On weekends, though, I do normally turn the radio off for the first cycle.

That was until recently.

On Sunday mornings, KUT (my local station) has started carrying a syndicated show from Chicago Public Radio called “Sound Opinions.” The first few weeks, I rolled over as usual and turned it off.

But I kept hearing music I liked an had not heard before.

So I started listening and each week I have discovered something new about music. I do not always like the music or agree with the opinions, but more often than not, I learn something. The co-hosts are of my generation and have a musical background more that of my friends when it comes to contemporary music. The iTunes library on my newest laptop is beginning to reflect the music I’ve been hearing on the show.

Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot are music critics for the major Chicago newspapers. They have varied tastes when it comes to music, but I have not found myself siding with one more than the other. Their interviews always catch my attention as they interview some of the legends of the music business. I always discover connections that I never knew existed before listening to the show. Some of the interviews are with people I have admired for years, but never had a name to connect to the accomplishments. Some of the interviews are with completely new people.

That comes back to the reason I enjoy them so much – I learn something new each week. I am a better music fan because of them.

The show is available in podcast at: http://www.soundopinions.org/audio.html

I encourage you to give them a shot. I have yet to listen to a show without coming across some new tidbit that fascinated me.

Beyond Grandpa

I’m not much of a bar person, so I rarely go out, but occasionally a friend will talk me into going as C. did last night. After a while we ended up on the back patio of Rain, since C. smokes and it is illegal anywhere indoors in Austin.

We were standing around talking and looking for cute men. Just beside us was a cute guy with a couple of his friends and as I looked around the room, I noticed him looking at us every time I looked his way. The looks gradually turned to smiles and he finally took the three steps over to us.

He wrapped his arm around me and we all chatted briefly then he went back to his friends.

A few minutes later C. went to get another drink. Cute guy came back and before I knew what was happening, he planted a full-on kiss on my mouth. He then asked what happened to my friend. I answered that he went to get another drink. He then kissed me again and asked how old C. was. I answered that he was 24. He replied, “Oh, he’s a grandpa!” and kissed me again.

When he stopped kissing me, I said, “I’m 41; what does that make me?”

He leaned over again, since he was somewhat taller than me, kissed me again, then said, “Well, you have a good night,” turned around, and walked away.

Clearly, I am somewhat beyond grandpa status, but I think I may be going out more often. How else am I going to have the chance to be kissed by really cute twenty-somethings?

Soundly Confused

Last spring I bought the new television and have gradually experienced some of the features that come with a HDTV.

Since I'm too cheap to pay for the cable package that includes high definition broadcasts, I bought a basic hd antenna and get my high definition for free. Since I have the sound being fed from the television, I've discovered that hd broadcasts are in surround sound.

You may wonder why I am just discovering this six months later.

I rearranged the living room this weekend and am now sitting in a location.

Twice today during football games I got up to go out and check to see the rain.

It was not raining - it was crowd sounds from the broadcast.

And someone to the back right of the microphone has a REALLY annoying noisemaker. There is nothing that resembles rain there, more like some kid playing a toy trumpet outside my window.

I finally like my living room, but the new arrangement is going to take some getting used to. I'm especially going to have to get used to the sound and stop looking out the window or running to the door to see the rain.

Britney Does Matter

I’m so bad.

Our local Fox station just started carrying the TMZ tabloid show.

I am hooked.

Normally, I don’t give a damn about celebrity status and all that is happening in their world. Their profession is built around a world that does not really exist and their personal lives seem to be caught up in that fake life. Why should I care?

But then there is Britney.

My first date with a guy was with Britney Queers.

Rumor tells me he’s no longer a guy.

But Britney is still Britney. At least kind of.

For the sake of Britney as a person, I’m worried. Concerned. Scared.

Those who know me know I’m not one to make one of the impassioned, tearful “Brit Boy” or whatever his name is video pleas to spare Britney. I’ve never been a big fan as evidenced by the fact that I had to look up the correct spelling for “Britney” when I started writing. She is (was) an exciting performer though her voice was largely manipulated, but she never reached a status of anything more than novelty with me.

And then there was the MTV debacle.

Professionally I have a background in mental health – I’ve been a counselor.

When I finally saw “the performance” the clarity that Britney’s problems go far beyond bad-girl behavior or substance-induced missteps. Britney’s eyes speak volumes more than Nora Desmond could ever hope. I know I don’t know enough to make even an educated guess as to what is exactly wrong with her, but I do know enough to know there is something wrong with here at a deep emotional level.

Sadly, we have a hard time addressing mental illness. The tabloids and entertainment television shows thrive on the mental illness of so many celebrities. Public policy, the health care system, and cultural norms do not treat mental health with the same urgency as physical health, and make it ok for emotional issues to stay the butt of public humor.

Admittedly, mental illness can be hard to understand. Something shielded behind the fortress of the skull and hidden within the folds of the brain can be hard to grasp. It’s not a broken bone protruding from the skin or a cancerous tumor sucking out the life of the healthy body. Mental illness cannot be cut out and held in one’s hand, but it is no less real than that tumor.

Britney’s partying and bad behavior mask so much of what is going on, but if you look in her eyes, there is so much more than the influence of the substance of the day. Look at Britney’s eyes from her early videos – clearly there was no “A” student in there (that’s a McAfee Daniel story sometime), but there was a live person inside. Lately the look has been different.

It saddens me that the prospect of Britney getting the help she needs anytime soon remains unlikely. She will continue to be fodder for jokes and sarcastic headlines. Mental illness will continue to be acceptably funny, and mental health will continue to be largely ignored.

Hockey - again

For the third time, I’m attempting to watch a NHL Stanley Cup.

I have never been able to stay awake for an entire hockey game. For whatever reason, I the puck hits the ice and my head hits the pillow.

Years ago when Dallas was in the finals I made valiant attempts to stay awake for the games to see them hoist the large trophy, but I never made it.

I usually awoke sometime during Jay Leno’s monologue.

Since I’m a native of South Texas and only once in my youth had the chance to play on ice (Freeze of ’83) it would be understandable that I have limited knowledge of hockey. Tennis shoes, boots, and flip-flops don’t make good skates.

Football, I have always enjoyed. I get it: it makes sense to me.

Basketball has taken more time, but I get it and I enjoy the physicality of the sport. College basketball is without question my favorite sport to watch live in person. I have been passionate about college B-ball since the new gym was built at Navarro College while I was a student there. Professional B-ball is fun in the playoffs, but the regular season has become too much dominated by personality; college basketball remains one of the most team-oriented team sports today.

With the technology available today, hockey has grown as a sport from being one that is dominated by the north to one that exists even in the Texas/Mexico border region. Austin has a fairly successful minor league team – the Icebats.

I never could figure out the name since the bats for which Austin is famous LEAVE when the weather turns cold. We have FREETAIL bats, not ICE bats.

Maybe the Icebats have been successful because they really come from Superman’s secret North Pole Ice Palace and use the power of Kryptonite. Take that you mythical Jackalope!

But still, hockey has remained much like soccer in my sports brain.

That move stealing the puck is a penalty, but that move knocking out a few teeth is not?

Huh?

Maybe someday I’ll understand it.

Barring a miracle with under four minutes remaining, the Anaheim Ducks ( I can’t help but think even Icebats has to be a better name) will bring the Stanley Cup to California for the first time in its 100+ years. I managed to stay awake for two of the three periods as the first period was just ending when I turned the television on and other than a few nods now and then, I have watched the last two periods in their entirety and that’s a record for me.

Maybe next winter I’ll get to an Icebats game live with a true hockey fan and he can let me know what the hell is going on play by play.