tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56350860411261111402024-02-07T08:02:49.545-05:00thirteen again.a twentysomething's perspective on pop culture ... and a cautionary tale for today's teen girlsMaxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-60659196960037923422014-01-15T13:30:00.000-05:002014-01-15T13:30:00.962-05:00Freaks and Geeks<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv56;%3C=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E277%3C8764::248ot1lsi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Freaks and Geeks TV show" border="0" height="426" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv56;%3C=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E277%3C8764::248ot1lsi" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: NBC Universal / Getty Images</td></tr>
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As with most cult favorites, I'm late to the party on the 1999-2000 television show "Freaks and Geeks". But honestly, how many of us teens were watching "Freaks and Geeks" the first time around? Weren't we too busy setting ourselves up for later disappointment, watching The WB with its loquacious teen melodramas? Not caring about how teens lived in the oh-so-vintage '80s? How many of us touched NBC, aside from its Must See Thursday nights?<br />
<br />
Now that I'm older (and frankly, a little bitter that life did not turn out the way The WB promised it would), I fully appreciate the quality television NBC offers. "Friday Night Lights" was probably one of its greatest gems, and "Freaks and Geeks," while not nearly as serious or earnest as "Friday Night Lights," speaks of high school with the same honesty.<br />
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This is a world where romances last two weeks, teens are too self-involved to spend more than half an episode bullying their peers, and kids are just trying to get by. Cindy is a genuinely nice girl, in spite of being a cheerleader. She is equally nice to the geeks, the freaks, and the popular kids. And one of the most balanced adults I've seen on television, guidance counselor Mr. Rosso. (Although some of the guidance counselors at my school were as bad as you hear.)<br />
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Most people of my generation seem to think that "Mean Girls" was the pinnacle of what high school was like, but I just can't relate. "Freaks and Geeks" ... that I get. And to think, one of the co-creators was Mr. Poole from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch."Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-55086776426575986982014-01-08T14:30:00.000-05:002014-01-08T14:30:02.050-05:0014 Pop Culture-y Things That Turn 10 This Year<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv6:77=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E27838%3C:834248ot1lsi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Britney Spears Kevin Federline" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv6:77=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E27838%3C:834248ot1lsi" height="320" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: breatheheavy.com</td></tr>
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... just to make you feel old (or just very confused), let's make a list of 14 pop culture-related things that will turn 10 years old in 2014. And ... go!<br />
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1. Facebook<br />
And are we any better for it?<br />
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2. "Mean Girls"<br />
Which also means that it's been 10 years since Lindsay Lohan was considered an ingenue, a good actress, attractive, and reliable by most. Tell me the truth -- do you still quote this movie?<br />
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3. "The College Dropout"</div>
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Kanye West releases his debut album and becomes a megastar instantly. Things haven't changed too much.</div>
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4. Britney Spears gets married ... twice</div>
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Within a span of 12, nay, 10 months, Britney Spears gets married in Vegas, has her marriage annulled, then inexplicably gets married to Kevin Federline.</div>
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5. Ashlee Simpson gets caught lip synching on "Saturday Night Live"</div>
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... and then does a weird jig. I can't believe that was 10 years ago. I remember watching that live, crammed into an uncomfortable corner of an eerie corner kitchen of my basement dorm hall. I didn't think she deserved all the hate then, and I still don't now.</div>
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6. "The Notebook"</div>
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And yet, I can't seem to imagine Ryan Gosling or Rachel McAdams a day older than they looked in "The Notebook." And I don't think they do look a day older now. If you're a bird, I'm a bird, right?</div>
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<br /></div>
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7. Paris Hilton's popularity</div>
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Ugh, I do not miss the era of celebrity gossip when all that mattered was what stupid thing Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, and Mischa Barton had done that week. But do you remember the phrase "That's hot"? And how Paris successfully trademarked it? The rockbottom of pop culture.</div>
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8. Massachusetts and same-sex marriage</div>
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The state of Massachusetts, then under the watchful eye of future presidential candidate Mitt Romney, became the very first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriages.</div>
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9. "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County"</div>
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The reality show that spawned a new style of "reality" shows made its debut on September 28, 2004 and became arguably bigger than the show from which it drew inspiration: "The O.C."</div>
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10. "Nipplegate"</div>
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Justin Timberlake "accidentally" exposed 80% of Janet Jackson's star-covered breast at the Super Bowl. The pair consequently begin backpedaling with the lamest PR excuses I've ever heard in my life. I didn't think it was that controversial ten years ago, but now I just think it's plain stupid. Why would you end a song by ripping off a pocket of a woman's shirt to expose a sparkly star-covered boob? Like, what's the point? If it was purely shock they were after, I guess they succeeded. Also: ten years on, and people are still treating Justin Timberlake like he's some sort of demi-legend. Still don't get it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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11. "Napoleon Dynamite"</div>
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Now this is something that feels more like it happened 20 years ago, maybe even 30. And that probably makes "Napoleon Dynamite" a classic. Or incredibly dated when it was released.</div>
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12. "Friends" ends</div>
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Good riddance.</div>
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13. The Curse of the Bambino is lifted</div>
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The Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to win their first World Series in 86 years. Yeah, I'm New Yorker born and raised, but I still know all about the Bambino. I happened to be living in Boston at the time, and it was madness. Pure madness.</div>
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<br /></div>
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14. The Olsen Twins turned 18</div>
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There was a countdown and everything. Sick. Especially since they still look underage, ten years later.</div>
Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-77093093994499214192013-12-18T13:30:00.000-05:002013-12-18T13:30:01.414-05:002003-2004 Playlist<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDeVFrla36h9_XXhF4ShyQfIT5OhVv-OQF3U3cP5xhJsQv8x6gpn0LMiNbIYESpfc-Cvk9vVvd6AICIVS4FAaFyCbmptjpqmy_nzb0pjJl-9t1nxqq0Lg_0-Up2nyZLDax6LlA1xBg1g/w738-h491-no/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jason Mraz 2003" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDeVFrla36h9_XXhF4ShyQfIT5OhVv-OQF3U3cP5xhJsQv8x6gpn0LMiNbIYESpfc-Cvk9vVvd6AICIVS4FAaFyCbmptjpqmy_nzb0pjJl-9t1nxqq0Lg_0-Up2nyZLDax6LlA1xBg1g/w738-h491-no/" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: JasonMraz.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By 2004, I very definitely had one foot in Top 40 music and one in acoustic/folk, singer-songwriterly music. I spent most of my time playing Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Jack Johnson on repeat and wishing I was in California instead of the Northeast (don't worry, I won't subject you to my actual 2003-2004 soundtrack). Most everything else that entered my Cone of Beachy Angst seeped through via television and films.<br />
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And (this is a little difficult to admit) Michelle Branch's "Hotel Paper" was, for at least a few months, my crutch for the transition from high school to college. For leaving behind a certain someone I was convinced I would never get over. I don't know what it was about these songs (and "Goodbye To You" from her previous album), released just before I graduated from high school, that "spoke" to what I was going through. Oddly enough, Michelle did a big concert at my college the next spring. That helped me close the book on my past a little.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/v53mzti_Y8M?list=PLHv10gg_7zCiJd6YxneC-2mycsYX5D7wt" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:user:mackseen:playlist:17bvtsY0cL2DRogT8w5XVN" width="300"></iframe></center>
Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-36899128339300758412013-12-17T13:30:00.000-05:002013-12-17T13:30:02.205-05:00The Ugliest Ugly Christmas Sweater ... is strangely attractive, just like Harry Styles.<br />
<br />
I saw <a href="http://www.onedirectionstore.com/onedirection/onedirection/One-Direction-Christmas-Jumper/2SAJ0000000?back=">this limited edition One Direction "Christmas Jumper"</a> and my thoughts followed thus:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"You've got to be kidding me." </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"... it's kind of cute." </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Really festive." </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"I would wear it." </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"I kind of want it." </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"$69.99!? WTF."</i></blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv44::=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E2778954645248ot1lsi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="One Direction Christmas Jumper Christmas Sweater 2013" border="0" height="320" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv44::=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E2778954645248ot1lsi" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: OneDirectionStore.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'm surprised they haven't branded it with "2013" so they can release a reissue next year, maybe in evergreen or Hunter green.<br />
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I'm so thankful I am not the parent of a teenage girl.Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-85765900829882787862013-12-11T13:30:00.000-05:002013-12-11T13:30:01.918-05:00A page out of my diary: A fifteen year old's perspective on "The Skulls" and Paul Walker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv;655=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E277757:%3C9;248ot1lsi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Skulls movie Paul Walker Joshua Jackson" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv;655=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E277757:%3C9;248ot1lsi" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Universal Studios</td></tr>
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Back when I was in middle school and high school, I wrote in a paper diary religiously. Not necessarily every day, but often enough that I could be counted on to chronicle every major cultural happening in those days.<br />
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After Paul Walker passed away last week, I reflected on how I remembered him, as you do. I'd seen him in "Pleasantville" and as a jerk in "She's All That" at the movie theatre ... then again at the theatre for "The Skulls." The other movies of his I saw were "The Fast and The Furious" (I think), "Eight Below" and "Noel" (again, I think). I never thought of him as a particularly accomplished actor, just extremely beautiful. Looking back now, in my teens (when he was in his mid-to-late twenties), he should have been an obvious crush for me -- I was all about the blonde hair and blue eyes. But like some others who should have been obvious crushes (Hayden Christensen, for one), it just never happened. Now I see that he was rather harsh-looking in his twenties, and had really started "softening" and growing into his looks in the past 10 years.<br />
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So anyway, I couldn't remember who I'd gone to see "The Skulls" with, or for what reason. I've never been a movie buff or anything close to it. So I pulled out my (now huge) bag of diaries and, referencing the release date of "The Skulls," found the very entry I needed to find to quench my curiosity. Here it is ... enjoy my mortification:<br />
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<i>April 14, 2000</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Dear Nick </i>[I named my diary after Nick Carter, duh]<i>,</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I have SO much to tell you about. First of all, I'M FIFTEEN!!! I'M FIFTEEN!!! I got the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nobodys-Angel/dp/B000046PUO">Nobody's Angel CD</a>, which is <u>quite</u> good. I got it for $8.99.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Me, Cat, Justine and Jenn saw "The Skulls." Okay, that's a SCARY THRILLER, but I CRIED. I'm SO STRANGE. I cried for Josh Jackson's character at the police station cuz no one would believe him. I cried at 2 other points too. One of them being when Lucas and Caleb were gonna duel. I was thoroughly afraid for Lucas. And the part when Caleb (PAUL WALKER!!) was gonna kill himself. I leaned forward </i>[presumably where my friends were sitting]<i> and said, "He's too hot to kill himself." And then I leaned back to see that he really <u>was</u> gonna kill himself. I also remember crying when the father lied to Caleb. If it can make me cry, it's a good </i>[enough]<i> movie.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Very distinguished tastes I had at 15, I know. I saw that "The Skulls" was on Netflix over the weekend and decided to give it another go. I didn't cry, but maybe if I hadn't been cleaning the house while watching it, I would have. Maybe.<br />
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I love that Paul Walker went on to establish himself as a guy's guy type of actor, and not just a heartthrob in a string of teen movies. I'd imagine it's pretty tough to gain the respect of a male moviegoer, especially when you're a pretty boy. Or beautiful man. Time flies.<br />
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Rest in peace, Paul Walker.Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-30618827005056675232013-11-27T13:30:00.000-05:002013-11-27T15:20:55.479-05:00Things I Learned From 1D DayTo promote their latest album "Midnight Memories," someone on English-Irish boy band One Direction's team came up with the insane idea to do a 7-hour long live worldwide broadcast via YouTube. Which turned into nearly 8 hours,and should have left both Piers Morgan and Jerry Springer out of the picture entirely. What I thought would be a predominantly pre-taped video, promo-heavy broadcast actually turned out to be a variety show of sorts, ending with confetti falling over a telethon-like gathering of cast and crew singing -- alongside a satellite Michael Bublé -- "White Christmas."<br />
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1. The UK uses widely different video production terminology than the U.S. "Autocue" -- teleprompter. "VT" -- tape. I could go on.<br />
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2. Harry peels bananas from the stubby end, just like monkeys.<br />
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3. Niall is the best dancer of One Direction.<br />
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4. Harry has really made zero effort to knock down those gay or bisexual rumors, except in that one GQ interview.<br />
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5. Liam is actually a lot funnier than I thought he was.<br />
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6. But he's just as dumb as I thought he was.<br />
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7. Louis is kinder than I gave him credit for.<br />
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8. But overall, all five of them are still exactly as I thought they were.<br />
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9. I would never have gotten into college if I had been a teenager today, and for that I am thankful I am as old as I am.<br />
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10. Harry knows a surprising amount about women's fashion and hair styling.<br />
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<a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv593:=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E276%3C73:::8248ot1lsi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Niall Horan Harry Styles pottery 1D Day" border="0" height="356" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv593:=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E276%3C73:::8248ot1lsi" title="" width="640" /></a></div>
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11. Harry is also a semi-expert in pottery-making.<br />
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12. Celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving is perfectly acceptable if you are in the company of the English and Irish.<br />
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13. Cinnamon rolls are a good post-dinner choice.<br />
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14. World famous pop stars have no true understanding of time zones. Or just Louis and Liam don't.<br />
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15. And yet their geography is (mostly) better than mine.<br />
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<a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv8;;5=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E276%3C752;44248ot1lsi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Payne Train 1D Day" border="0" height="358" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp93232%3Euqcshlukaxroqdfv8;;5=ot%3E232:=7;;=;35=XROQDF%3E276%3C752;44248ot1lsi" title="" width="640" /></a></div>
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16. I am more gullible than I thought I was. (See: Payne Train vs. the pro-wrestler)<br />
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17. 7-and-a-half hours is a long time.<br />
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18. A lot of American One Direction fans are college students. Which makes me feel less bad.<br />
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19. Harry Styles is extremely, extremely White.<br />
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20. Even though Zayn is tied as my second favorite member of One Direction, I never have anything to say about him. He's kind of boring.<br />
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21. Harry is homeless. And the wealthiest homeless person I've ever heard of.<br />
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22. Whatever their wages, the band's trainers do not get paid enough for what they are expected to do.<br />
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23. People have a lot of trouble recognizing song lyrics of very popular songs, even when awkwardly used out of context.<br />
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24. U.K. artist management teams are more generous to fans than American ones.<br />
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25. The English think Jerry Springer is far more legendary than his compatriots do.<br />
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26. Harry Styles can fly.<br />
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27. There will probably never be an explanation for the amateurish, uncomfortable video of Niall lip synching to "You and I."<br />
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28. Pop stars don't need water, food, or to pee.<br />
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29. As conniving as marketing teams are with their pre-Black Friday releases and sales pushes, there's something magical and ultimately sentimental about a teenage girl (or boy) participating in an "event" with her favorite teen idols leading up to the holidays. (See also: Around The World in 100 Hours culminating in Backstreet Over Broadway, November 21, 2000, Backstreet Boys)<br />
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30. By age 35, I should want nothing to do with boy bands and their music. According to James Corden.<br />
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You can watch a part or the whole of 1D Day below.<br />
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-9942923778224211722013-11-20T13:30:00.000-05:002013-11-20T13:30:00.468-05:00Music Video: "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)", Backstreet Boys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have all you Backstreet Boys superfans seen the new music video for "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)"? It kind of slipped in there quietly, like many of the group's music videos between 2006 and 2009. First posted on the Backstreet Boys' Facebook page, the music video was posted this morning to the all-encompassing Vevo. (By the way, am I the only one who finds all these parenthetical song titles slightly ridiculous? What is so parenthetical about "what you're made of?" Isn't the practice of "showing 'em" inherently showing them what you're made of? See also: <a href="http://thirteenagain.blogspot.com/2013/03/music-video-remix-i-like-new-kids-on.html">"Remix (I Like The)" by New Kids on the Block</a>.) </div>
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Anyway, I remember all those times as a teenager when a big music video would have its premiere on "TRL" and there'd be a big buzz from the fanbase leading up to it. And sometimes, if we were lucky enough, we'd get a behind-the-scenes look on "Making The Video." Back in those days, I thought music videos of the Boys against a green screen ("More Than That") were boring. Concert videos ("The One") were almost equally boring. Sci-fi-ish music videos ("Larger Than Life") were totally not my thing and were mostly avoided. Even music videos with a legitimate storyline ("The Call," "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)") did little for me.</div>
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Or maybe it's because they were overplayed on "TRL." </div>
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I'm not really sure what constituted a good music video for the Boys to me back then. I liked "Show Me The Meaning (Of Being Lonely)," "Just So You Know," "Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)," "All I Have To Give," etc. well enough. But my favorite BSB music video is probably the original European version of "I'll Never Break Your Heart," probably only because Nick Carter was just so gosh darn cute in his knit sweater in it. Maybe I just wanted to see glamour shots of my favorite Backstreet Boy looking good (a.k.a. not greasy, see: "Larger Than Life").</div>
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So fast forward about 18 years, and we have the music video for "Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)". The song is classic Backstreet Boys-meets-Adult Contemporary ... meaning: classic Backstreet Boys. It's inspirational, it's uplifting, it admits youthful mistakes, and it believes in you. Aww.</div>
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The music video, too, is the best of classic Backstreet, but without the frills (unless you count A.J. and Brian's bare chests frills -- <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/backstreet-boys-go-shirtless-in-show-em-what-youre-made-of-music-video-teaser-20131911">Us Magazine</a> seemed to). Set against a black screen, there are no effects. Just lighting, angles, bare chests, Howie's corniness and the occasional boy band hand gesture, mostly courtesy of Nick Carter (who I guess picked up the habit too young and now can't shake it). Nothing has changed except for the elasticity of their skin. All the best of Backstreet condensed into a very simple, very focused 4 minute video. </div>
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And the shocker is -- I don't find it boring at all. I even have to look away when Brian's flashing me. Does this mean I'm getting old?</div>
Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-56666442033815245062013-11-13T13:30:00.000-05:002013-11-13T13:30:01.638-05:00Music & The Impressionable Years<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;78%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3678%3C894;9339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lisa Loeb Stay" border="0" height="464" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;78%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3678%3C894;9339nu0mrj" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lisaloeb/">Lisa Loeb's Facebook page</a></td></tr>
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I was reading a <a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/5785688/ask-billboard-they-are-women-hear-them-roar">Billboard magazine article</a> on females and Billboard records by Gary Trust when I came upon this line: "(and one of my favorite years of music ever, with it coinciding, unsurprisingly, with my sophomore and junior years of high school, given that those years are generally accepted as among music fans' most impressionable eras, as many of us retain a strong bond with the songs we like early in our musical histories. It's also when songs serve as intense soundtracks to crushes, which surely helps those songs linger in our ears, and hearts, years later.)"<br />
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Okay, so that was more than just one line. I've always assumed one's most impressionable years were in one's middle school years, I've been in the "business" of all things teens and pop culture and tweeny for years now -- since I was one myself -- and I have never assumed that ages 15-17 were one's most impressionable years, musically. Is it true? Is or was it true for you?<br />
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For me, it started at 13 and lasted until about 17, so I'm not really sure. I still think the best year in music during my adolescence was <a href="http://thirteenagain.blogspot.com/2013/05/playlist-1997-1998.html">1997-1998ish</a>, with the going of alternative music and the coming of teeny pop. The Lisa Loebs, Wallflowers and Third Eye Blinds mixed in with the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees (Motown Records-era). I was 13. This era was my favorite not because I was crazy in love with a boy (Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys aside), but because I spent hours upon hours listening to pop station Z100 while doing my homework. (This would be loving through repetitive listening, an idea I was introduced to by the 1995 film "Mr. Holland's Opus.")<br />
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My second favorite "year" was <a href="http://thirteenagain.blogspot.com/2013/09/2000-2001-playlist.html">2000ish</a> (age 15): Nelly, Lenny Kravitz, Eve 6, Janet Jackson, Incubus, Christina Aguilera. A sobering little-bit-of-everything, with the reigning teen idols moving into their twenties. I was, now, crazy in love with a real, live boy and true, many of these songs remind me of him and of that time, but few of them are linked to romance or in any way linked to how I felt about him.<br />
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While Googling this "phenomenon," I stumbled across something called the Impressionable Years Hypothesis, which more or less says that tastes (and music, even more so) are set during these "impressionable years," though the definition of what is "impressionable" varies, ranging from age 10 to age 30.<br />
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So that being said, which years would you consider your most impressionable years, musically? What sort of events were they linked to, if any? In terms of musical taste, has yours changed outside what is deemed "the impressionable years"?<br />
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In 2008, when I was 23, I took a road trip down South that helped me look at country music with a more open mind. I'm a country music fan now, though not of the uber-twangy stuff. Yet.Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-74591195970160084552013-11-06T13:30:00.000-05:002013-11-06T13:30:02.519-05:002002-2003 Playlist<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:6%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36765:9;77339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Michelle Branch 2003" border="0" height="266" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:6%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36765:9;77339nu0mrj" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MichelleBranch">Michelle Branch's Facebook page</a></td></tr>
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Wow, the past few posts I've done have all revolved around music. I need to start getting back into TV or pop culture, huh? Anyway, I'm back with yet another playlist from my adolescence ... perhaps the nail on the coffin of my radio-playing days. 2003 was the year I sort of dropped off of the pop radio radar and never quite recovered.<br />
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A lot of the songs on this playlist were less about songs that were popular at the time, and more about a sentiment I was looking for. I remember 2002 and 2003 were heavy on hip-hop and singer-songwriters, and anything else on this list was probably something I caught on a television show or movie.<br />
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<b>- "Thinking Over," Dana Glover</b><br />
I discovered this song from the trailer for the children's movie "Tuck Everlasting." Weird, but true.<br />
<b>- "Sexual Healing," Shaggy version</b><br />
<b>- "Game of Love," Santana ft. Michelle Branch</b><br />
Gone from the spotlight in 2002 and 2003 were the Britneys and Jessica Simpsons, and Avril Lavigne (the "anti-Britney"), Michelle Branch and Vanessa Carlton temporarily took over. With the help of Santana, of course. But bubblegum pop prevailed in the end. It always prevails.<br />
<b>- "Damaged," TLC</b><br />
<b>- "Never Leave You (Uh Oh)," Lumidee</b><br />
As annoying as this song was (and is), for some reason, it symbolizes all of this period to me. I can't really explain it -- maybe it's the joyful, youthful beat and girly, simple sentiment.<br />
<b>- "My Place," Nelly ft. Jaheim</b><br />
<b>- "Scandalous," Mis-Teeq</b><br />
<b>- "Calling All Angels," Train</b><br />
<b>- "Don't Wanna Try," Frankie J.</b><br />
<b>- "If You're Not The One," Daniel Bedingfield</b><br />
The poor guy. DJs across America called him "Danielle Bedingfield" for ages after his debut single "Gotta Get Thru This" came out, presumably because his voice is so high. Oh well, I still liked this song in all its sappiness.<br />
<b>- "Sunshine," Lil Flip ft. Lea</b><br />
Like "Never Leave You," this sound defined the period for me. This song's just better.<br />
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What were you listening to in 2002-2003?<br />
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With the exception of "Sexual Healing," here's the playlist via Spotify:<br />
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-46223165194336779972013-10-26T13:30:00.000-04:002013-12-11T01:10:28.260-05:00Lyrical Overanalysis: "Story of My Life," One Direction<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;%3C6%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3674975;:4339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Story of My Life, One Direction" border="0" height="320" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;%3C6%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3674975;:4339nu0mrj" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/onedirectionmusic">One Direction's Facebook page</a></td></tr>
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You know one of my favorite things to do is to take a simple pop diddy and critically analyze the eff out of it. So hope you're having a wonderful Saturday afternoon ... and here is my newest victim, "Story of My Life" by One Direction.<br />
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First off, kudos to the boys for being smart and running with the whole folk-acoustic-Mumford&Sons sound. Which, after decades of boy bands thinking more or less inside the box, is a relatively big risk. The sound of "Story of My Life" is the type of music I like listening to, and although I'm not in the band's target demographic, it's the music I've been hoping boy bands would make for at least ten years now. Naysayers, of course, will say that the boys are still a boy band and they're still not playing instruments or writing their own songs. And it's true.<br />
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"Story of My Life" was actually written by a trio: Jamie Scott, John Ryan and Julian Bunetta, who have in some form or another written for One Direction's previous endeavors.<br />
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To cut to the chase -- the song sounds like Mumford & Sons and U2 and Men At Work all at once. Not a bad mix for a boy band, really. The lyrics (and for fun, I'll color code them for those of you who are still learning who's who ... <span style="color: #0b5394;">Harry</span>, <span style="color: #f1c232;">Liam</span>, <span style="color: #cc0000;">Zayn</span>, <span style="color: #e69138;">Niall</span>, <span style="color: #6aa84f;">Louis</span>):<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">written in these walls are the stories that I can't explain</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">I leave my heart open, but it stays right here, empty for days</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">she told me in the morning she don't feel the same about us in her bones</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">it seems to me that when I die, these words will be written on my stone</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">and I'll be gone, gone tonight</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">the ground beneath my feet is open wide</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">the way that I been holding on too tight</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">with nothing in between</span><br />
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<u>chorus</u><br />
t<span style="color: #0b5394;">he story of my life: I take her home</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">I drive all night to keep her warm, and time</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">is frozen</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">the story of my life: I give her hope</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">I spend her love until she's broke inside</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">the story of my life</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e69138;">written on these walls are the colors that I can't change</span><br />
<span style="color: #e69138;">leave my heart open, but it stays right here in its cage</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">I know that in the morning I'll</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">see us in the light upon your ear</span><br />
<span style="color: #f1c232;">although I am broken, my heart is untamed still</span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">and I'll be gone, gone tonight</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">the fire beneath my feet is burning bright</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">the way that I been holding on so tight</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">with nothing in between</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">chorus</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">and I been waiting for this time to come around</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">but baby running after you is like chasing the clouds</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e69138;">the story of my life: I take her home</span><br />
<span style="color: #e69138;">I drive all night to keep her warm, and time</span><br />
<span style="color: #e69138;">is frozen</span><br />
the story of my life: I give her hope <br />
I spend her love until she's broke inside<br />
the story of my life<br />
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the story of my life<br />
the story of my life<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">the story of my life</span></blockquote>
The thing about songs that are a departure from the "oh girl"s is that they can be kind of ... cryptic. And not always in a good way (e.g. "I Want It That Way"). The overall message seems to be that the protagonist feels that he is constantly missing out on love. Every time he finds someone, he finds that he is not truly in love though he is going through the motions, and inevitably ends up hurting each girl he's been with.<br />
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But I can see how this song is a metaphor for what boy bands do. Not the singing and the touring and the fame and fortune, but the psychological aspects of what boy bands represent, and the shelf life of a boy band.<br />
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Let me explain. "The story of my life: I give her hope," yes? Then: "I spend her love until she's broke inside" ... a bit of a stretch for those not in-the-know, but many a teenaged girl's heart has been broken by a boy she's never even met. Or you could replace the word "love" with "parents' money."<br />
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Now the first two lines of the chorus are tailored to One Direction: "the story of my life: I take her home / I drive all night to keep her warm" ... the guys' first album was called "Up All Night" and their second album was called "Take Me Home." [This third album (which is called "Midnight Memories") might as well be called "The Story of My Life."] But also, these lines could represent both the touring aspects of their lives and their role in a fan's life, and in growing up "with" their fans.<br />
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So when a fan decides one day that "she don't feel the same about us in her bones," the boy bander's world effectively falls apart: "and I'll be gone, gone tonight / the ground beneath my feet is open wide / the way that I been holding on too tight / with nothing in between." He realizes that all this time he's spent giving hope to all these girls and chasing skirts backstage, he hasn't (necessarily) been living his own life or developing himself. What's left is a big, gaping void.<br />
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What he has left is the legacy of having been a part of a lot of girls' childhoods and adolescences: "written in these walls are the stories that I can't explain ... it seems to me that when I die, these words will be written on my stone." But his heart's hardened over time. It "stays right here, empty for days" and "stays empty in its cage," not quite knowing how to love. He's "been waiting for this time to come around," when he can love without restraint and settle down, though "running after [what I assume is the perfect girl] is like chasing the clouds." He's still looking, though he's not sure he can change his ways: "although I am broken, my heart is untamed still."<br />
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... have I made a convincing argument? Probs not, but it's all in good fun. One can turn a love song into a love song about anyone. That's the beauty of music and art.<br />
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-31657305925570749632013-10-16T13:30:00.000-04:002013-10-16T15:19:01.246-04:00Mind Crush: Hunter Hayes<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;;7%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3672;8:4%3C3339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;;7%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3672;8:4%3C3339nu0mrj" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hunterhayes">Hunter Hayes' Facebook page</a></td></tr>
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Have you ever heard the phrase "women fall in love with their ears, men fall in love with their eyes?" I am 100% proof that this is the case, because if you look at a list of all of the celebrity crushes (if that's a measure of anything) I've ever had, 80% of them are musicians. That's a rough estimate.<br />
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This is true especially now that I'm older. Nick Carter, my ultimate celebrity crush, I can tell you I fell for with my eyes. Harry Styles ... well I can't say that my eyes didn't take part in the deliberation process, but I'll tell you that if I had been thirteen and One Direction had been my Backstreet Boys, I'd have Mrs. Niall Horan scrawled all over my notebooks. Niall's the baby-faced, innocent one, and that's generally what tweens want in their celebrity crushes -- a non-threatening entity onto which she (or he) can place all that teenage angst and sexual tension. That's what the psychologists'll tell you, anyway.<br />
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So. Hunter Hayes, the point of this blog post. Without being too mean, I'll just say that if I were thirteen, there's no way in hell I'd have given him two hoots. Even now, I'm not admitting to giving him any hoots. But this is why I'm calling it a "mind crush." As in: if I think about it long and hard enough, I could probably convince myself that I could possibly have a crush on you, but really what this is is fascination and a large case of "can I pick your brain?" (I hate that phrase, by the way, but it just seemed fitting in this context.)<br />
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I mean. The kid (who just turned 22, so technically not a kid) plays over 30 instruments and basically produces all his own music. That's enough as it is, but I've given his album(s) a once-twice-thrice over and the songs are good. Taylor Swift-level good, except his music's got this perfect roundedness that Taylor's has lost over the years -- I'm not sure if that means he's a novice or an expert.<br />
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But what's most important, especially since we're talking about crushes and teenaged girls, is his lyrical content. He's got the makings of the next John Mayer, except his lyrics are even tighter and he's four-to-five years younger than Mayer was when he became mainstream. I haven't seen or heard such romantic lyrics coming from a mainstream guy since "Your Body Is A Wonderland." (Well, maybe James Blunt gave it a go, but James Blunt is completely off my radar and is not a valid point in any argument.) But look what happened to John Mayer.<br />
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You might already know sappier-than-a-maple-tree "Wanted," but there are better Hunter Hayes love songs out there ... how's this?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>well I'd run through the desert, I'd walk through the rain<br />get you into trouble and take all the blame<br />I'd paint you a picture, write you a song<br />and I'd do it all over if I did it all wrong<br />I don't want to steal you away<br />or make you change the things that you believe<br />I just wanna drink from the words you say<br />and be everything you need<br />yeah, I could be so good at loving you ...</i></blockquote>
In the words of teens today ... Dead.<br />
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I've already gone on for longer than I meant to with this veiled analysis of why Hunter Hayes is a viable "mind crush" for a twenty-something year-old. He could pass for a "rugged" version of Jesse McCartney. And by rugged, I mean half-J.R.R. Tolkien character, half-child -- somebody needs to tell him to get rid of that scruff, because it ain't helping things. He even kind of sounds like Jesse McCartney. (By the way, I mistakenly had a two-month crush on Jesse McCartney, despite having been acquaintances with one of his band members and girlfriends in the nascent phase of his solo career, when "Beautiful Soul" was coming together, but that's a story for another day ... oh, I have Jesse McCartney stories).<br />
<br />
But the dude is a musical genius. And that is my excuse for spending 4 hours watching Hunter Hayes interviews on YouTube and listening to his album for 2 days straight.<br />
<br />
Does he offer private songwriting lessons? Kidding, but not kidding, because really, I wish I could put together a song like he does.Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-24374593157564219272013-10-02T13:30:00.000-04:002013-10-02T13:30:02.493-04:002001-2002 Playlist<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;85%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36667;:394339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nelly" border="0" height="320" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;85%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36667;:394339nu0mrj" title="" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back then, Nelly used to wear a Band-Aid on<br />
his cheek for his incarcerated friend.<br />
source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nelly">Nelly's Facebook page</a></td></tr>
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The 2001-2002 school year was a transitional time in my life, for more than one reason. It was around that time, like I said in <a href="http://thirteenagain.blogspot.com/2013/09/2000-2001-playlist.html">my previous playlist post</a>, that I began to listen to more than what was being presented to me on pop radio. I branched out not only by listening to music online when I could (technology was nowhere near as advanced as it is today, or even a few years later), but also by tuning into more LiteFM radio stations to learn about the music that had paved the path to what was popular in 2001.<br />
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And of course, September 11th happened. That changed the landscape for radio for at least a few weeks, with a lot of Adult Contemporary seeping into typically youthful pop radio stations, making my exploration of different types of music easier. It was also in the fall of 2001 that I began to listen to holiday music stations, or seek them out. Maybe it was when the onset of nostalgia crept into the national consciousness, I don't know, but I hadn't ever sought out Christmas radio before. I don't think I've ever fully recovered from wanting to relive the good times, the better days.<br />
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Instead of putting the songs in an order that flows well, I basically put the songs in chronological order, with the exception of a few songs. Again, not all of these songs came out in the 2001-2002 period, as I was beginning to explore other genres of music.<br />
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<b>- "Why," Avril Lavigne</b><br />
There was a time I really liked Avril Lavigne. It was mostly at the very start of her career, before she started really coming at people and trying to prove how anti-Britney she really was, or whatever. Actually, she's a fairly talented songwriter and a lot of her songs have been really good. In terms of vocals, I've always looked at Taylor Swift as a poor man's version of Avril Lavigne. I also kind of maybe had a teeny crush on her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld.<br />
<b>- "Wherever You Will Go," The Calling</b><br />
<b>- "Can't Fight The Moonlight," LeAnn Rimes</b><br />
<b>- "Learn To Fly," The Foo Fighters</b><br />
<b>- "Drowning," Backstreet Boys</b><br />
<b>- "Valentine," Martina McBride</b><br />
This was one of the songs that I picked up, listening to those LiteFM stations. Turns out there were a ton of crossover country hits in 2001-2002 ... I didn't realize until I started putting this playlist together.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;69%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36667;7:99339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Avril Lavigne 2002 2003" border="0" height="400" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;69%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36667;7:99339nu0mrj" title="" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/avrillavigne">Avril Lavigne's Facebook page</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>- "God Bless The U.S.A.," Jump5</b><br />
I even listened to a ton of Radio Disney that year (and still do when my regular stations just aren't doing it for me). I loved the beautiful harmonies of Jump5, and just the vocals. Jump5 was very, very young back then, and the purity of their voices seemed especially appropriate for this song given the circumstances of the popularity of this song at the time.<br />
<b>- "We Fit Together," O-Town</b><br />
<b>- "Don't Let Me Get Me," P!nk</b><br />
This was one of the first P!nk songs I really liked. Incidentally, this was around the time she went very pop, rather than the rough and tough R&B gal she broke out on the scene as.<br />
<b>- "I Hope You Dance," Lee Ann Womack</b><br />
<b>- "In The End," Linkin Park</b><br />
I went through a bit of an angry period in the winter months of that year ... this song came in handy, along with "Blurry" by Puddle of Mudd and "Losing Grip" by Avril being up there. "Losing Grip" remains one of my favorite Avril Lavigne songs to this day.<br />
<b>- "Where Are You Christmas," Faith Hill</b><br />
<b>- "Emotion," Destiny's Child</b><br />
My favorite Destiny's Child song of all time, and it's not even theirs. I loved what they did with this song, I adored the music video, and I loved the soft tenderness this song offered, and comfort.<br />
<b>- "Girlfriend," 'N Sync</b><br />
<b>- "Blurry," Puddle of Mudd</b><br />
<b>- "Fields of Gold," Eva Cassidy</b><br />
I first heard Eva Cassidy's rendition during one of Michelle Kwan's routines at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, and immediately I went and downloaded the song. It's still among my top five songs.<br />
<b>- "I Need A Girl (Part 1)," P. Diddy and Usher, ft. Loon</b><br />
<b>- "Standing Still," Jewel</b><br />
Jewel fans complained that she'd gone all pop on this record, but I didn't really care. I was going through something at the time (arguably still am), and this song really felt close to me. It was one of the first songs about identity, the Unknown and the in-between that I noticed, that came at a time I really needed to hear it. The lines "Out of the corner of my eye / was that you passing me by / a sweet sorrow is the call tomorrow" still hit me in the gut sometimes.<br />
<b>- "Just An Old Boyfriend," Kaci Battaglia</b><br />
<b>- "Hot in Herre," Nelly</b><br />
Probably THE song of 2002. In fact, in the seventh and final season of the "Gilmore Girls," Rory and her friends threw a "2002 Party," and this was played at said party.<br />
<b>- "Complicated," Avril Lavigne</b><br />
Don't love the song, but it brings me back every time.<br />
<b>- "Gangsta Lovin'," Eve and Alicia Keys</b><br />
<b>- "Just A Friend 2002," Mario</b><br />
<b>- "Heaven (Candlelight Remix)," DJ Sammy and Yanou</b><br />
About a year before the DJ Sammy version of the song came out, I fell into love with Bryan Adams' version. That one will always be better or the best to me, but there's something about the Candlelight Remix ...<br />
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-12984289631956207712013-09-25T13:30:00.000-04:002014-09-04T14:55:22.091-04:00Top Five: "The Hills" moments"The Hills," sadly, started out as a continuation of the wildly popular "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C." but overstayed its welcome and went down in history books as a huge joke, a joke that its producers were happy to share the punchline to. In the past few weeks, I did two "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C." posts, a top five moments entry for each of the first two seasons of the show (<a href="http://thirteenagain.blogspot.com/2013/08/top-five-laguna-beach-season-one-moments.html">season one</a>, <a href="http://thirteenagain.blogspot.com/2013/09/top-five-laguna-beach-season-two-moments.html">season two</a>). For "The Hills," though, I'm going to do just one because as the seasons wore on, each episode seemed to revolve around the same recycled drama, just with prettier clothes and more plastic noses.<br />
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Unfortunately, none of the full episodes of "The Hills" currently work on MTV.com, but I managed to find a pretty good compilation via PopSugar's YouTube page.<br />
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<a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;67%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3666784478339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Hills, Elodie" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;67%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3666784478339nu0mrj" title="" /></a></div>
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<b>5. Elodie vs. Heidi</b><br />
(Season 3, Episode 7)<br />
Oh, the satisfaction I felt when Elodie showed Heidi what's up after Heidi went behind Elodie's back to get a promotion. On Elodie's last day, Heidi asked her to take over her late night nightclub shift so she could spend time with Spencer ... and Elodie agreed to it, all the while not telling Heidi she'd already quit. I almost forgot Elodie existed, but she made for some great, great television that night.<br />
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<a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;54%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=366678%3C357339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Hills, Jason or Paris" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;54%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=366678%3C357339nu0mrj" title="" /></a></div>
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<b>4. Jason vs. Paris</b><br />
(Season 1, Episode 10; 0:16 in the video above)<br />
When the final episode of the first season of "The Hills" aired, I was well into my college years, a world backpacker, and a seasoned intern. And I knew that you should never, ever pass up an opportunity to go to Europe ... especially not for a boyfriend. Especially not if your boyfriend is Jason Wahler. Need I say more?<br />
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<a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;63%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=366678%3C356339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Hills, Audrina vs. Lo" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;63%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=366678%3C356339nu0mrj" title="" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Audrina vs. Lo</b><br />
(Season 4, Episode 1)<br />
Let me just start by saying that I never liked Lo. I especially did not like Lo when she was "Laguna Beach's resident Paris Hilton," and though she seemed to become less shallow during and after her college years, she was no more engaging as a character. That said, I thought the season-long riff between Lo and Audrina was mildly entertaining, with the "drama" playing out in the very best representation of a passive aggressive confrontation between two girls ever captured on film, maybe. "I know, but ..." "I hear you, but ..." You hear nothing, Lo. You hear nothing.<br />
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<b>2. Lauren vs. Audrina</b><br />
(Season 4, Episode 5; 0:57 in the video above)<br />
The penultimate moment of "The Hills." Cheeks streaked with mascara-stained tears, Lauren -- with her croaky day-after-Les-Deux voice -- confronts Audrina about the tension that's built up between the three roommates. The other most memorable dramatic moment has got to be the "I want to forgive you, and I want to forget you" speech Lauren gives to Heidi.<br />
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<b>1. Whitney Port vs. Overly Dramatic Reality Television</b><br />
On "The Hills," Whitney Port played a minor, supporting role to the show's main girl, Lauren. Because we got to see so little of Whitney on "The Hills," she was always entertaining, always wise, always a little mysterious. Unfortunately, those illusions vanished into thin air when Whitney signed on to do two seasons of "The City," but while she was on "The Hills," I have to say, she was the greatest entertainment of all -- a voice of reason and humor. Let these GIFs demonstrate my point.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Hills Whitney Port GIF" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN21BupRbdg4PfikyGWj-m2bb6Nv023wrju7kPAxX597qAgkMWZe6KdLUtwgeoUpULq1hAwWDJIOVAfMPY_gZH9dJu1QGDnAYuA_Uh-OS-dZ2OJSgzRe6pmeqUOe_is8mTohtIGdfU7ho/w428-h250-p-no/gabeswebsite.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"A date!?"<br />
source: gabeswebsite.com<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Hills Whitney Port GIF" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgLj9e9erOhbIf5A6eUD_g5aqZeD2TYg796FkyfQqp3kQVM2UKwmvYl7hUJ8IuSG3gSYQpWWFM9qbItQXiBkIhOQ4-CSSNGFp20t8kfWcLBtDij2EjIxJjQhhvYXEIRld9-n0XGFLhps/w501-h250-p-no/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: heresgifsforyou.tumblr.com</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Hills Whitney Port GIF" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdFAleRxbS_KSMBazh_RrocF3Hsa5ew0ziIrMm5UiMdYd6bE8rVfx2R4kS37jVd403rB2xOE7N4W6u-YftD3BgdywwmoY8KKRCJekB4lxPzZ8IgILmpTK1T43zbfja_0rLK_4cBTj1ts/w425-h226-p-no/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tumblr.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Hills Whitney Port GIF" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirGX613okl-4PrbLcv8P_gPPJEd6IfdFimWhh73410tujsDdbNSYHUIiGHHl8_PrYA_fy8zhAoOotlo4clgQY4reJ70fI7gzB-4QajRxmaKu2OCH7T0Nwfyr5BcliaX7PJVfwzkL2SQuk/w402-h226-p-no/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tumblr.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Hills Whitney Port GIF" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz12AqF1_Oco63Dp83ADwSoTi0Vji87NdxqoK_KLYe8GHcx49RzlCxAkr_oA8xtLB-lmqN8Rhi8rzqJ6h3HBWSQAiOsOKfUa-unobBuauZ8HlCMY79cjVdJQ2CBFycvBxlrV-h4Oqf_Jc/w334-h250-p-no/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: giphy.com</td></tr>
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Yes.Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-68919243258329929412013-09-18T13:30:00.000-04:002013-09-18T13:30:01.750-04:00Top Five: "Laguna Beach" Season Two moments<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;89%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3665%3C98592339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="JP and Talan Torriero of season two of "Laguna Beach"" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;89%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3665%3C98592339nu0mrj" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: MTV.com</td></tr>
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I'm back with the second installment of "Laguna Beach" moments. In <a href="http://thirteenagain.blogspot.com/2013/08/top-five-laguna-beach-season-one-moments.html">my first post</a>, I ruminated on my favorite moments of the first season of "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C.," which, in retrospect, seemed an altogether more wholesome and earnest endeavor. All this went down the drain in the show's second season, when MTV realized it had found its sweet spot in what teenagers <i>really</i> wanted to see -- and that was drama, drama, drama.</div>
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Bad Girl Kristin Cavallari took over as protagonist and main narrator in the reality show's second season, and in my opinion, that was probably among the smartest moves MTV made between 2004 and now. Aside from riding on the not-so-well-intentioned coattails of "Teen Mom"'s success. Team Kristin or not, I honestly don't think "The Hills" and all its successors would have come to be if Kristin hadn't taken over Lauren Conrad's role in the second season.<br />
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That said, my top five favorite moments of the second season of "Laguna Beach" won't be as heartfelt or sappy as my top five from the first season. They'll be more ridiculous, over-the-top, and maybe even ironic. The second season brought along the likes of the paradoxically dull Bad Boy Jason Wahler, tough girl Alex Murrel, doll-faced Taylor Cole, the insufferable Casey Reinhardt, and more screen time for Talan Torriero and Kristin's BFFs, Alex Hooser and the ever-lovable Jessica Smith.<br />
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Without further ado, here are my top five favorite moments ...<br />
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5. Episode 10 - 10:00<br />
Casey decides she wants to talk with Alex M. about the alleged rumors she's spread about Alex's "hygiene problem." Things escalate when Casey calls Alex "an evil person" and Alex shuts down all talks.<br />
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Bonus moment from the same episode, at 1:02, when Kristin advises Alex H. that the way to get all the guys is to be a bitch.<br />
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4. Episode 7 - 7:30<br />
Jason takes Alex M. out on their first on-screen date, and Alex whispers sweet nothings like "I like your face" to him over a romantic surf 'n turf dinner. Plus, it's fun to see both the awkwardness and sweetness of the early stages of a relationship. Even if that relationship only lasts two episodes.<br />
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3. Episode 14 - 12:45<br />
Okay, so I had to stuff a little mush into this list, because otherwise, I'd be admitting that "Laguna Beach" is completely void of substance. Is it just me or does the LBHS valedictorian have a Jersey accent? Anyway, I actually teared up when I watched the little Laguna Beach High School seniors graduate. The Chantal Kreviazuk song didn't help.<br />
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2. Episode 4 - 9:15<br />
JP, recurring background character, makes his second appearance on "Laguna Beach" here. He is undoubtedly the hottest member of the Laguna Beach community we've been introduced to -- I don't care how good-looking you think Jason or Stephen are. JP has got that skater boy laidback-ness to him, and in a minute's time scales the distance between Men from Mars and Women from Venus. It's always fun to hear a man's (or boy, in this case) perspective on why women do what they do.<br />
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Bonus moment from earlier in this episode, at 7:40: we see Kristin and Talan at dinner, alone together. It's clear that Kristin has some feelings for him, though it's unclear just how deep those feelings are. It's just nice to see Kristin kind of disarmed, and "giddy" in her detached, Kristin Cavallari way.<br />
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1. Episode 11 - 6:30<br />
There are two reasons I love this clip so, so much. One, Jessica is happy for once in her freaking life. Two, Kristin is finally drunk enough to have let go of her inhibitions, and it's really refreshing. Not that I'm condoning underage drinking or anything, but it's rare that we see Kristin without some sort of front. I love the bonding being achieved here by Jessica and Kristin. Too bad it lasts for only about, oh, half a scene. Followed by unmatchable humor, courtesy of Alex H. Fiiiiiiestaaaaaaa!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;68%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3665%3C9356;339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fiesta, "Laguna Beach" style" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;68%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3665%3C9356;339nu0mrj" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: MTV.com</td></tr>
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-88762467525160298302013-09-04T13:30:00.000-04:002013-09-04T13:30:00.021-04:002000-2001 Playlist<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;;;%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3664968893339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Eden's Crush" border="0" height="472" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;;;%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3664968893339nu0mrj" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: MTV.com / Carlo Dalla Chiesa</td></tr>
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I'm back to share my playlist from the 2000-2001 period, which, looking back, was probably one of the best "years" of music I can remember -- it had the perfect mix of the teenybopper music that had been so popular in the years prior, along with some alternative music of the 1990s and some hip-hop that would come to dominate pop music in the following years. The 2000-2001 period was probably one of the first years I really started to take an active interest in contemporary music outside of what was being fed to me through pop radio and MTV/VH1, so there are some songs here that may not necessarily be from the 2000-2001 time period, or songs that may not have been played on radio at all.<br />
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I started creating a Spotify playlist for this as I usually do, but so many songs were missing that I eschewed that idea and went straight for YouTube. One song from my personal iPod 2000-2001 playlist is missing from YouTube, a song that I really played the crap out of during this time period, and that song is "I Wish Me You" by Amanda Latona. She was mostly known back then for being the girlfriend of the Backstreet Boys' A.J. McLean, but she was also a former member of a girl group managed by Justin Timberlake's mother called Innosense (which I believe Britney Spears was also part of before she decided to take the solo route). Ah, who doesn't love an incestuous pop music world?<br />
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<b>- "The Space Between," Dave Matthews Band</b><br />
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<b>- "Get Over Yourself," Eden's Crush</b></div>
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I actually never liked this song, but a year or so after the song came out, I realized that this song had been the soundtrack to so much of that year of my life, I couldn't leave it out. I much prefer the Eden's Crush (the girl group formed by the WB show "Popstars" ... the group which Nicole Scherzinger initially started out in) song "Love This Way," which makes an appearance later on in this playlist.</div>
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<b>-</b> <b>"Crazy," K-Ci and JoJo</b></div>
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<b>- "So In Love With Two," Mikaila</b></div>
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The only reason this song is on my list is because it brings me right back every time I hear it. Even back then, I thought the song was a little too teenyboppery for me, though it had a nice R&B tone to it. I liked the girl's voice, though. Another song from this era that's similar is the song "Broken Promises" by Tonya Mitchell. Neither song fully broke pop radio, though they were played in the wee hours of the night, I guess as a trial. Wonder what ever happened to both of them.</div>
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<b>- "Ride Wit Me," Nelly</b></div>
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<b>- "If I Was The One," Ruff Endz</b></div>
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The grammatical errors of this song still bug me (go figure), but the melody and beat are so entrancing, I can't help but love it.</div>
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<b>- "Natural," S Club 7</b></div>
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"Never Had A Dream Come True" is the S Club 7 song that most Americans are familiar with, but I was guilty of watching their kids' TV show on ABC Family back then, so I was familiar with most of their songs and kept up with their career. "Natural" was the song that really stuck out to me, because it was a teeny bit less pop and slightly more R&B, which was a style I was really fond of (and still am).</div>
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<b>- "All For You," Janet Jackson</b></div>
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One of my all-time favorite songs from my teenage years. This song makes me happy to this day, and I will chair dance if I hear it. "Doesn't Really Matter" was also released as a single in 2000, and it was equally good.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;6;%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3664968894339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lenny Kravitz" border="0" height="320" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;6;%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3664968894339nu0mrj" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lennykravitz">Lenny Kravitz's Facebook page</a></td></tr>
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<b>- "I Like It," Sammie</b></div>
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<b>- "Butterfly," Crazy Town</b></div>
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Along with "All For You," one of my all-time favorite songs of this era.</div>
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<b>- "Smooth Criminal," Alien Ant Farm</b></div>
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<b>- "I Need You," LeAnn Rimes</b></div>
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<b>- "Crazy For This Girl," Evan and Jaron</b></div>
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<b>- "It Wasn't Me," Shaggy</b></div>
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<b>- "Love This Way," Eden's Crush</b></div>
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<b>- "Lady Marmalade," <i>Moulin Rouge </i>soundtrack</b></div>
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<b>- "Again," Lenny Kravitz</b></div>
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I surprised even myself when I found myself falling in love with this song. I'd already been a minor fan of Lenny Kravitz's, but this song was so simplistic in comparison to the songs I preferred. I think this is just such a simple and beautiful love song.</div>
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<b>- "Breathe," Faith Hill</b></div>
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<b>- "I'm Like A Bird," Nelly Furtado</b></div>
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<b>- "More Than That," Backstreet Boys</b></div>
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<b>- "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)," 3LW</b></div>
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<b>- "Drive," Incubus</b></div>
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Another song that defines this time in my life for me. This is such a great song, and part of what drove me towards more acoustic music.</div>
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<b>- "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely," Ricky Martin ft. Christina Aguilera</b></div>
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<b>- "Fill Me In," Craig David</b></div>
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I'm shocked and downright disappointed that Craig David hasn't had greater success in the United States. His music was so fresh at the time, and a fantastic fusion of pop and R&B that wasn't a filled niche at the time (and still really isn't). Plus, he's got such a pretty face.</div>
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<b>- "All Or Nothing," O-Town</b></div>
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I wasn't a huge fan of O-Town, but something about this song -- or maybe the music video -- was so sad to me at the time that it made an impact and has stuck with me since. There was some controversy at the time among boy band fans over the intro of this song, as it was more or less identical to that of "Drowning" by the Backstreet Boys, a song that wasn't released until fall of 2001. Who copied who? Will we ever know?</div>
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<b>- "How Long," Dream</b></div>
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Straight-up bubblegum pop, but such a princessy, girly song.</div>
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<b>- "Here's To The Night," Eve 6</b></div>
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I don't think I'll ever not like this song. This song made me jealous that I wasn't a high school senior in 2001. I know it's supposed to be about a one-night stand, but that doesn't make me love the song any less. The lyrics are so true, so good for all time. The line "don't let me let you go" still haunts me to this day.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;::%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=366496839;339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Eve 6" border="0" height="426" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;::%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=366496839;339nu0mrj" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/eve6official">Eve 6's Facebook page</a></td></tr>
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-47042622008637298932013-08-28T13:30:00.000-04:002013-12-11T01:09:37.983-05:00Seth Cohen, is that you?Two-and-a-half years ago, <a href="http://theglitteratini.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-must-be-going-crazy.html">I made this blog post</a> about how much One Direction's Harry Styles reminded me of <i>The O.C.</i>'s Seth Cohen. Or Adam Brody. Not that it really matters, because we all know they're the same person.<br />
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Over the past three years, Harry Styles has grown out of his borderline awkwardness and become somewhat of a stud, so Seth Cohen moments have been few and far between. But I caught a glimmer of the Seth Cohen that lies within him last week, at the London premiere of One Direction's new documentary "This Is Us."<br />
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<a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:8%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36633387;;339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Harry Styles This Is Us premiere" border="0" height="262" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:8%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36633387;;339nu0mrj" title="" width="640" /></a></div>
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I mean ... it's not spot on, because let's face it -- Seth Cohen would never be caught dead looking that disheveled -- but isn't it truly Seth Cohen-esque? The essence of Seth Cohen is captured here.<br />
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And as much as I enjoyed <i>The O.C.</i> back in the day, it hasn't been a show that I've revisited since it went off the air, like I've done with <i>Gilmore Girls </i>and cough<i>LagunaBeach</i>cough. So let me remind you of what Mr. Seth Cohen was like.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Seth Cohen GIF" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhndBLfdjgaXE2NnqFVGVxgyH_oLC1sXK_nYRFUgBl5s98CqRjdqewHKtvYttEW0LQjgMFcEv-8OOLkmEAFbAO8zG2HkGENgVXO12KV8-7LJAa_iyE_lI24_i4J_ZcwOEKoOX9ss8z_MU/w546-h247-no/sethcohen.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: PerezHilton.com (wince)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWXB4wlq0XWSoGi82z6cUmQ10BSPJtbZZtNxWZkSYLJBpbVNkHeW5wAnDAWHU4fkm8r1B8EjTrjHZ2MdoeMOgCpe1-nKhTCgAx9QCAuwmvyApT4OQTGoC_hDWMzPDiGJ5-Fcj9izB7Vg/w546-h315-no/adambrody.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Adam Brody GIF Seth Cohen" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWXB4wlq0XWSoGi82z6cUmQ10BSPJtbZZtNxWZkSYLJBpbVNkHeW5wAnDAWHU4fkm8r1B8EjTrjHZ2MdoeMOgCpe1-nKhTCgAx9QCAuwmvyApT4OQTGoC_hDWMzPDiGJ5-Fcj9izB7Vg/w546-h315-no/adambrody.gif" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="http://craving-bliss.tumblr.com/">craving-bliss.tumblr.com</a></td></tr>
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And Harry in his "younger years" was the spitting image ...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj215/champagnetoast/tumblr_lekidnzEFL1qenozuo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Harry Styles young" border="0" src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj215/champagnetoast/tumblr_lekidnzEFL1qenozuo1_500.jpg" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: Original source unknown</td></tr>
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But we know how this story ends. Seth Cohens grow up to date not-so-girls next door like Rachel Bilson and Leighton Meester, stomping out every girl's dream of dating a cute nerdy boy. </div>
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I guess they just don't exist.</div>
Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-30932459307035996542013-08-21T13:30:00.000-04:002013-08-21T13:30:01.483-04:00Top Five: "Laguna Beach" Season One momentsI heard that MTV's been replaying its reality show franchise (if you wanna call it that) "Laguna Beach" recently, and it's being referred to as "Retro MTV" or the like. To me, it wasn't that long ago. Maybe because I'm about the same age as the "Laguna Beach/The Hills" cast members, and developmentally, I was already fully grown when the show began to air on MTV in the fall of 2004. Or maybe because "Laguna Beach" became "The Hills," became "The City" and "Audrina," and the whole "Laguna Beach" wheel only stopped turning about 2 years ago.<br />
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I remember being skeptical about the show, because MTV had dubbed it "The Real O.C.," and I thought MTV was just trying to ride on the <i>real </i>"O.C."'s coattails. I was also skeptical because I had also recently graduated high school and wasn't sure I wanted to watch oh-so-dramatic high schoolers duking it out. Especially rich, pretty blonde ones.</div>
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Well, as with every show that MTV likes to play marathon-style on weekends, I eventually became victim to "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C." ... but I never fell victim to Lauren! Most won't agree, but I don't think she and Stephen were ever that compatible -- they didn't really seem to be on the same level, intellectually. I can proudly state that I was always, always Team Kristin. Even when the going got bad on the last season of "The Hills."</div>
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Here is a list of my top five favorite "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C." moments from season one:</div>
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(Episode 11 - 8:45) Kristin and Stephen have a romantic talk on the beach, when they discuss the status of their relationship.
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(Episode 11 - 18:31) Lauren heads off to San Francisco, and who's there to meet her but the love of her life. I didn't believe a second of this, but it was a nice season ending, and much more subtle than what was to come.<br />
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(Episode 2 - 10:45) Kristin and Jessica cook for Stephen and Dieter ... and it's not good.<br />
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(Episode 2 - 14:00) Kristin and Stephen have a civilized argument at their favorite eatery, Pomodoro.<br />
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(Episode 11 - 16:05) While Lauren is packing to head off to college in San Francisco, Lo can't bear to leave ... and asks if she can have Lauren's "Goachi" bag to remember her by.
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So ... what were your favorite moments of season one? Do you prefer season one or season two? Looking back, season one was quite drama-free in comparison to season two and "The Hills."Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-50589810629090610572013-08-14T13:30:00.000-04:002013-08-14T13:30:00.679-04:00The Hills: An alternate ending<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original cast of "The Hills," with their original faces and bodies (for the most part) in 2006.<br />source: MTV.com</td></tr>
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Last week, MTV released an alternate ending to reality series "The Hills," which ended its run in 2010. For all the talk and mocking of "The Hills," it seems kind of lost on the general population that it started out as a somewhat humble little "reality" show in fall 2004 that, in itself, was a response to the popularity of the television show "The O.C."<br />
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I loyally watched pretty much every episode of "The Hills" because I'd loved "Laguna Beach" so much, and not because I always enjoyed it. When Kristin Cavallari joined the cast, I cheered because I'd always been "Team Kristin," never "Team Lauren." Sure, she was more dramatic and perhaps arrogant, but she also stood up for herself and didn't take crap from anyone.<br />
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Anyway, the "Hills" ending that aired in 2010 showed Kristin seemingly on her way to the airport, headed for Europe. An acoustic version of the show's theme song, "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield, plays somberly in the background. Kristin looks out the window of her cab towards her proverbial future as Lauren had once done in her flashy convertible, driving up the 101 from Laguna Beach, California to Los Angeles. And as Kristin had herself done in 2005, when she drove up the same route a year after Lauren, to begin college in Los Angeles.<br />
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We are then shown each of the cast members looking contemplative, juxtaposed against old footage of themselves. As the scene returns to Brody Jenner, the Hollywood sign behind him begins to move and is removed from the frame, and the camera pans out to reveal a soundstage, lights, production crew.<br />
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The alternate ending has an appendix to the original ending: that of Brody returning to his apartment to find Lauren Conrad nonchalantly waiting for him on his couch. We are meant to believe that they are together, and that Brody is still hiding something from Lauren when he refers to Kristin as "a friend." After a short, stilted exchange and dramatic glances into nothingness (a "Laguna Beach/Hills" trademark), Brody smiles at Lauren and she breaks into a wicked grin.<br />
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Lauren wins. She's always been a step ahead of Kristin, paving the path for her as far as MTV reality shows are concerned. But this time, she finally gets the guy, too. It's not Stephen Colletti, but Brody Jenner's not a bad alternative.<br />
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I don't know, guys. What do you think of the alternate ending? Which do you like better? Do you think Lauren should've taken the "high road" and stayed out of the finale altogether, or do you think it was cheeky of her to return for the last scene and, effectively, "win" the Lauren vs. Kristin battle?<br />
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What I will say, though, is that I really loved the flashbacks to the earlier seasons, and particularly to the first two seasons of "Laguna Beach." We've all come a long way, and for some of the cast members, it was apparent through all the facial and bodily augmentations. There was a time when they were young, brash and somewhat innocent, and there was a time when there was probably some truth to the words that came out of their mouths.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:7%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3659;54573339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:7%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3659;54573339nu0mrj" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Hills" as it ended, with two original cast members, in 2010.<br />source: MTV.com</td></tr>
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-65542403554234577672013-07-31T13:30:00.000-04:002013-07-31T13:30:02.390-04:001999-2000 Playlist<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;67%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36578;5:99339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Macy Gray" border="0" height="320" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;67%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36578;5:99339nu0mrj" title="" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/macygrayslife">Macy Gray's Facebook page</a></td></tr>
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Like the early through late '90s, the 1999-2000 span was a good, good year for music, with plenty of diversity and range in musical styles. Alternative music still had a strong grip on pop radio, while pop princesses were taking over MTV's "TRL."</div>
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Below is a playlist of the most memorable of the songs I listened to while tackling my Math and World History homework, worrying about boys and growing out of my awkward phase (as if!) ... some of these songs I hated at the time, and others I knew would have a place in my heart forever. Here they all are in their glory 14 years later.<br />
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"I Try," Macy Gray</div>
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"Smooth," Santana ft. Rob Thomas</div>
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"Doesn't Really Matter," Janet Jackson</div>
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"Take A Picture," Filter</div>
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"What A Girl Wants," Christina Aguilera</div>
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"Someday," Sugar Ray</div>
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"Blue (Da Ba Dee)," Eiffel 65</div>
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"There She Goes," Sixpence None The Richer</div>
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"All The Small Things," Blink-182</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/blink182">Blink-182's Facebook page</a></td></tr>
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"Everything You Want," Vertical Horizon</div>
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"Livin' La Vida Loca," Ricky Martin</div>
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"Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)," Nine Days</div>
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"Oops! ... I Did It Again," Britney Spears</div>
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"The Real Slim Shady," Eminem</div>
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"American Woman," Lenny Kravitz</div>
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"Then The Morning Comes," Smash Mouth</div>
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"Better Off Alone," Alice Deejay</div>
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"I Knew I Loved You," Savage Garden</div>
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"Bug A Boo," Destiny's Child</div>
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"Out Of My Head," Fastball</div>
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"It's My Life," Bon Jovi</div>
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"Get It On Tonite," Montell Jordan</div>
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"Wonderful," Everclear</div>
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"Girl On TV," LFO</div>
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"Try Again," Aaliyah</div>
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"Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)," Blessid Union of Souls</div>
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"I Think I'm In Love With You," Jessica Simpson</div>
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"Bailamos," Enrique Iglesias</div>
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"Back Here," BBMak</div>
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"She's So High," Tal Bachman</div>
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"Thong Song," Sisqo</div>
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-58125664694844476732013-07-24T13:30:00.000-04:002013-07-24T13:30:01.156-04:00Summer Nostalgia: "Teen Beach Movie" outshines its predecessor "High School Musical"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:7%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36559;6;37339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ross Lynch, Grace Phipps, Maia Mitchell and Garrett Clayton in "Teen Beach Movie"" border="0" height="300" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:7%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36559;6;37339nu0mrj" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: Disney / <a href="http://www.teenbeachmovielivechat.com/index.html">Teen Beach Movie official site</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Last Friday, Disney Channel premiered its newest Original Movie "Teen Beach Musical," starring Ross Lynch (Austin of Disney's "Austin and Ally") and Maia Mitchell (Callie of ABC Family's "The Fosters"). One of the reasons I tuned in is because adorable Maia Mitchell is one of my current girl crushes. The other reason is because summer nostalgia brings me back to hot afternoons spent watching old reruns of classic TV shows and loads of Disney Channel. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.maxine-writes.com/2013/06/june-favorites.html">You might know that I am a big "Gidget" fan</a>, and generally a fan of surf movies, movies of the '50s and '60s, and of girl power messages. I'm not the biggest fan of musicals, but I enjoy those that are self-aware and smart. And "Teen Beach Movie" is exactly that. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Being in my twenties, I was afraid that Disney was trying to model "Teen Beach Movie" after the success of the "High School Musical" franchise, but "Teen Beach Movie" is so much more than the first installment of HSM was. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">For starters, it played an extremely earnest character (Ross Lynch's Brady) off of realistic (if not cynical) McKenzie (played by Maia Mitchell), who was the voice of reason throughout the movie. Add to that some legitimately well-written music and well-choreographed dances with real strands of '60s beachiness woven throughout, and you have a legitimately good made-for-TV movie.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The movie opens up with Maia Mitchell's rendition of Hoku's "Oxygen." I think I'm one of the few people who know Hoku for more than her two big hits, "Another Dumb Blonde" and "Perfect Day." Yes, I actually bought her 2000 debut album, and it actually ranks among my favorite albums of all time. I wasn't surprised when I remembered all the words to "Oxygen."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">McKenzie (Mack) is about to set off for a boarding school in the East and leave her boyfriend Brady behind when she decides to ride one last wave. Brady goes out into the sea to save Mack from an oncoming storm when they suddenly find themselves in the middle of Brady's favorite movie, "Wet Side Story," set in 1962. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The song "Surf Crazy" really sets the tone for the movie to come: it's beachy, it's camp, it's got amazing choreography, it's colorful, and it's slightly psychedelic. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">While Brady clearly makes the most of the situation and places himself at the forefront of some of his favorite musical numbers, Mack desperately tries to think of a way to get back to 2013. The two accidentally change the course of the Surfers vs. Bikers plotline and spend the rest of the movie scheming to get things back to normal so they can get back home ... and discovering a few things about themselves along the way.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Though the story is told through the perspective of Mack and Brady, it's actually through Biker Lela (Grace Phipps) and Surfer stud Tanner (Garrett Clayton) that the movie's positive message about staying true to oneself is delivered. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The casting director did a superb job with the casting of the Bikers and the Surfers, but particularly the role of Lela, who stands at a crossroads between the Biker lifestyle she's grown up with and her burgeoning interest in the Surfer lifestyle. Grace Phipps has a wonderful, rich voice that is perfect for all the sides of Lela: tough, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">conflicted, sweet,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">vulnerable. One of the movie's most touching moments occurs when Lela and Mack have a heart-to-heart and Mack delivers a post-Women's Liberation perspective of what it is to be a girl to Lela.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The movie's only flaw is the completely quirky and out-of-left field "Dr. Strangelove"-like plotline of Les Camembert and Dr. Fusion and their intentions to permanently alter the weather, thus keeping surfers off the beach and clearing the way for the hotel Camembert wants to build close to the shore. If presented in a less frenetic, modern and honestly -- stupid -- way, it may have added to the story, but it seemed so disjointed that it seemed not only to belong to a different movie, but a different era.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">And being the musical that it is, "Teen Beach Movie"'s highlights rest in the colorful, cheerful (albeit cautious, thanks to Mack) and perfectly choreographed song and dance numbers. To some, "High School Musical" seemed so ridiculous because few of its story lines needed to be delivered through dance or song. But here, the singing and dancing only add to the story line, with tongue in cheek. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The choreography and music are so tight and expressive, "Teen Beach Movie" just beats "High School Musical" by a long, happy mile. (Sorry Kenny Ortega.)</span><br />
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-26019094437009263222013-07-17T13:30:00.000-04:002013-07-17T13:30:02.335-04:00Top Ten List: Disney Channel Original Movies<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;59%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3654856382339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Disney Channel Original Movie: Rip Girls" border="0" height="320" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;59%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=3654856382339nu0mrj" title="" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rip_Girls_poster.jpg">The Walt Disney Company<br />via Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
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So the Disney Channel will be premiering a new Disney Channel Original Movie this Friday called "Teen Beach Movie," and I have to say I'm pretty excited about it. It must be the maternal/family cues kicking in, because it's been a minute since I've watched or even really thought about any of those Original Movies. (Can you believe it's been 7 years since the "High School Musical" phenomenon took off?) The Disney Channel, in the late '90s and early '00s, used to produce about 7 of these movies during the year, but that number's since dropped to about 4 a year.<br />
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So, as a child of the '90s, I'm here to dredge up some of your best childhood memories ... let's get started, shall we?<br />
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10. <b>Princess Protection Program (2009)</b><br />
Okay, so maybe it hasn't been so long since I last saw a Disney Channel Original Movie. I was well into my 20s when I saw this, but I thought it was the sweetest little movie I'd seen in a long time. The movie's basically about an endangered princess (Demi Lovato) who needs to masquerade as a normal American teenager, so she takes up residence with a normal American teenager (Selena Gomez), and they become close before the entire plan is foiled. This was back when Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato were still the best of friends, and you could really see their chemistry on screen.<br />
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9. <b>Wish Upon A Star (1996)</b><br />
Once upon a time, I had ambitions of growing up a girly girl. Those ambitions died sometime between middle and high school, but wow, did I want Katherine Heigl's wardrobe from "Wish Upon A Star." This is your typical "Freaky Friday" kind of story, in which two sisters who just can't seem to get along somehow swap bodies and learn to love one another again. You know the drill. There are some shockingly provocative scenes, considering it's a Disney movie, like the scene when Danielle Harris' character Hayley's body is being inhabited by her sister Alexa, who wants to ruin Hayley's reputation and turns up to school in a borderline S&M-type outfit. It's brainless, it's pretty, and it's got a sweet ending -- what else do you need?<br />
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8. <b>Smart House (1999)</b><br />
Oh, Disney and its visions for the future. "Smart House" is a movie about a family who wins a "smart house" named Pat which has a bunch of really advanced built-in functions, like being able to whip up whatever you want to eat within seconds. As all things technological do, Pat eventually begins to get out of hand and traps the family inside. But not before everyone learns to love one another, natch.<br />
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7. <b>Brink! (1997)</b><br />
Classic Disney. This was the fourth movie Disney made under the "Disney Channel Original Movie" title, and the one that started the obsession for me. Oh, Erik von Detten, with that oh-so-cool skater look that was so popular during the time ... that luscious dirty blond hair ... Anyway, the movie is about a group of friends who call themselves "Soul Skaters" and skate for fun, and their "rivals," a semi-professional (a.k.a. corporate sponsored) team called "Team X-Bladz," led by evil Val. After Andy Brink (Erik von Detten)'s father loses his job, he decides to pick up some extra dough by sneakily joining Team X-Bladz without telling the Soul Skaters. As you can imagine, this story has a happy ending, but not before friends feel betrayed and "bad guy" Val makes you shudder and want to punch him in the face.<br />
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6. <b>High School Musical 2 (2007)</b><br />
This was the quirkiest, most self-aware Disney Channel Original Movie I've ever laid my eyes on. Where the first "High School Musical" movie faltered in its inability to decide whether it wanted to be serious or camp, the sequel soared. Bright colors, coordinated dance moves, catchy tunes, puppy love, a sinister subplot, summertime, Zac Efron's overacting, veiled homoeroticism, no real adult supervision ... yeah, you've got the elements of a great made-for-TV movie.<br />
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5. <b>Stepsister From Planet Weird (2000)</b><br />
I'll bet this is an oft forgotten Original Movie. I watched this movie over and over back in the day ... I couldn't get enough of the improbability of it all, of the rainbow colors, and the quirky eccentricity. The story goes: Mom invites eccentric Cosmo Cola and his daughter Ariel (Tamara Hope) to move in with her and her kids, Megan (Courtnee Draper) and little brother Trevor. The more Megan gets to know Ariel, the weirder Ariel seems ... until she discovers that her new stepsister and stepfather are actually aliens hiding from their kind. The dialogue in this film, particularly Ariel's, stood out to me as kind of forward-thinking and really different.<br />
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4. <b>Rip Girls (2000)</b><br />
Oh, Camilla Belle, this was the only time I ever liked you. Little Camilla Belle played a girl (Sydney) who is visiting her deceased mother's homeland of Hawaii. She's inherited a plot of land that a hotel chain wants to commercialize. But as Sydney gets to know the locals, she becomes torn between selling the land to the hotel chain and preserving it for the locals. This movie aired a year after I'd first visited Hawaii, and it instilled in me an even greater desire to learn how to surf (which I attempted 5 years later). And although Camilla's Sydney seems kind of feeble, the movie has an overall message of girl power that I really appreciated at the time.<br />
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(unfortunately not in English)</div>
<br />
3. <b>Genius (1999)</b><br />
I saw this movie on TV about a year ago and had to clear my schedule for it. I thought "Genius" was smart and funny, and like most Disney movies, had a lot of heart. Charlie (Trevor Morgan) is a hockey-loving preteen physics genius who's enrolled at college, but decides to go undercover as a slacker at the local junior high after falling for Claire (a young and equally insufferable Emmy Rossum). Claire eventually uncovers his secret and helps Charlie develop his particle accelerator and put it to "good use" during a hockey game. Sounds boring, but it's cuter and sweeter than that.<br />
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2. <b>Tru Confessions (2002)</b><br />
This movie was among the best Disney's ever created, and would be in the number one spot if the number one movie hadn't begun a craze that us 20-something girls are still nostalgic for to this day. "Tru Confessions" is, again, about two siblings who can't seem to get along ... except this time, it's because one of them has a developmental disability. Tru (Clara Bryant) decides to enter a video-making contest and decides to focus her video on her developmentally disabled twin brother, Eddie (Shia LaBeouf). This movie made me laugh, it made me cry ... and it produced some of the best acting I've seen in a Disney Channel Original Movie. This was the movie that convinced me Shia LaBeouf's career would be one worth following in years to come.<br />
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1. <b>Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1998)</b><br />
If you haven't already guessed, "Zenon" is my number one choice for best Disney Channel Original Movie. It spawned a bit of a phenomenon (2 follow-up movies and a slew of teenage girls using "futuristic" vocabulary, like "zetus lapetus") that was a precursor to the "High School Musical" craze. Zenon (Kirsten Storms) is sent to Earth after having misbehaved on an orbiting space station in the year 2049. Before landing on Earth, Zenon had won a contest to see her favorite rock band, Proto Zoa, and she wants nothing more than to get back to the space station in time to see them live. As she adjusts to life as a teenager on Earth, she discovers that a space station investor is plotting to more-or-less destroy the station, and rounds up her space and Earth friends (including a very young Gregory Smith and Raven Simone) to help her stop the plot and save the station in time for the Proto Zoa concert. Easy peasy. Girl power at its best, especially when you've got a 13-year-old at the helm! So captivating is the storyline (and ensuing romance) that I didn't even mind the "futuristic" spandex outfits in bright colors more suited to the early '90s than 2049. But you never know what'll come back into fashion ... zoom zoom zoom, you make my heart go boom boom.<br />
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Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-59861996624968212782013-07-03T13:30:00.000-04:002013-07-07T00:03:30.493-04:00Angsty Harry Styles post. Him and me.This may be my one and only ever paparazzi photoset (but don't quote me on it). It's just ... I don't think I've ever seen Harry Styles look so good.<br />
<br />
He's currently in New York City, spending a couple of days off without the rest of One Direction (the rest of whom seem to have sought shelter back in England ... and as a side note, a) that seems a little lavish for a two-day break, and b) Harry seems to always get the brunt of the attention, so what's their excuse?). Instead of stalking him while he is in my neighborhood as I may have in my younger years, little old me has relegated herself to sitting back and enjoying the pain-free, shame-free fruits of someone else's labor whilst munching on Cocoa Puffs from the comfort of my bedroom. Like a creepy little cat lady I'm clearly going to become.<br />
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<a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;6:%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=364;:585%3C3339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Harry Styles, Apple Store" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;6:%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=364;:585%3C3339nu0mrj" title="" /></a></div>
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So the word on the street is that his iPhone broke when he was mobbed by his fans while entering or exiting his West Village hotel. So here he is in the midst of replacing the phone.</div>
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<a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:4%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=364;:585%3C5339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Harry Styles, Apple Store" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:4%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=364;:585%3C5339nu0mrj" title="" /></a></div>
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It doesn't matter that there are two women beside him, one who looks like she's taken a real shine to Harry. It doesn't even matter that there's a 50% (or more) chance that he's gay. (Because he was also spotted at the Gay Pride parade in New York City this weekend.)</div>
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It doesn't even matter that he wears pants 2 sizes too small for him with either old people shoes or disgustingly hipster shoes. Those can be ... taken care of.</div>
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But really. Where were guys like this when <i>I </i>was 19??? Why does he look so ... <i>not 19</i>??</div>
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Credit: Photos found scattered amongst wailing teenaged girls' Twitter accounts. Courtesy of some paparazzo who teen girls would've traded their souls to have switched places with. Probably Splash News Online. And if I'm wrong, I don't care, because he'll have come closer to Harry Styles than I ever will.<br />
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// end creepy puma late night stream-of-consciousness<br />
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Oh, and I also heard that Harry gave money to a sleeping homeless person.Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-76111796185303617202013-06-19T13:30:00.000-04:002013-10-25T12:23:00.406-04:00Lyrical Overanalysis: Harry Styles' "Don't Let Me Go"<div class="tr_bq">
As far back as I can remember (and maybe this is owing to the fact that I was an English and Psychology double major in college ... though I think that's more the effect, not the cause), I've liked picking apart song lyrics. I've mostly stopped doing this, since I think most song lyrics these days are written practically on autopilot. Pop song? ABCBDBB and maybe 2 lines of A to outro, especially if you're Taylor Swift. If you're writing for a male singer, throw in a couple of "girl"s. </div>
<br />
You get the picture.<br />
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This past week, a song recorded and mostly written by One Direction's Harry Styles (yes, without the other 4 guys, the ones that most people over the age of 25 don't even realize exist) was discovered on the internet. It was posted by New Zealand songwriter and producer Sam McCarthy (who did the music and production for the song) about 8 months ago, though young Harry sounds a good deal younger than he did in Novemberish.<br />
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For me, any solo venture (whether it be for fun or business) is exciting, because it's a way for the individual to express him or herself. And for me to, for lack of a better phrase, "pick their brain."<br />
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So here are the lyrics to the great gem that is "Don't Let Me Go" by Harry E. Styles:<br />
<blockquote>
now you were standing there, right in front of me<br />
I hold on, it's getting harder to breathe<br />
all of a sudden these lights are blinding me<br />
I never noticed how bright they would be<br />
I saw in the corner there is a photograph<br />
no doubt in my mind it's a picture of you<br />
it lies there alone in its bed of broken glass<br />
this bed was never made for two<br />
I'll keep my eyes wide open<br />
I'll keep my arms wide open </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Chorus:<br />
don't let me<br />
don't let me<br />
don't let me go<br />
'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone<br />
don't let me<br />
don't let me go<br />
'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone </blockquote>
<blockquote>
I promised one day that I'd bring you back a star<br />
I caught one and it burned a hole in my hand, oh<br />
seems like these days I watch you from afar<br />
just tryin' to make you understand<br />
I'll keep my eyes wide open, yeah </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Chorus // Electric Guitar Break </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #999999;">don't let me</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;">don't let me</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;">don't let me go (sung by Sam McCarthy?)</span><br />
'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone<br />
don't let me<br />
don't let me<br />
don't let me go<br />
'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone </blockquote>
<blockquote>
don't let me<br />
don't let me go<br />
'cause I'm tired of sleeping alone</blockquote>
My memory isn't what it was when I was 15, when I could memorize oodles and oodles of song lyrics within 3 listens, but this song was easy as 1-2-3 to get down. Probably because there aren't even two proper stanzas, and the chorus consists mostly of the same three words. But I like a man who keeps you guessing.<br />
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I'm not going to venture to guess who or what this song is about (though my guess is NOT Taylor Swift), but I will offer you a quick non-professional psychoanalysis session, free of charge. There's one thing that stands out to me that speaks louder to me than anything else: "don't let me go / 'cause I'm tired of feelin' alone" or "don't let me go / 'cause I'm tired of sleeping alone." I don't know if Harry was being a lazy songwriter or just plain evasive, but the way those lines are written comes across as quite selfish. At best, maybe there's a deeper, maybe even subconscious reason for his loneliness that he hasn't yet unearthed.<br />
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(As a side note, in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KETDQeDpK4">an interview Ed Sheeran did earlier this year</a> with U.S. radio station 95.5 WPLJ, Ed revealed that "The strangest thing about Harry is he lived at my flat for a while, but he had a house, he had two houses ... this was like a couple of months ago. He had two very posh houses in London and he'd just come and stay ... He lives just at his mates' houses. It's cool 'cause obviously he gets to see his friends every day and you wouldn't want to be in a big house on your own.'' Hmm.)<br />
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Overall, the song is pretty good. It's catchier than it is a lyrical masterpiece, but that's all it really takes to sell a song these days. (The song was pulled from SoundCloud shortly after its widespread discovery, which makes me think that perhaps the song was never made for the public to hear.) My favorite lines are "I saw in the corner there is a photograph / no doubt in my mind it's a picture of you / it lies there alone in its bed of broken glass / this bed was never made for two" just because of the seamless transition between the two different ideas. All it takes is a glance at Harry's Twitter page to know that he's got a way with words and wit.<br />
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This is a good start for Harry -- just the right amount of vague, angsty, sentimental, romantic to win girls over for years to come. It's feels a little lazy or amateur in parts, as if he's run out of words to rhyme and has chosen something generic ("hand" and "understand"/the whole of the chorus), but that's understandable for a beginner. Vocally, the recording highlights the fact that Harry Styles isn't a particularly expert vocalist, but he has enough of what it takes to be a lead singer and angsty acoustic rock "star."<br />
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Let's compare this writing sample to a little love poem 15-year-old Harry Styles wrote for his then-girlfriend Felicity Skinner in 2009, shall we?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: er, Felicity May Skinner's Facebook page? And all of Tumblr</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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He's come a long, long way.Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-47540509162607021012013-06-13T13:30:00.000-04:002013-07-07T00:06:23.967-04:001998-1999 Playlist<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;73%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36485:5994339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Controversial Britney Spears Rolling Stone cover" border="0" height="400" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;73%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36485:5994339nu0mrj" title="" width="325" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The oh-so-controversial "Rolling Stone" cover ...<br />
source: <a href="http://www.britney.com/us/gallery/photo-shoots?page=3">Britney Spears' official site</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've been gone for too long, keeping quiet on the nostalgia front ... summer time for all my teen obsessions is always busy, which for some reason, means that things are quiet. I guess it has all to do with the fact that I've always had a thing for musicians over actors or athletes (or any other type of celebrity), and summer is when they go on tour and -- as far as I'm concerned -- fall off the face of the planet. All of them, all at once. I know, my heart hurts just thinking about it.<br />
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For example, in 2013: New Kids on the Block are currently on tour with Boyz II Men and 98 Degrees. I won't be partaking this year, because I didn't love the new album that much, I think they're performing a lot of stale oldies, and ... I don't have the cash. Oh, and I don't want to sit through 98 Degrees. If it was just Boyz II Men and NKOTB, I'd give the tour a second thought. One Direction is also on tour, but I'm not young enough to be okay with sitting through 2 hours of high-pitched screaming and hysteria. (And I was abroad when the current tour went on sale and wasn't thinking 12-14 months ahead. The balls their management team have ... really.) Backstreet Boys are releasing a new album in July, with a tour immediately following. Again, I don't want to hear "I Want It That Way" for the umpteenth time, and Kevin -- in spite of <a href="http://thirteenagain.blogspot.com/2013/05/maybe-kevin-does-make-difference-after.html">my previous post</a> -- gets no love from me, so his return isn't much of a selling point.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:5%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36485:;747339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="TLC in the late 1990s" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;:5%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36485:;747339nu0mrj" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="http://www.mtv.com/artists/tlc/">MTV.com</a></td></tr>
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Sigh, it's hard to keep old fogie fans like me happy, huh?<br />
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In the meantime, I do have another playlist, taken directly from my iPod. It's a playlist I made back in the day that corresponds with the 1998-1999 school year (that is, September 1998 through summer 1999). It's appropriately summery tune-centric, for some reason, and I hope you enjoy.<br />
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And don't cry like I almost did the other day while listening to Pandora's "Summer Hits of the '90s" station the other day. (It was the juxtaposition of "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind and, embarrassingly, OMC's "How Bizarre" that did it.)<br />
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"Baby One More Time," Britney Spears<br />
<div class="p1">
"When The Lights Go Out," 5ive</div>
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"Have You Ever," Brandy</div>
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"Chanukah Song," Adam Sandler (actually from his 1996 album)</div>
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"C'est La Vie," B*witched</div>
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"What's My Age Again," Blink 182</div>
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"Even Angels Fall," Jessica Riddle</div>
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"Smooth," Santana ft. Rob Thomas</div>
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"Genie in a Bottle," Christina Aguilera</div>
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"Miami," Will Smith</div>
<div class="p1">
"Steal My Sunshine," Len (even better now that I'm older)</div>
<div class="p1">
"Almost Doesn't Count," Brandy</div>
<div class="p1">
"Summer Girls," LFO</div>
<div class="p1">
"Heartbreaker," Mariah Carey ft. Jay-Z</div>
<div class="p1">
"Tearin' Up My Heart," 'N Sync</div>
<div class="p1">
"If You Had My Love," Jennifer Lopez</div>
<div class="p1">
"Slide," Goo Goo Dolls</div>
<div class="p1">
"Crush," Jennifer Paige<br />
"No Scrubs," TLC</div>
<div class="p1">
"Because of You," 98 Degrees</div>
<div class="p1">
"Where My Girls At," 702</div>
<div class="p1">
"Give It To You," Jordan Knight</div>
<div class="p1">
"Angel of Mine," Monica</div>
<div class="p1">
"Just the Two of Us," Will Smith</div>
<div class="p1">
"I Will Remember You," Sarah McLachlan</div>
<div class="p1">
"I Want It That Way," Backstreet Boys</div>
<div class="p1">
"Kiss Me," Sixpence None the Richer</div>
<div class="p1">
"Believe," Cher</div>
</div>
Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5635086041126111140.post-33975198961751194992013-05-15T13:30:00.000-04:002013-07-07T00:06:39.523-04:00Maybe Kevin does make a difference after all. #BSB<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;43%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36435:4865339nu0mrj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Backstreet Boys 2013" border="0" src="http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp;43%3Enu=3239%3E6%3C:%3E:44%3EWSNRCG=36435:4865339nu0mrj" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/backstreetboys">Backstreet Boys' Facebook page</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So the Backstreet Boys made an appearance on "Good Morning America" this morning, and it was all marketed as "the guys are back!" Yeah, only for like the 14th time on broadcast television in the past 3 or 4 years. C'mon now.<br />
<br />
Anyway. I haven't been the biggest BSB supporter over the past 5 years, I've gotta admit. The last album of theirs I thoroughly enjoyed was "Incomplete," which was released in 2005. Their sound changed ... oddly (or not-so-oddly) enough, after Kevin left the group, and their music began leaning towards electronic, dance pop music, which I felt was a) totally not their style, b) totally not their forte, c) totally not suited to their voices ... just imagining Brian singing dance music right now is giving me the heebie jeebies.<br />
<br />
So I don't know what the rest of their new album "In A World Like This" (releasing July 30th) is going to sound like, but if the song they performed on "Good Morning America" this morning is any indication, maybe I can think "Backstreet's back, alright!" without wanting to slap myself. It's not so much that they're BACK, but it seems like they've found their sweet spot again.<br />
<br />
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<br />
"Permanent Stain" doesn't quite sound like anything they've done before, but it still sounds like them. A grown-up version of them, without sounding stuffy. It has an anthem-y feel to it without seeming like they're trying to imitate any of the actual teenaged boy bands out there today. Actually, it sounds kind of Coldplay/U2-ish to me, which is more than a long-time BSB fan (or at least this one) could hope for! And they are still ON POINT with their vocal harmonies! And dare I say it -- their dance moves are still sharp! (This is coming from a girl who thinks it's peculiar when middle-aged men dance for a bunch of girls/women.)<br />
<br />
Of course, the Boys ended their GMA appearance with a performance of "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," complete with those 15-year-old dance moves and everything. I love nothing more than early BSB, but that's a song I wish they would retire already.<br />
<br />
Because Backstreet's not back ... it's never gone away.<br />
<br />
[Bonus points if you caught the unintentional pun in there.]Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06064854499360801223noreply@blogger.com0