(BEGGING YOU) FOR MERCY

Although I didn't include Duffy's Mercy on my June music list, this little retro ditty has me boppin' and rockin' involuntarily the second I hear the beat. When I first heard it, I thought, "Oh, no... Here comes wave after wave of Amy Winehouse wannabe artists, knocking-off that old, Motown-ish dance vibe." But after a couple of closer listens, I was hooked.

Its a catchy enough tune, with a great "sing-a-long" type of chorus. And once that beat starts swayin', you know you're in for a fun ride.
But what's been bothering me - the one thing getting under my skin - is the set of garbled, unintelligible background lyrics during the big, dramatic breakdown. Duffy repeats the chorus, with only the drums to back her up... you know the kind of breakdown I'm talking about: the clap right here type of musical interlude. But while she croons, begging for mercy, there's another, spoken lyric layered in, offering a strong, but still hip rhythmic counterpoint.

I've listened to the track a ton of times. I've slowed it down, isolated the channels and applied every filter and plug-in in my arsenal (which is saying a bit). I've searched the web, scouring every Duffy web site and lyric site. A massive Google search even turned up two forum discussions on the topic (here and here) proving I'm not alone in my desire to know these lyrics.

But nothing. Zilch. Nada. No luck... what I could figure out, I pieced together, and you can read my attempt here. If you know these lyrics, or just know of a source for finding them out, please let me know!

PEPSI STUFF & JUNK

I gave in to a crass marketing campaign recently, and joined the Pepsi Stuff Program over at Amazon (site here). Here's basically how it works: you drink specially-marked bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and other Pepsi Co drinks, and on the inside of the cap is a code. You enter that code at the Pepsi Stuff site and earn points. These points are good towards merchandise and music downloads from Amazon...

Which is all nice and peachy, except, one bottle of soda is worth 1 point. A portable CD player is 125 points. And most MP3 downloads (which requires downloading a special software package from Amazon just to work) are 5 points.

No problem, right? Just drink a lot of soda! (I'm a big Pepsi Co fan to begin with.) Except that not all the MP3s at Amazon.com are available for download if you redeem your Pepsi Stuff Points. Only certain songs (and I have no idea how they selected which ones) are available through the Pepsi Stuff downloads.

Thanks... but no thanks.

CRUSH OF THE MONTH: June

As the first half of June marks the end of the Gemini part of the astrological chart, and Gemini's sign is the twins, I've picked A&F cover models Lane & Kyle Carlson (a.k.a. The Carlson Twins), as this month's crush.

For more pictures of these two hotties, click here.

JUNE TUNES

Here, in no particular order, are some of the tunes rockin' my world this month:

Viva La Vida [Album Version] Coldplay - While I'm not a huge Coldplay fan, I do love this first cut from their new album. The lyrics don't make much sense (as usual), but the sweeping melody and intricate arrangement make for a great listening experience.

When I Grow Up [Album Version] Pussycat Dolls - Also a new cut, from a new album. I liked this track until I heard them perform it live. It went from sounding like a hot, garage-band electro stomper, to sounding like a bag of cats drowning. Oh well...

American Boy [Album Version] Estelle feat Kanye West - I have a love/hate thing going with this song. I love the groove, the vocal (even though it is out of tune, and way repetitive) and love Estelle... But I hate Kanye West.

Giggling Again For No Reason [Album Version] Alanis Morissette - Yet another established artist drops a new album, with mixed results. Part electro, part breakbeat, and all Alanis.

No Air [Album Version] Jordin Sparks feat Chris Brown - This one took a while to grow on me. It wasn't until I heard it on "So You Think You Can Dance," that I fully appreciated this track.

Have I Got A Girl For You [Original Broadway Recording] from Company - With all the news about Gay Marriage this month, all I've been able to think about are the lyrics from the first half of this song: "Wadda ya like, you like coming home to a kiss, somebody with a smile at the door? Wadda ya like, ya like indescribable bliss? Then wadda ya wanna get married for?" It goes on like this, with comic results.

Prince Ali [French Version] from Aladdin - Yes, this is cheesy. Yes, liking this song (and this version) is lame. But there's something so hilarious about the French version of this soundtrack.

Boom Boom Ba [Album Version] Metisse - One of my favorite downtempo songs, from "Dead Like Me." This song is back on my radar since I was given Season 2 DVDs as a birthday gift.

Delirious [Album Version] Mario Spinetti - I forget how I first came across this artist. I'm not into all of his work (some of it is just too dense), but this one is a slice of heavenly vocal pie.

SAY WHAT?

"When authorities warn you of the sinfulness of sex, there is an important lesson to be learned: Do not have sex with the authorities." - Matt Groening

HBd2Me

SAD, SORRY STATE OF AFFAIRS

California held an election today. Not a big, important one, but an election nonetheless. On the ballot were a couple of state-wide ballot initiatives (regarding eminent domain and rent control), and some basic housekeeping filling of positions.

I voted around 3:00 p.m. at my local polling place. When I put my ballot in the optical scanner, it read, "48." 48. I was the 48th person to vote in my precinct. Granted precincts in my city aren't that big, but 48 is a number you expect early in the morning.
Sigh.

RECENTLY VIEWED

I had the chance to see a couple of movies this weekend - one made-for-TV movie, and one regular release. I watched A&E's The Andromeda Strain and The Golden Compass. I had completely opposite reactions to these films. I loved The Golden Compass, and, at the end of Andromeda, wondered why I'd wasted my time.

I had wanted to see both films, despite mixed reviews, and poor audience turn-outs. The Andromeda Strain was about 2 hours too long, and I could have done without the whole Eric McCormack, reporter sub-plot. The visual FX were OK, and the script wasn't too bad (for a disaster film), but what really drove the piece was the cast. Stand-out performances came from Scrubs' Christa Miller (IMDB here) and the always amazing Viola Davis (IMDB here). Benjamin Bratt and Rick Schroder turned in decent performances (Schroder played a gay Major in the Army), and the rest of the cast managed not to embarrass itself... which isn't really the nicest thing one can say about the cast of a film, but it is true.

The production was deftly directed by Mikael Salomon, who kept the overall pace of the story moving. Too ofter, mini-series spend time doubling back on plot points, building in redundant scenes. But Andromeda managed to keep moving at a brisk, solid pace. The editing in the second installment could have been a little tighter, but what are you going to do?


The Golden Compass, on the other hand, was an absolute masterpiece. Too many fantasy and action flicks depend on CGI to carry the film (Phantom Menace, anyone?). But The Golden Compass actually has a solid, interesting story at its heart, so the CGI simply serves as a means to deliver the story. (George Lucas, take notes!) Nicole Kidman is delicious as the villan, and there's a menagerie of character actors to round out the rest of the cast.

It isn't very often that a film makes me want to read a book - usually it is the other way around. But after viewing the first installment of The Golden Compass, I must admit, I'd like to read the books by Phillip Pullman.

JUNE'S SERVING OF SPAM

Here are a handful of subject lines from actual email in my Yahoo! Spam folder:

Continue your health, don’t sleep in bed!
And where, exactly, should I sleep?

Phentremine: Get the body you deserve!
The body I deserve? But don't I deserve to have working heat valves, too? (Phentremine is thought to damage heart valves.)

Watch Uncensored TV from around the world on your computer right now.
And I do, thanks.

This oldie know how to suck.
And you no know how to type.

Smoking pornstar flower tucci butt poked by a large hard shaft.
I only know what about half of those words mean...

Separate yourself from other men.
I do, thanks.

No Pumps! No Surgery! No Exercises! No rabat!
What??? No rabat?

Granny having doggy fuck.
Get it, Granny!

The body grows and develops GRADUALLY, not over night!
Well, then you've never seen me after taking a few fiber-caps!