You’re doing it all backwards.
Today just keeps getting better! First I find Cookie Monster in a tree, and now THIS!
So, I know in the new year you aren’t necessarily supposed to dwell on the past. You are supposed to leave it behind you, forget it, forgive it, grow from it. Well, for most situations this holds true. But I believe MUSIC is the only thing that comes with us year after year after year!
Where am I going with this?
I just set up my old college computer [circa 2002] and am crying, laughing, freaking out to all the music I have on this thing!! I plan on having an ALL NIGHT LISTENING SESSION fueled by several 5 Hour Energy (SHOUT OUT TO 5 HR ENERGY….WHERE’S MY SPONSORSHIP!??) I will then pull out some of my favorites and list them right here. In no particular order of course….
OH GOD, 1 song down, 6404 more to go! & it has already started!!
1. Michelle Branch – Breathe
2. Astronautalis – Oceanwalk (whom I believe is opening a few Tegan & Sara shows in CANADUH later this year!)
3. Matt Costa – Darling Be Home Soon (which is a remake of Joe Cocker’s 1969 original, which you can see HERE!)
4. Brad Paisley ft. Alison Krauss – Whiskey Lullaby (oh yeah, I got down to some country in my hay day!!)
5. The Starting Line – Best Of Me (well this seems fitting since they were just here! Brings back so many memories!)
6. Evan and Jaron – Crazy For This Girl (LYKE OMG!! But seriously…what movie was this song from!?)
[For those of you who are worried, Operation Steal That Cookie Monster From That Tree will probably get underway in 4-5 hours. It has to be a night mission. I’ll keep you posted!]
7. Phoenix – Run Run Run (BEFORE the car commercial, bitches!!)
8. The Fratellis – Flathead (Ha, remember these guys? This song was the jams in the day! Where’d they get to?)
9. Blessid Union Of Souls – I Believe Love Will Find A Way (Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!)
10. Natalie Imbruglia – Wishing I Was There (“Put that face away I’m melting for you.”)
11. Justin Timberlake – My Love ft. T.I. & Like I Love You (“It’s just Justin!” Duh! I miss you Justin!!)
12. Straylight Run – Hands in the Sky (Big Shot) (This song LIVE > This song NOT LIVE. Find out for yourself, trust me!)
13. Our Lady Peace – Life (Life is waiting for you.)
14. Lifehouse! (Seriously! So many good Lifehouse songs I forgot about! Just go listen to all the old stuff!)
[TIMEOUT! So, while listening to music from this old computer I’ve also been browsing all the pictures. 99% of them = GROSS and will never be moved off of this hard drive…EVER! However, I did come across 1 so far that I MUST SHARE! Our dear Harry, our first Boston Terrier! He forever changed the Rucci family. I love this dog!]
We miss you Harry Woogle!
15. Robots In Disguise – Turn It Up (This is all I think of when I listen to this song: SILVIAOMG!)
16. Aqualung – Strange & Beautiful (The OC Season 1 what whaaaaat!!?)
17. Augustana – Boston (Actually listened to this all the way to Boston once.)
18. Tegan and Sara – Living Room (Will probably always be my favorite song of theirs!)
19. Mike Doughty – Tremendous Brunettes (“Slow down, don’t fuck with my high!)
20. The Perishers – Pills (Now I remember why I love music. Please LISTEN HERE!)
21. Butch Walker – This Is The Sweetest Little Song (Off of his amazing albumThe Rise and Fall of Butch Walker & The Let’s-Go-Out-Tonite’s)
[Operation Steal That Cookie Monster From That Tree Update: 10:33pm EST – About to go take a recon walk on the block the said Cookie Monster was located to see if he is still in distress.
11:03pm EST – He is still there. Plan to steal him around 1 a.m. I will report back later! Expect pics!]
22. John Mayer – Comfortable
[ 1:10am EST – I GOT HIM!!!! He’s like the size of a 5yr. old <33]
23. Marvelous 3 – Cigarette Lighter Love Song (Wait, I just Wiki’d this and it says David Bowie helped write it? NO! Seriously? NOOOO!!?)
24. Goldfrapp – Strict Machine (Back when Nip/Tuck was actually good. TRUTH!)
25. Azure Ray – Leap Year (*sigh*)
C is not for TREE!
Look what I found today! I was walking Toby around the neighborhood and THIS little cookie eating prize was just chilling in a tree! Took pics.
*Guarantee that if he is still in that tree once the sun goes down, he is getting rescued and will reside on Green Street! TRUST ME, it’s 2010!!
Find of the…Year!
On a scale from 1-10, how ready are you for 2009 to be over? An 11 you say? ME TOO!
How are you spending your New Year’s Eve?
uhhh, just point & shoot
Going through my pictures and pulling out a few I’ve taken throughout 2009.
ENJOY! (Or don’t, I don’t care man!!)
Feels like ages ago, but this is how I brought in 2009…with this chick! ❤ (I miss you.)
I couldn’t have asked for a better person to come in to my life.
(okay, it wasn’t in 2009 but we had some damn good times together this year! MB&M!)
my skater boi secret crush. I don’t care if he is 17, if the shirt is green, PLAY BALL!
Nolan. The most beautiful baby was made in 2009!
Can you spot me?
Aruba was PARADISE…
Two thousand and nine brought the good and the bad. It brought heartbreak, it brought turmoil, it brought sacrifices, it brought new friends, it brought A LOT of dancing, it brought travel, it brought courage, it brought understanding, it brought maturity, it brought revelations, it brought music, it brought plenty of HIGHS *wink*, it brought new experiences, it brought memories, it brought epiphanies, it brought tragedy, it brought loneliness, it brought laughter.
Above all it has reiterated the fact that I am truly, amazingly blessed. I have the greatest of friends and the best family anyone could ask for. Looking back on this year I regret nothing, I am ready to move forward and have a whole new year filled with even more snap shots from the life I’ve been given. Thank you to anyone who reads this. Feel free to leave a comment with some pictures from YOUR 2009 and some of your best memories! What’s up 2010!?
Music Monday…on a Tuesday!?
BECAUSE EVERYONE DOES IT!
Wiz Khalifa vs Empire Of The Sun – The Thrill Walking On A Dream
SILVIA: Then & Now
Silvia. The name of this gorgeous girl I happen to know. A girl I have been through A LOT with. Now, when I say A LOT, and I capitalize it like that, you need to know that I mean A FREAKIN’ LOT! Ups. Downs. And plenty of sideways. I consider her one of my best friends. [No Lies, Just Love]
Silvia. Also the name of an amazing song by Miike Snow that I can’t stop listening to lately!
Miike Snow – Silvia
And check their tour dates in 2010. Pretty damn sure this will be their first US Tour, seeing as they only formed in 2007 and Miike Snow, their debut album was only just released this year!
On a side note, they are touring with Delorean, a band I am sure we will hear more of in 2010. Hailing from Barcelona, Spain this quartet has opened for Phoenix in the past and remixed such bands as The xx (we know I love them) and Franz Ferdinand. Here’s a track just to give you a taste:
Delorean – Monsoon
GET IN THE KNOW!
Mi por a hanja un cerbes?
that title is Papiamento for “Can I have a beer?” Papiamento is the native language of Aruba, which is where I am going this Thanksgiving. Yup, we leave tomorrow. And yup, you better believe I memorized that phrase by now!
Not much else to say and/or brag about because I have NO IDEA where we are staying or what we have planned, other than my own personal goal of not being sober the entire trip, no clue!
HOWEVER!
After trying to get interested in things other than Aruba’s National Brewery (which is Balashi by the way) I read a few interesting facts on Aruba.com and I quickly learned that there is a DONKEY SANCTUARY on the island!! Are you kidding me!? No, they are indeed NOT kidding me. So…
Yup, I’ll see you soon donkeys, I will help save you!
Yeah that’s really it. Beer & Donkeys, here I come Aruba!
(trip pics will be posted if I ever come back.)
DEPRESS THE USA!
Your Ex-Lover Needs You
A MySpace Bulletin from Stars (this is self-explanatory):
there are so many reasons to love so you think you can dance: it’s a talent show with actual talent on it, all the contestants are nice to each other, cat deeley is tall and pretty and dresses real good and has that ridiculous brummy accent, and it’s the gayest thing on tv since the cancellation of walker, texas ranger. And now there’s one more reason to love So You Think You Can Dance: on the last episode, our old chestnut Your Ex-Lover Is Dead was used for one of the dances. As a result of that wonderful exposure to the country, the song has gone into the itunes usa top 100, five years after being released! Fuckin Nice One! At the moment it sits at 84, but here’s the thing dudes…if all y’all who dont actually yet OWN (as opposed to possess) the song would go on itunes and buy it, just that tune…maybe we could make a real hit outta this thing….which would obviously be….wicked! So if your feeling generous and christmasy, why not help make your ex lover is dead the hit it almost has been for half a decade and help push it into the itunes usa top twenty….isn’t it time the rest of america got depressed and thought about all the fucked up relationships theyve had while listening to that tune, just like you guys probably have? Depress the USA! Make it a hit!
we love you all.. we’re working hard…..very good new things are soon to come….
xostars
and in case you have no idea who Stars is or what song they are referring to, WISE UP FOOLS:
The End.
p.s. I totally just asked them to appear in a POST on here a few days back AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!! Damn, I’m fucking good sometimes! Now it’s Justin Timberlake’s turn!!
Music Monday Part 2!
WHO I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM AGAIN
BEFORE THE WORLD ENDS IN 2012:
1. MGMT
2. INNERPARTYSYSTEM
3. Sia
4. The Airborne Toxic Event
5. Justin fucking Timberlake (yes the F word was necessary!)
6. Band of Horses
7. The Ting Tings
8. Stars
If any of you in any of these bands sees this, please inform me what is going on and how much longer I have to wait for new music from you. Thanks!
(And just because I think this is quite simply wonderful:
FX causes us to wet yet another pair of pants!
Summer 2005: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
-An instant classic. Loved by all. We won’t be friends with someone who HASN’T seen this show! Has given us: Green Man, Riot Punch, Kitten Mittons, Dick Towel.
Fall 2009: The League
-New. Comes on after Sunny. I was skeptical at first. I don’t give a crap about fantasy football. Episode 1, two minutes in, and I’m laughing hysterically. I’m sorry I doubted you FX. I love Taco!
January 2010: Archer
-30 minute sneak peak aired after several RANDOM/NOT SO SUBTLE OR PG commercials ran to promote the show. Once again I said, “Stupid! Adult Swim knock-off bullsh*t!” Once again, I was WRONG! Hilarious! And cannot wait for it to air full time in January!
MORE SOON!!
Music Monday Part 1!
So after an alcohol & NE Philly green fueled revelation last night at the Icky Thump Manor, brought on by being surrounded by several intense, sensual lovers of music, I realized I need to get back on the grind when it comes to listening to more new music, dusting off old albums, and just trying to find bands and artists to get excited about again! This is probably all largely due in part to a little band that goes by: The xx.
Before stumbling upon this band I had felt musically LOST for quite some time! The xx hail from London, England. FIGURES! Their self-produced debut album xx dropped into our laps this past summer and it’s been a hot & heavy love affair ever since! I can’t keep my hands off of them! They are currently on what I believe (don’t quote me on this) their first American tour by themselves!? I don’t know. But they hop back over the pond in December for a full blown European tour, so CATCH THEM in a city near you before they’re gone and you are like, “Oh man, that xx band is soooooo good dude, let’s go see them live, oh wait….” Fortunately for me, Philadelphia is amazing and Dave P at Making Time is even radder than amazing and he brought them to us, along with Phenomenal Hand Clap Band (I’ll throw in their music video for “15 to 20” because they ARE indeed phenomenal and you DO indeed clap your hands a lot during their live show!)
Now, when I say that this night was spectacular, I mean it! (HERE are pics to prove it!) The xx sounded amazing! You might as well have been in a room with headphones on and 1000 of your closest friends, just listening to their record! Crisp! Clean! Perfect! Brilliant! Heaven! Quick give me more descriptive adjectives to explain to the masses (or simply my mom, because she might be the only person who reads this) how good this band is! Now I’ll shut up and let you listen!
MySpace: myspace.com/thexx
(And as I promised, “15 to 20” by Phenomenal Hand Clap Band!)
ENJOY!
Magic Hat Lately
So, as per usual on a Friday night, I walked to my local beer distributor (Old Philly Ale House on 20th & Brandywine) to get my usual $7 PBR Pounders special because I like to start and end my nights cheap, and there was a beer tasting going on which they have been doing there a lot lately. I sipped a nice new little 8.4% ALC by volume Victory beer…way too “hoppy” for my liking! BLAH! So, on to the next one. Magic Hat, the brewers of the beloved #9, have a new Winter Seasonal out called HOWL. Yes please! At 4.6% ALC by volume, this black lager tips the scale of what Magic Hat tends to brew, as they don’t typically go over 5% by volume. My reaction? Goodbye summer ales and pumpkin lagers. Hello cold, dark at 5pm winter nights! Not too hoppy, and definitely not too light this new beer is a perfect balance for any avid beer enthusiast looking for that winter cold one! As expected, Magic Hat has not disappointed, they even have a hauntingly informative webpage dedicated to their new brew! Magic Hat Howl gets a mitten covered thumbs up from this beer girl!
p.s. Of course I mistakenly did not catch how much a 6-pack will run you. But I guarantee I will be picking one up in the very near future and will let you know. Cheers!
Tweed Ride Philadelphia 2009
What a glorious day for a “stylish jaunt through our fair city”! Today was the 2nd Semi-Annual Tweed Ride which met at Waterworks behind the Art Museum. You can’t possibly understand the sheer magnificence of this event unless you are there to witness it. Just think, Newsies. And although I did not partake this time around (my bike is 110% out of commission and my tweed has been packed away since high school) I knew I had to at least be there to capture the jolly good time! Please enjoy!
(click the group shot for more pics from the Tweed Ride)
Quite possibly the only thing missing were those scrappy Newsies, who could have delighted us by breaking into a nice little song & dance number! Perhaps this will take place afterwards at 12th & Green, the Institute, for some pints!
Good Day Friends!
James L. Brooks Untitled Project in my neighborhood Lately
So, all of Philadelphia knows that James L. Brooks (The Simpsons, As Good As It Gets, Terms of Endearment) is directing a movie being filmed in our city, starring: Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon, Jack Nicholson, and Owen Wilson.
Greater Philadelphia Film Office released a statement in July of this year stating, “Among the shooting locations are high-end restaurants, apartments, hospitals, hotels, office buildings, university campuses and other posh venues primarily in Center City…” High-End? Posh? Well okay.
In a few days, on a block that is known primarily for its faux-dog park, lack of parking and young professionals living in high-priced, anti-IKEA condos, James L. Brooks and the cast will be filming on location at 1913 Green Street. But, Melissa, how do you know this? Well, I live at 1901 and for the last several days we haven’t been able to park anywhere on my street because of the massive Sony Pictures trucks that have been unloading props and lighting and rigging all day. And come Monday August 31st, we aren’t allowed to park anywhere within a 5mile radius of Green Street it seems. Bullocks!
That dilema aside, I would like to focus on the EXCITEMENT aspect of this project. While many Green Street residents are moaning about the parking sitch, I am rejoicing at the fact that MOVIE STARS will be stepping foot on my street in a matter of days! It does not take much to excite me, so you can only imagine the euphoria that flows through me each time I pass a Sony Pictures truck or a crew member walking around. Ah!
In short: For those of you who can’t be on my block while filming takes place, I will be documenting this ordeal as the days progress. Filming begins Monday night, August 31st and ends sometime on September 2nd. In these few short days I will do all I can to bring you, my blog readers, a play-by-play account of the James L. Brooks happenings on my block! And YES, of course I am going to try to meet any star that will have me! And YES, of course I am going to try to have a sunglasses-off with Jack! There will be pictures galore, from the set-up process, to the filming, to perhaps just a shot of Reese Witherspoon’s empty water bottle! STAY TUNED!
So, we only got Paul Rudd. And I only got horribly candid pictures. Around 5pm when everyone started to get home from work, a large crowd gathered across the street and Mr. Rudd was kind enough to come over to say HELLO and let us paparazzi his ass for a few minutes! The film crew were very nice and accommodating to us, the star struck onlookers. All in all it was an exciting shindig for our block. Come back soon!
yum yum.
doh. sorry bout this one Paul
PR through the trees during the outside shot, which probably won’t even make the cut.
Paul Rudd and director James L. Brooks chittn’ & chattn’
Bye Paul!
THAT’S A WRAP!
Under Construction Lately
You see this a lot. Websites: Under Construction. Buildings: Under Construction. But lately I feel as if I need a bright yellow band across my waist that reads: UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
This blog will be my attempt to find myself. Through words, images, music, video, people, experiences, dreams, distractions, mistakes, flaws, realizations, and my personal MO: procrastination. This blog is the unorganized offspring of my constant procrastination.
Please try to enjoy.
MELISSA LATELY 
