Project 365: 01/15/09

Matt still bundled up from being outside in the near-arctic temperatures, and me trying to get him to pose for today’s Project 365 picture but to no avail, because he was busy playing Sudoku and staring at me like I’m a crazy woman :-)

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

We used to watch it every Thanksgiving growing up. The house smelled of turkey and my sister and I would be watching the parade and drawing while watching the floats go past.

We only went to the parade once. It was probably one of the coldest Thanksgivings I remember. I was 13 and we got up early to get on the train. We found a spot towards the beginning of the parade so it wasn’t as crowded. I remember climbing up on the base of a lamp post to see the parade better. Snoopy was always my favorite float.

Right behind where we were standing, there was a coffee shop, so we went in there and drank hot chocolate while watching the parade from the inside.

I don’t watch the parade often now, but today I’ve been watching. The best part was that the PARADE GOT RICKROLLED! And it was awesome. Some puppet even said, “I love Rickrolling!” I had to sit through Miley Cyrus but it was worth it.

Did I just step into a time machine and end up in the mid 90s?

I think I must have.

Our neighbor has construction people doing work on their house, and all day I’ve been hearing 90s music. Here are a few songs I’ve heard:

- That “Paranoia, Paranoia, everybody’s coming to get meee…” song.
- “Wonderwall” by Oasis
- “When I Come Around” by Green Day
- “Ironic” by Alanis Morisette
- “Criminal” by Fiona Apple
- “No Rain” by Blind Melon

Currently playing is “Jumper” by Third Eye Blind.

I feel like I’m 16. And actually, my skin is really broken out today, so I even look like I did with 16. Ha. Zits.

Stuck in a parking lot

Last night Matt and I saw Elvis Costello and The Police at Great Woods (I’m just calling it Great Woods, because I can’t keep up with the ever-changing corporate names of these venues) and we had a lot of fun. Andy Summer seemed a little weird, though. Matt and I got the vibe that maybe he was mad at Sting for some reason. Elvis rocked well, as always, playing a mix of new and old.

It rained a little, but it always rains when we go to Great Woods, and I never shell out the dough to be seated under the pavilion. We watched Steely Dan during a torrential downpour a few years ago, and when Matt dragged me to a Rush concert, there was a thunderstorm. (I was also miserable because I had hives all over my legs!!)

Anyway, it took us an HOUR to get out of the parking lot. It was absolutely insane. We just sat in our car in the parking lot for a half hour because it was obvious we weren’t going anywhere. Then we slowly made our way out of the lot and on to 495. 495 was trafficky from the concert, too!!

Had a nice time though..I always enjoy seeing Elvis Costello and seeing The Police was a lot of fun. How does Sting still hit those high notes? I can barely sing that high!

I left feeling rather nostalgic after hearing music from my childhood!

One person’s trash…

A week or two ago, we saw that our neighbor was throwing out a clavinet. Matt was intrigued, so he asked her if he could have it. Our neighbor sort of looked at Matt like he was crazy, and said, “Of course, take it if you want!”

Matt looked the clavinet up on eBay and bidding for it started at $800!!!

Matt’s going to keep it, though. It’s in full working order and he could probably put it to good use while recording.

Sweet Caroline…good times never seemed so ANNOYING!!!

It’s official. I am SO SICK of “Sweet Caroline.”

I’ve never been a big fan of Neil Diamond. I always thought he was cheesy and I’d fast-forward through him in The Last Waltz. However, after I moved here and started getting on the Red Sox bandwagon, the song started to grow on me. I’d sing along and dance around to it during Red Sox games…and I’ve even karaoked to it with a group of friends.

But now I am so so so sick of it. I came to this realization today when I was loading my car after a productive Costco run and some young woman in an SUV came driving into the parking lot blaring “Sweet Caroline.”

My first thought: “Oh no.” And then for whatever reason, she sat in her car for a while as the song continued to blast. My thoughts at that point: “MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STTTTTTTTTTOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I am so over you, Caroline…and you, too, Neil.

Carbin at Hobofest

Earlier this month, Matt’s band Carbin had their first out of state gig in Connecticut. And now, they will be having their first festival gig on September 8! It’s a festival called Hobofest in Saratoga Springs, NY. There aren’t any huge names, but it should be fun and great exposure.

The timing isn’t the best (two weeks before our wedding), but it should be a good time. We haven’t been to a festival since we went to Gathering of the Vibes two years ago and we haven’t been camping in over a year.

So, go Carbin, for scoring a festival gig. Networking for them on MySpace is paying off. :-)

OH! New Kids on the Block

I really liked the New Kids on the Block when I was a kid. All of the kids in my school used to take their little mini-boom boxes everywhere. We’d take them outside during recess, listen to NKOTB, and do the “running man” and “The Roger Rabbit.”

Someone once gave me a NKOTB poster, and my mom hung it on the wall, but I took it down because I thought they were ugly. So, you see, I was purely into New Kids on the Block for their musical talent.

Lately, I was thinking about 3 of their biggest hits: “Hangin’ Tough”, “The Right Stuff”, and “Cover Girl.” And then I realized that the most commonly used word in their lyrics is the word “OH.”

“Hangin’ Tough” goes like this:

“Ohhhh ohhhh ohhhh ohhhhh ohhhhh…hangin’ tough.”

“The Right Stuff” goes like this:

“Oh oh oh oh oh. Oh oh oh oh. Oh oh oh oh oh. The right stuff.”

“Cover Girl” goes like this:

“Oh oh oh, she’s my cover gi-ir-irl. Oh oh oh. Oh oh oh.”

Those are just the worst lyrics ever, even for bubblegum teeny-bopper pop circa 1989.

Maple Syrup Weekend and More!

Yesterday I took a day trip with Matt, his sister, and some of her friends to New Hampshire to go to some of the maple sugaring places. I’m a big fan of maple syrup, so this was a lot of fun.

Two years ago, Matt and I went to Sugarbush Farm in Vermont. We got to sample different types of maple syrup and cheese, too! Their syrup and their cheese is great. They also had this amusing goat who lived there and acted more like a friendly dog than a goat!

The first place we went to was Parker’s Maple Barn. It was a little touristy, but still fun. It had a restaurant, where we got pancakes and enjoyed them with Parker’s syrup. We also got a tour of where they turn the sap into maple syrup.

Afterwards, we went to The Maple Guys. This was a much smaller place…basically just two guys who make maple syrup together. They had maple hot dogs, which were actually quite tasty and I’m not a big hot dog fan! We watched them tap a maple tree too.

We visited a few country stores in the area, and then headed down to Woburn to see Velvet Elvis. They played a benefit show for a school, so we went to go see them. Velvet Elvis is closely affiliated with Beatlejuice, and contains many of the same members. They threw in a few Beatles covers as a tribute to Brad Delp. It was really touching, and everyone had a great time.

The Nicest Guy in Rock & Roll

As I’ve written before, Matt and I were big fans of the local Beatles cover band, Beatlejuice. We saw them regularly and always had a lot of fun. They were scheduled to play a show last night and a show tonight, until lead singer (also of the band Boston) Brad Delp tragically and unexpectedly passed away.

Boston took their website down and just left this on their website: “We’ve just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll.”

It couldn’t be anymore true. After seeing Beatlejuice many times, we got to know the band. Every time we’d see them, Brad would make a point to wave at us, even if he was on stage in the middle of a song when we came in. He would always make time to talk to Matt and I after a show…he’d greet us with a hearty hug and genuinely thank us for coming. No matter how busy he was after a show, he’d always give us a loving greeting and talk for at least a few minutes. Matt had grown up as a HUGE Boston fan, so to get to see and talk to the voice behind “More Than a Feeling” was exciting.

I’ll always fondly remember hanging out with Brad last May at another friend’s band’s show, Velvet Elvis, where we just got to chit chat and be silly for a while. That picture was from that night. He was always so kind and friendly to us, and I always looked forward to the Beatlejuice shows not only because of they great music, but also because it was fun to talk to Brad.

I will miss Brad very much, and Beatlejuice, too. My thoughts are with the family, friends, and band-mates of Brad.

Rest in peace, Brad. Or at least, start up a rousing jam session with John and George.