Money, Money, Mon-nay. Mon-nay!

Sometimes my bank likes to transfer my rent money to my landlord's account a day or two early even though I have the automatic deposit set for the first of the month (gggrrrrr...). At my last job, my paychecks were deposited on the 27th of each month (no fail), so that never posed any problems. But at my current place of employ, I never know when I'm getting paid (double-gggrrrrr...). I usually expect the worst (the 2nd of the month) and hope for the best (the last of the previous month).

So I was absolutely ecstatic yesterday (the 27th) when I discovered that my benjamins were already in the bank! While celebrating at the ATM machine, Liz and I both blurted out the "Money, Money, Money. Money" line from the O'Jays song "For the Love of Money" at almost the same time. And now (surprise, surprise), it's stuck in my head.



These other songs are so money* too, and they don't even know it!








* That is, they either use the word "money" more than two times in a row or just repeat it a lot.

The Long Blondes @ Lido (5/5/08)

Playing catch-up!...Earlier this month, Liz and I went to see The Long Blondes at Lido. I actually wasn't planning on going because I had seen them in Magnet a year or two earlier, hadn't heard any of their new stuff yet and wanted to save money for my London trip. Luckily, my friend Lars was doing merch and was unexpectedly able to get us on the list (bless his heart), or else I'd have missed an amazing gig. The material from their new album "Closer" leaves the 60's behind and enters the late 70's, early 80's with a disco/new wave vibe. Not surprisingly, Kate Jackson stole the show. It was as if she was channeling the extraordinary power of Blondie and Donna Summer combined. And the entire way through I was equally mesmerized by her seemingly endless mannequin legs. Eye candylicious. I'm sure all the fellas will agree.

"Once and Never Again"
(from the album "Someone to Drive You Home")

"Giddy Stratospheres"
(from the album "Someone to Drive You Home")

P.S. The Lodger opened up for them and they were swell, so check 'em out (especially their song "The Good Old Days")!

West End Town = Dead End World

Last weekend I celebrated my 29th birthday with an annual trip to London that was full of ear worms and plenty of eye candy. I arrived in East London a little after midnight on Friday, and not at all phased by my quick jaunt across the channel, I urged my friend Gemma and her boyfriend Liam to take me out!

Conveniently located around the corner from her Hackney flat, Ye Olde Axe (basically a stripclub by "day" and a 60's club by "night") is in my opinion THE (still somewhat) secret place to go after-hours in Hackney. Good crowd (nice mix of hipsters and mere mortals), fun music and lots of dancing (but with plenty of room so you don't get clobbered by left feet). It was also here that I started photographically stalking (I did ask permission first!) and subsequently met Frankie and Maike, who gave me some awesome new thrifting and karaoke tips.





I forgot which look he was really going for, but doesn't Frankie remind you of Seymour from "Little Shop of Horrors"?! (In a very swanky way, though.)


Sunday night was girl's night out. Gemma, my other friends Liz (who flew over from Berlin as well) and Katja and I stopped by Electricity Showroom before heading on to The Dolphin, where we rang in my birthday at midnight. I'd been to Electricity Showroom before, but this was the first time I actually noticed the dancefloor (last time I mostly hung out upstairs). And I must say, I wouldn't expect anything less from a former electricity showroom!


When I win the lottery I'm totally going to have one of those built into my living room floor and hide it underneath a rug to surprise unsuspecting party guests.




The Dolphin was Frankie's suggestion, and I'm so glad we went cause we had fun, fun, fun till the bartender took the booze all away! Sunday nights is karaoke night, and though there wasn't always ear candy (other than us, of course!--haha--Katja and Liz sang "Crazy in Love" and I was tricked by Katja into singing my usual "Call Me"), there was definitely enough eye candy to go around. Especially on the smokers'patio out back. And since it's now hot hot hot, non-smokers need not feel awkward hanging out outside. Perfect conditions for getting your summer flirt on.




Hackney calling, innit?


P.S. My personal and our collective earworms from that weekend:

One-Line Wonders: That's Just The Way It Is

I don't know how in the world it got there, but it did. Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" interspersed with the line "Keep it in the Closet" from the semi-eponymous song along with the visual image of Naomi's glamazon legs (which makes me wanna run to the nearest ballet bar and do pliés till the cows come home) from the video of the latter.





So this was repeating itself in my head for most of the afternoon and the journey home from work. Is this what happens when single girls turn 29? Your mind starts conjuring up nostalgic lyrics from 90's easy-listening songs of memories you never actually had, and you start fixating on supermodel legs that will never be yours?! Oy vey.

And then! Between the U-bahn, the grocery store and the final walk home, I couldn't stop singing (in my head, of course) the alternating one-liners "Oooohhh, sex-y booo-yyyyy" (Air)* and "That's just the way it is" (Bruce Hornsby). Which I'm starting to think would make a really great Soul Wax-esque remix. I'm thinkin producer/dj in my next life? Oh yeah.





*Thanks to Liz for naming that tune! Cause all the googling and allmusic.com-surfing in the world couldn't help me figure out which band it was from. Of course it didn't help that I was ACtually singing "sexy boDy" and thought it was some mid-to-late 90s, alternative meets electronic band à la Veruca Salt/Hole/Elastica.

Sundays Were Made for Rockin Steady

This week I downloaded RCRD LBL's current feature download, Santogold's "Your Voice". In this song, Santi takes the tempo down a notch and infuses it with a reggae vibe reminiscent of Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves" (featured in the soundtrack of my British cinematic shoot-em-up fave "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"). In fact, both of these songs are the perfect soundtrack for a relaxed, sunny Sunday like today. All I wanna do is take my ipod and portable speakers to the park, drink home-made mojitos and nap in the sun. After I hit the fleamarket, of course. Laters!

P.S. If you haven't seen them already, check out my photos and videos of Santogold's performance at the IHEARTCOMIX / Mad Decent SXSW Blowout Party here.