The Most Played Songs on My iTunes

For no particular reason, I bring you my top ten most played songs on iTunes. This is of course skewed toward songs I've downloaded since I've gotten this computer, because when I first get a song, I listen to it over and over and over. It's also skewed toward the 1776 soundtrack. (What can I say? I just never get tired of that show. So good.)

10. "Ain't No Other Man" by Christina Aguilera (62 times). What? It's good! Shut up!

9. "Yours Yours Yours" from the 1776 soundtrack (65). So sad. John and Abigail can't be together because of the fight for freedom and duty and responsibility and stuff. But they're so in love!

8. "Only Want to Be with You" by Dusty Springfield (67). NOT to be confused with the similarly titled song by Hootie and the Blowfish. No sir.

7. "But, Mr. Adams" from the 1776 soundtrack (69). It's my favorite part of the show, because it's hilarious when the rest of the Declaration Committee marvels that John Adams, too, misses--ahem--his wife.

6. "Love Child" by the Supremes (70). Fantastic.

5. "Is Anybody There?" sung by William Daniels, from the 1776 soundtrack (74). This one is great for when you feel like the world is against you, but are you going to give up? No! Just like John Adams.

4. "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues" by Elton John (92). My favorite part is how the song title gets sung more emphatically each time it comes up.

3. "If You Really Love Me" by Stevie Wonder (108). Man, I love Stevie Wonder.

2. "We Can Work it Out" by Stevie Wonder (122). Yes, it's a Stevie Wonder cover of the Beatles song. It's not only good and fun in that lovely Stevie Wonder way, but it's also interesting to marvel at how different it is from the original.

1. "Colors" by Amos Lee (123). Has anybody else heard of this song? I only discovered it because it plays over the end of an episode of House. It's simple and sweet and sad and I apparently like it a whole lot. Click here to read more . . .

Money Can't Buy Happiness, but it Can Buy Other Cool Stuff.

We discussed, quite a while back, the spending of my Jeopardy! money. Well, it finally came a couple weeks ago, and I bought something wonderful.

Man, that is so much bigger than my old tv. Also, it receives both digital and analog channels, so I have nothing to worry about come 2009. (And I get 5 digital PBSes, for some reason. My hunch is that that's more PBS than any human needs.)

And I get so much more John Adams bang for my John Adams buck! (Whatever that means.)

Sweeeeeeet.

The only downside is that now I'm all tempted to get cable; this tv cries out to have sports watched upon it, and the major networks just don't have enough Aggie games to satisfy it.

Mmm . . . big tv.

Click here to read more . . .

I Have a Question for You

Someday soon, in theory, my third-place Jeopardy! money will come in. I'm figuring it's going to be somewheres between five and six hundred bucks after taxes. Here's the question: what should I do with it?

Some possibilities I'm considering:

1. Just putting it in my account/deciding that's where my frivolous William Daniels purchases came from. This is probably the most responsible course. I'm not a big fan.

2. An idea I used to have was buying some NCAA 1st/2nd round tickets for the sub-regional in Chicago, assuming of course my beloved Aggies play there. The problem is, my one basketball friend here discovered she has to go to a conference that weekend. I don't want to go alone, but that would have been pretty sweet.

3. The current frontrunner is buying a new TV. As some of you know, my current Picture Box--while having served me well for many a year--has a 13" screen. I've resisted getting a different TV for quite some time, since the picture's pretty good and it's a handy VCR combo and it's just so cute. But it hit me this afternoon, whilst I was watching selected scenes from 1776/eating a delicious sandwich, that (since it's widescreen) I was watching a picture that was about 12" by 4". That is not much John Adams for my gazing pleasure.

Suggestions? Recommendations? Complaints about my earlier recalcitrance toward buying a different television from anyone who used to live with me? Discuss.

Click here to read more . . .

Look What I Won!

The ebay adventures driven by my marginally sane love for William Daniels continue.

I survived a down-to-the-wire bidding war for this baby today:

At first, I only bid $5, which on top of the shipping made a total investment of $10. But the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced it was worth. That's ebay for you--especially the part where you can convince yourself that it's worth just a little more, over and over. But seriously, even though it's not the ideal autographed 1776 picture (because there's relatively too little John Adams), $25 total for a nice picture from my favorite movie is not that bad. At least, I'm pretty sure it is not actually crazy.

I'm also willing to defend what I found and bid on immediately after I won the other picture:

The eyeliner, yes, is a problem. But that is the only element that makes this item any less than perfect. Again, I'm hoping to be the only bidder on this, which would allow me to spend a mere $10 on something that would bring me buckets o' joy. I'll let you know how it goes in approximately 4 days and 13 hours.

And if you outbid me, I'll probably have to cut you.



No, I'm afraid I'm serious. Watch yourself. Click here to read more . . .

Ridiculous Boyfriend Spotlight On . . .

I really had to give some thought to whom I was going to shine this week’s Ridiculous Boyfriend Spotlight upon. John Adams was an easy decision as Week #1, partly because of how awesome he is and partly because I’m going through one of my 1776 phases. But who to choose next? The Ridiculous Boyfriend Spotlight is an honor, and not one to be bestowed lightly. However, in view of his longevity as a ridiculous boyfriend--and also mindful of popular demand--I have decided that this week’s Riculous Boyfriend Spotlight shall cast its ludricrous yet heartfelt rays on . . . Darth Vader.

First, let us define our parameters. We are not, that is NOT, talking about Anakin Skywalker. Pretty? Yes. Whiny and annoying? Also yes. Besides, we saw him when he was a kid, and he was prone to using the word “yippee.” Darth Vader does not say “yippee.” When I say I have am totally crushing on Darth Vader, I mean black mask, James Earl Jones voice, flowing black cape, exquisitely evil Darth. Vader.

“Rachel,” you may be thinking, “you are totally cracked out.” Ah, my friend, this is untrue. Let’s think about this logically, using consensus standards of male “crushability,” if you will.

1. Tall, dark, and handsome? Darth is two out of three!

2. It is well known that many women are attracted to power. And Darth Vader? He can totally choke dudes using merely the power of the force. Awesome!

3. As Napoleon Dynamite sagely informed us, girls like guys with skills. Darth Vader: lightsaber skillz, piloting skillz, deflecting-blaster-fire-with-his-bare-hands skillz, and--lest we forget--choking-a-dude-from-across-the-room skillz!

4. Women also go for men who, beneath their tough or crusty or, in this case, evil exteriors have an adorable vulnerability. Like House, or Alex Karev from Grey's Anatomy, or Dr. Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady. Darth Vader, as it turns out, loves his boy. Ergo, he is, on the inside, a puppy dog. A huge, menacing, malevolent puppy dog. (Awwwwww.)

5. OK, so it isn't a "standard" measurement of hotness, but . . . he has his own theme song! And it's written by John Williams, so you know it's good.

Ergo, when you examine it objectively, my 10-year (and counting!) attachment to Darth Vader just makes good sense. Click here to read more . . .

A Review of the Broadway Revival of 1776

I'm used to listening to the original Broadway cast version of the 1776 soundtrack. It stars almost all the people who were in movie, including (most importantly) William Daniels as John Adams. (Foxy!) It is, of course, wonderful.

My friend Lindsay owns the Broadway revivial version of the 1776 soundtrack starring . . . Brent Spiner as John Adams. She very kindly lent it to me, and I know that I can't expect it to be the same, and I should try to tolerant of things that are new and different.

But my overall assessment of the Brent-Spiner-revival version? Well, once on Friends, Phoebe told Joey that someone he had auditioned for had said, "He is not believable as a human being." And, listening to the entire cast's performances on this album, I now know how that's possible.

Actually, Brent Spiner merely chewed the scenery. It was his supporting cast that was . . . breathtaking. In a horrible, horrible way.

The moral of the story is--if you're going to buy a 1776 soundtrack (which you should!) be very, very careful.

Click here to read more . . .

Ridiculous Boyfriend Spotlight On . . .

John Adams!

But first, some explanation about the Ridiculous Boyfriend Spotlight. Each week, I will bring information to you about someone ludicrous that I have a crush on. It will be ludicrous because said person and I are in different places, different times, or different planes of reality. There are three basic categories:

1. Celebrities

2. Fictional characters

3. Historical figures

As you may have noticed, the very first Ridiculous Boyfriend hails from category 3, subcategory: American presidents. Now, John Adams--let's be real, here--didn't really do that much earth-shattering while he was president. I'll admit that. I'll also cop to his responsibility for the Alien and Sedition Acts. (In his defense, though . . . Abigail wasn't there to tell him what a dumb idea that was.) Once you get past that, though, and especially if you look at his pre-presidentin' (and pre-vice-presidentin') record, John Adams was totally awesome!

Short version: wrote the Massachusetts constitution, the oldest still-used written constitution in the world and the blueprint for much of the US Constitution; was on the Declaration of Independence committee (and, according to his version of the story, got Jefferson to write it); nominated George Washington to lead the Continental Army; was integral in getting the Treaty of Paris signed; single-handedly secured important loans and official governmental recognition from the Netherlands (which was the first place to recognize the US as a nation); acted as the defense lawyer for the British soldiers in the Boston Massacre, because no one else would and he believed everybody deserved justice; was the first ambassador to Britain.

Plus, he and Abigail could not have been ANY cuter a couple. (If there's one thing I look for in my historical crushes, it's . . . ok, it's unbending principles or determination or an efficient wielding of vast amounts of power. But if there are four, then the next one is the adorable doting on of the wife. It shows an underlying squishy cuteness.)

As John Adams himself claimed, he was kind of an obnoxious guy. Also vain and arrogant, but underneath it all was insecurity and a longing to do the right thing. As Thomas Jefferson told James Madison (I say as if I know, like James was all, "Hey, Rachel, did you hear what Tom said about Adams? Dude."): "He is vain, irritable, and a bad calculator of the force and probable effect of the motives which govern men. This is all the ill which can possibly be said of him. He is as disinterested as the Being who made him. He is profound in his views and accurate in his judgment, except where knowledge of the world is necessary to form a judgment. He is so amiable that I pronounce you will love him, if ever you become acquainted with him. He would be, as he was, a great man in Congress."

My John Adams love is often spurred on by watching my fav-o-rite movie, since William Daniels did a very accurate (and foxy) job of portraying John Adams on stage and screen in 1776. Do I love 1776 so much because of my undying affection for John Adams, or do I love John Adams so much because of my undying affection for 1776?

Actually, that's a really easy question. Undying affection for John Adams, hands down.

Woo!

Click here to read more . . .