In Which I Talk About Robyn Even Though I Don’t Really Have An Excuse To Talk About Robyn

Why am I posting a video from a couple weeks ago? One that’s been featured on just about every lady-tainment site and that you’ve surely already seen multiple times? I don’t know. Sometimes I think of this blog as a scrapbook, or maybe a vision board would be more accurate. I just need to pin all my hopes, dreams, and inspirations here. Robyn definitely fits into all of those categories. She is my hope, my dream, my inspiration.
I love this video of Taran Killam recreating Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend video on SNL’s writing night at 4:30 a.m. This does not in any way remind me of any interviews I read about SNL in the early days, when everyone was coked up and sleeping together and being miserable. 70′s SNL needed more flashlight raves.

This Weekend I Ate…

…pizza (multiple times in one night).
…donuts.
…cookies.
…a double cheeseburger and fries.
…pizza (again, on another night).
…a lot of candy corn.
…potato chips (I don’t even like potato chips).
…God knows what else.

This weekend was fantastic. I got to see people I don’t see very often. Two Drink Kerry came out. I sat on someone’s lap because we attempted to cram 6 people into my teeny-tiny clown car (Hey, Chad). There may or may not be a video of Jayne and I on Facebook doing our patented bell dance where she gets cutoff yelling, “I’M WORKIN’ OUT MY ABS!” at the end. I regret nothing.

Except that double cheeseburger, and maybe that third helping of pizza.

So this morning, after I got coffee from the Friendly Corporate Coffee Shop, I made myself a green smoothie. Then later I had some broccoli salad and made this Butternut Apple Soup. I’m fond of saying, “I’m gettin’ my five a day!” whenever I eat vegetables, and let’s just say that yesterday it was more like my One-A-Day. Let’s make up for that today.

Lady Jam: Freda Payne, Band of Gold

This is one of those songs that I can’t help but listen to whenever it’s on the radio. It’s unnatural how much I love this song about an unhappy marriage. I just can’t resist upbeat sad songs! Freda Payne is so beautiful in this performance, but she is a strange lip syncer. She alternates between looking bored and pouting. But that hair! Also worth noting: the clothing worn by EVERYONE. Suspenders!

Why I’m So Cool

Today I was driving to work at 6:30 a.m., drinking a green smoothie out of a mason jar, exhausted because I stayed up too late reading, having a one-woman car dance party to Will Smith’s Miami, when I thought to myself: Damn, girl, you are just too cool for anyone else in this city.

Then I thought of one of my favorite Variety SHAC sketches, which prominently features Miami and dancing.

My Favorite Thing In the World

In which Diana Ross wears a number of sexed-up African outfits while dancing frenetically, all hips and elbows. The dancing, the music, Diana’s truly otherworldly beauty, and the weirdness of the stills all add up to a completely hypnotic viewing experience.

If you watch this entire video and then want nothing more than to watch it again, you are either my new best friend or my soul mate. Or my brother.

It’s Always Something

I’ve been reading Gilda Radner’s excellent book, It’s Always Something. I’ll have much, much more to talk about later, but for now I think you should just see this picture.

Try A Little Tenderness

Have you heard the new Jay-Z/Kanye West track, Otis? It’s basically just Try a Little Tenderness with a little bit of rapping, but I’m not complaining.

Try a Little Tenderness is, of course, in the best-known and most-loved scene from Pretty in Pink.

I don’t know if this counts as a Musical Declaration of Love, firstly because it’s lip-syncing, and secondly because Duckie’s not declaring his love so much as his honest-to-God weirdness. I would’ve chosen Duckie. Blaine has a lot going for him (strangely appealing crazy eyes, a nice pair of pants, stone-age computer skills…that’s about it), but he sure doesn’t have moves like this.

My Dream Guy

Julie Klausner posted this yesterday. I could’ve just skipped writing my post about John Ritter and posted this video instead, because it gets across everything I was saying.

If you don’t think this is the funniest thing you’ve ever seen, don’t even talk to me. The cocktail shaker! The flower pot! I can’t handle it!

Grand Gestures: Musical Declarations

Every romantic movie needs a Grand Gesture…otherwise, how would we know the characters were really in love? In real life, Grand Gestures are probably a bad idea. If Lloyd Dobler was outside my window with a boombox playing Peter Gabriel, I know I’d be more concerned about him waking up the neighbors than whether or not we should get back together. And don’t even get me started on flashmobs.

Yet in movies, Grand Gestures work. My favorite Grand Gestures are the ones that involve men declaring their love in song, in front of crowds of people. Here are three of my favorites.

1. The Wedding Singer

This scene has made me cry before. I’ll admit it. This is my all-time favorite romantic comedy because Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler really seem like they’re in love. You’d think the lead actors having chemistry would be the norm in romantic comedies, but if you’ve seen a lot of romcoms, you know that it isn’t. This scene could easily be sappy, but the presence of Billy Idol keeps it light. This is probably the last movie (or only movie) where I thought Adam Sandler was cute. Bonus points for an airplane/airport scene, another one of my favorite romcom cliches.

2. 10 Things I Hate About You

When Heath Ledger died, everyone talked about his amazing performance as The Joker. This song was all I thought about. This was the stuff my romantic dreams were made of in high school. The bad-ass rebel who inexplicably sings a golden oldie while enlisting the help of the marching band and evading the cops? Be still, my beating heart!

3. Purple Rain

Prince uses his music to get across a lot of messages in Purple Rain. After this performance and before the climactic Purple Rain/I Would Die 4 U/Baby I’m A Star finale, he makes Appollonia cry with Darling Nikki (I think it had the same effect on Tipper Gore). But this is before all that! He wants Appollonia to fall for him instead of sleazy Morris Day (of The Time), and hot damn, if any man sang this to me I would straight up marry him without a second thought. I don’t believe that Prince wants anything but to sleep with Appollonia when he sings, “Baby, baby, baby, if we got married, would that be cool?” But it doesn’t really matter.
I should note that, although I love this movie for lots of reasons, Prince hits Appollonia at one point. In addition to being truly appalling, that’s something he expressly promises not to do in I Would Die 4 U (“I’ll never hit you/I’ll never lie”).

Those are my favorites…what about you, ladies and gents?

Lady Jam: Call Your Girlfriend, Robyn

I’ve mentioned my love of Robyn before. I just find her very inspirational…mostly because of her dancing. This video is my dream, because it’s literally just Robyn dancing in a big room. I should note once more that she has a choreographer.

I asked Chase if he thinks this guy Robyn’s singing to is really into her. Like, is he really going to call his girlfriend, or is he just stringing Robyn along and she’s being kind of delusional? Chase told me I was over thinking things. It wouldn’t be the first time.