Keebles World

Top 10 Tuesday time again! Be sure to check out both Kate and Tiff's Blogs to see other (and guaranteed better) views on today's subject and to find out how to join up. I know I always seem to start these with "this is a hard one", but this one really is! I'm not a summer music kind of person per-se...I like the music that I've always liked and I rarely venture elsewhere. On top of that, most of my music isn't the perkiest of genres, Besides Duran, I tend to lean more toward the Depeche and Cure types. Before I started this list, I searched my music library and found that I had surprisingly 79 songs with the word "Summer" in the title, but considering I have well over 10,000 in my library that, in itself, is kind of a joke and a good 15 of them were remixes of my #1 choice below. As I scanned through the list, none of the songs really made me think of summer...songs like, Endless Summer Nights by Richard Marx, Cruel Summer by Bananarama,...

My Birthday's over, so here we are at the end of my Duran Duran album review of Paper Gods with the final bonus song, Northern Lights . Well, hello there Liberty album, it's nice to see you got a production upgrade! This song is pure Liberty to me (of course, with the modern Duran twist that this album is filled with). As much as some of these songs pull me back to specific Duran albums, it is all still quite a new Duran vibe, so I probably shouldn't reference old albums, but I tend to think in terms of what I know. This might be my least favorite of the three bonus tracks, but it's not my least favorite of the album (I've already covered those). This one is probably at the lower end of my favorites or the upper end of my mid-lands. This is yet another reason why the Deluxe version is always a good purchase when it comes to Duran. You really get your money's worth all across the album instead of one or two good songs and a bunch of fluff like 90% of th...

I would have really liked to have ended my Duran Duran Paper Gods review today of all days...a fitting end for my Birthday. Yes, today is my big 45th Birthday, but enough about me, let's get to the Duran! Valentine Stones , bonus song #2, is Red Carpet Massacre meets Medazzaland, but with an All You Need Is Now vibe. I can relate quite a bit to the lyrics of this song because it reminds me a lot of my relationship with my ex-husband, but I don't want to go there, especially on my Birthday, so I choose not to think about that right now and just enjoy the music. I don't want to do a reference video with this one, but instead let's go this route: And definitely this route: Granted, these are are a "specific" period in Duran history, but isn't that what we old people do...wax nostalgic about the past? Besides, I had to get Serious in there somewhere, right? It IS my day after all!

"Congratulations Duran Duran albums Astronaut and All You Need Is Now, you've just had a child named Planet Roaring "...that's the first thought I had after hearing the first bonus song on the Paper Gods album. This is probably my favorite of the three bonuses (if you can't tell already). There is also no question about the frame of reference here...Astronaut I would say a mix of Sunrise (a concert opening favorite, so let's go there instead of the official video): and the title track itself: And from All You Need, I'd say either Girl Panic, which is an amazingly fun video FYI (and for those that don't know, "the guitarist" is none other than Simon's wife Yasmin):

I am absolutely in love with Duran Duran's Paper Gods album. It's definitely not one of those that peeters out after the first couple of songs and, if anything, I'd say the album gets stronger and stronger as it goes on. The last song on the regular album (but on the deluxe version), The Universe Alone , is the perfect example of this. Again, this is a very Astronaut song, I'd probably venture to say it's a soft version of Last Day On Earth (which was actually on Pop Trash, but was one of the only good ones on that album and feels Astronauty to me anyway...so imagine Last Day On Earth without Warren and on Astronaut and you've got it). What I don't like, nay, readily admit I hate, is the melody breakdown at the end that just sounds like the CD is warped or something. It's such a great melody anyway, I'm not sure why it's there. This isn't a strong Nick heavy song, it's more orchestral driven (which again leads one back to Astronau...

We're getting close to done reviewing Duran Duran's Paper Gods album, but I'm not quite there yet. Only In My Dreams is once again classic Duran sounding, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear John's voice on the backing vocals (usually he's so auto-tuned down, you can't hear him or Simon's voice is looped so many times, he disappears). I love this song. Again, that "play that fuckin' bass John" chant starts in on beat one of this song and continues the entire time. I also could tell that Nile Rodgers had his hands on this one without even having to look it up (as well as Mark Ronson), but this song is 80% John Taylor and my secondary 14 year-old self that loved John too (just not as much as Simon), is a twittering a bit on this one as well! When it comes to John-heavy songs and Nile Rodgers, you can pretty much count the entire Notorious album, but let's go with the title track for frame of reference: But you could also arguabl...

I always write my iTunes reviews after I listen to the album for the very first time in its entirety. My opinion tends to be a bit truer then and time can't cloud my judgement, especially where Duran Duran is concerned. I have a bad habit of "learning to love" Duran songs I wouldn't necessarily care for if they were by some other band. When I initially reviewed Paper Gods (see how I managed to get that link in there still?), the only two songs I dogged were Danceophobia (and I stand by that judgment) and this one, Butterfly Girl . I think it was initially because of the strong guitar riff that felt very Chili Peppery (obviously because John Frusciante is on this one too) and it just sounds like he's trying to channel Warren Cuccurullo (and we all know how I feel about Warren). But the more I listen to it, I would probably move Change The Skyline to my #2 least favorite and move this one up higher on the list (although I'm not sure how high). I still...

I debated whether or not I wanted to "broadcast" this news, especially since only one member of my family is going to know about it (if she ever calls me back), but I need to tell someone and this is my only forum. I had my annual MRI day before yesterday like I do every year about this time to check on Ferg-id Quinn (and for those that don't know, that's the name I've given the benign brain tumor in my head...a mash-up of my three least-favorite bosses names). I fully expected that he would be stable and that I could go to having an MRI every two years instead of every year but that, unfortunately, wasn't the case. He has grown a millimeter (which doesn't sound like much, but when you're talking tumors, be they benign or cancerous, that's not good). If he stays on this course, I have anywhere from 5 to 10 years before he'll have to be removed. If he gets the right amount of hormones (and, considering my age, that is now a very real possib...

It's that time again, Top 10 Tuesday! Make sure to check out Kate's Blog as well as Tiffany's to see what their view on this topic is (there's are always SOOO much better than mine!). I'm going to do something I don't really like to do, I'm going to manipulate the topic. I live alone and have for so many years now that I just don't cook, let alone bake. I can, but why? Buying food to cook for one is a really expensive prospect. When it comes to cakes, you can either bake one from a mix which means you've got a LOT of cake to eat, you could buy one (but again, lots to eat), or you could bake one yourself and make it one person-sized, but I don't keep those sort of ingredients in my house. So, I'm going to do a countdown of my top 10 favorite cakes instead. #1: ICING When it comes to cake, I'm not usually a fan (excluding the nine below). I will typically just eat the icing. Whenever we have cake at work, my coworkers are t...

Duran Duran Paper Gods time again. #9, Change The Skyline featuring Jonas Bjerre (I don't know who he is either...I am REALLY getting old) is a good song, don't get me wrong, it's just not a Duran Duran song. It's more of a very producer-driven song with Duran Duran performing on it and I'm not sure I would even go that far and might just limit it to 'Simon sings on' versus 'the entire band performs on' type song. This might be one of those I can't pick out various band members, I haven't listened enough yet to tell. But again, I do really like it...it's a great beat, has that old disco-type dance beat and is simple and flowing. There are a few of these in the Duran canon, so I'm not used to them, but they still shock me when I first hear them. It may be hard to tell sometimes, but this entire album is a bit darker than a Duran album typically is...you just can't tell because of the upbeat melodies, but this one really st...

Link time...let's continue on with my Duran Duran's Paper Gods album review. We're at #8 on the track list, Sunset Garage . I'm still on the fence about this one. I surely don't hate it, but I'm not sure I love it either...I do like it however. It is very Pop Trashish, more specifically it reminds me a lot of a fast Someone Else Not Me meets John Taylor's solo stuff (actually, it probably sounds more John than Pop Trash now that I think about it). I love the lyrics, but I think it's the melody I have issues with, it doesn't fit the lyrics for me and the lyrical style sounds more John than Simon. As time goes on, my opinion will probably change for the positive. If I had to guess, I'd say that this sounds like a Simon favorite song to me (he definitely has a type just like I do), but who knows. Reference time! When I mentioned John's stuff, I was thinking more Hey Day which has great lyrics with a weird melody, although it's pr...

I'm not sure if I really need to keep saying it's Duran Duran Paper Gods review time again, but it gives me a good excuse to point you to it's iTunes link (although it's really not helping out the people in other countries considering iTunes doesn't cross continents, much to my chagrin...that's a rant for another day however). Where Danceophobia flops, What Are The Chances vies for my second or third favorite of the entire album. It is so Seven and the Ragged Tiger meets The Wedding Album it's not funny! I've even stretch and admit that, if it wasn't for the strong guitar lines from John Frusciante (I do actually know who he is, although I'm not a Chili Peppers fan per-se), I'd say this could easily also be an Arcadia or one of Simon's solo songs. I absolute adore this song and the more I listen to it, the higher up the list it does (I figure, when it's all said and done, this will be my favorite song from the album). I have ...

It's Duran Duran's Paper Gods review time again. There is always at least one song on every album I don't like and Danceophobia is Paper God's. This is one that started with "what the hell?" and is still at "what the hell?" with a bit of, "do I have to?" mixed in. Granted, I was probably predisposed to hate it because of the weird, interrupting speech by Lindsey Lohan very similar to the mess that is Grace Jones' interlude on Election Day, an Arcadia song (but at least Election Day was an amazing song) or Nick's vocals on Medazzaland (not such a great song). Danceophobia is just weird on all kinds of other levels though, but judge for yourself: No need to make this review long, but this song will probably end up being the favorite of everyone's on the album...that's the way it usually goes for me and my views versus the rest of the world, but I honestly can't imagine anyone liking this song. And, of course, as ...

It's time again for my review of Duran Duran's newest album, Paper Gods . Face For Today is a bit harder to define than the other songs on the album. I hear so many different album influences in this song, it's really hard to pin one down...I hear Notorious, Big Thing and Liberty influences in it for sure, but I also hear the first Duran album, a bit of Astronaut, some All You Need Is Now, and maybe even a bit of Red Carpet. Another one of the great things about Duran is that, if I focus, it is very easy for me to distinguish each band member's particular sound. I can hear only John's strong bass lines, Nick's synth coolness, Roger's rhythmic drumming, Simon's signature voice looping, and even, back in the day, Andy's guitar strings and I've always been this way with Duran (although I really try hard to ignore Warren's guitar...he still annoys me to this day). It's a rarity than I can do this with any other band. But sometimes, o...

Continuing on with my Duran Duran Paper Gods album review, Pressure Off was the first one the band "previewed" on YouTube (and I think it's the first single, but I don't listen to the radio, so how would I know?). I'm not sure if it's because it was the first one that I heard which makes it my #2 favorite next to Paper Gods or if I genuinely like it that much, but there is just "something" about this song. Pressure Off is pure-de-ole Duran Duran with a bit of a modern twist...I like to call it Notorious Astronaut and that might be because it was produced by Nile Rodgers like Notorious was almost 27 years ago and it has a very Astronaut-y vibe. It's an extremely danceable song as well and has a kind of summery feel to it without the shocking intro by the female co-singer, although it does have one (this time, Janelle Monae - who I also don't know). Is it me, or are these getting shorter? Could I possibly be "learning" to do s...

It's time again for the Top 10 Tuesday countdown! For those that aren't aware of what this is or where to go to sign up, the best place to start is to just click on the icon above which will take you to Kate's Blog, The Suddenly Kate Show and also link you to Tiffany's Blog, Tiffsttiches a Blog. Hopefully this week will go as quick as last week, but this is going to be a real hard theme for me. I've always been pretty vocal about my dislike of my home territory (even though I do absolutely nothing in terms of getting a better job so I could afford to move...self sabotage, but that's a whole other ball of wax). There is absolutely NO culture in Northeast Arkansas at all and culture is what leads me out of my hidie-hole when I do emerge, so I'm definitely going to have to branch out a bit for this list, but I'll try to keep it pretty "southern" in locales. #1: EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS - SHOPPING Branson, Missouri is the big draw for a lo...

Day 3 of my Duran Duran album review for Paper Gods , so we're up to track 3. This one might contain a bit of a rant (well, actually, it does), so please forgive...there is a method to my madness (at least to me) and sometimes I just got to put it out there! You Kill Me With Silence is very Seven and the Ragged Tiger with a touch of Rio and The Wedding Album in the mix. Most people would probably say it's not good that a new album has the sound of a thirty-something year-old album, but with Duran, that is a VERY good thing...especially to a Duranie. There is nothing worse to me than a group of 50-something year-old's trying to mimic Justin Timberlake (I really can't let go of that whole Red Carpet Massacre thing, can I?) or whoever young guy is popular nowadays just to please the kids of today's market instead of their loyal followers who have been there since the beginning. When I was a kid, I thought Madonna was the best female singer ever and had excelle...

I'm going to continue on with my album review of Duran Duran's newest, Paper Gods . This post should be a lot shorter than the last one (that intro stuff ALWAYS takes more time), so yea me! Song 2, Last Night In the City features Kiesza (I don't know who she is, but I guess that doesn't matter). It starts off very non-Duran and could literally be something off of Red Carpet Massacre versus this album. Again, like the first song, as this one progresses, it starts to have a very Astronaut Album sound and I can appreciate it more, it's just that opening that throws me because I always expect the first note to be Simon, not someone else (yes, I know that Paper Gods was also begun by someone else, but it wasn't as startling as it is on this one). A lot of the songs from the new album have featured guests, something Duran really hasn't done this heavily since the Arcadia album (and yes, I consider Arcadia a Duran album and not the Power Station ones (whic...

I've never been one to actually achieve a short post, especially about something I'm passionate about. I chalk it up to my lack of vocality in "real life", but it's really just that I'm extremely opinionated and passionate about only a couple of things or people (one of the best Asperger traits, IMO). I know I've been a bit blog-absent lately as well...it's too close to Disney for me. I don't usually stitch during this time anyway because of planning and my Disney Movie watching challenge really wore me out (I've been pretty much watching nothing but horror movies on Netflix ever since). Friday, Duran Duran's new album Paper Gods came out, so what better reason to dip my toes back into Blog World than some good ol'D2! I originally started this post as a single album review, but by the time I was only halfway done and it was literally over 2000 words, I figured I might want to break it up a bit, so I restarted and I'm going t...

Now that the Disney Movie Challenge is over with, I'm finally ready to join in with the Top 10 Tuesdays Blog Challenge. For those that don't know, my good friend Kate over at The Suddenly Kate Show came up with a blog challenge that has a weekly theme. All you have to to is take the theme and fill it with your own personal flavor. As of now, I think that it's just Kate and Tiffany over at Tiffstitches a Blog (and now me), but give her a holler and get added to the list because everyone is welcome! This week's theme is your Top 10 Dream Destinations, a theme that is both really easy and quite difficult for me. Obviously, the top spots will be of Disney orientation but, because of my issues (or my Asperness, as I've taken to calling it lately), something as simple as going to Wal-Mart is a massive challenge for me, so the thought of travelling anywhere other than my old beaten paths is almost out of the question. A passing thought of a dream destination is o...