tight person of the day: thelma houston

Oh my G! I like to indulge in a little disco from time to time. I think everyone should admit to this. Disco can make you feel good! I mean, get real! We don't have to be wrist-cutting all the time. Let's put on some shiny shirts and platforms with fish in the heel and get down to biz.

Thelma Houston is a queen of disco. She is also what I would like to come back as in my next lifetime. Hello! Talk about gorg. Thelma was a Motown recording artist just doing her thang when she recorded her career defining song. "Don't Leave Me This Way" was a #1 hit sensation in 1977 aka the year of the extreme disco. You know coke lines all over America were being done as this song played in the background. Doesn't it just smell like Studio 54? Thelma also won a Grammy for this song. What an enormous baller. I love this song and I love Thelma but I also feel a little bit bad for her. I mean, how do you top such a gigantic hit like this? I guess you can't, so Thelma is still recording albums and making music. I hope you put this on a party sometime and shock everyone. Disco forever!

Thelma Houston - Don't Leave Me This Way

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the olden dayz were bettr

http://retrozone.tumblr.com
umm, tight. 4 truth.

halloween things

So the Halloween festivities have begun. I can't believe it's on Friday! I still need to make my Veruca Salt costume and then all will be right in the world. I attempted some Halloween cupcakes (see above). Pretty good, except I started running out of black decorating icing, therefore there is a modern avant garde striped cupcake in the top right. Whatevs! Also, that stuff is way harder to squeeze out than I thought. That's what she said!

Then we got to carvin'. Guess who made the llama jack-o-lantern? SO HARD TO GUESS. I free-handed that bitch! Look good? Griff's howling wolves really moves me. It looks fantastic. And Lesley's brontosaurus song and dance man is perfect for puttin' on the ritz. He's even sporting a bow tie. The countdown is on!

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tight people of the day: the moody blues

I'm going to bring the honesty for a sec and say that I don't know much at all about the Moody Blues. In fact, I can't say I had ever heard another song of theirs when I first listened to "Nights in White Satin." All I do know, however, is that this is one hell of a tight song AND I want to listen to it with the windows down and the volume up. Would that be tight or weird? You be the judge after a listen.

The Moody Blues are particularly well known for blending a classical music sound with rock. Would we venture to call them prog rock? Perhaps. Also, some of their songs need a huge sign that says, "Welcome to Reverb City." I love it! There are also huge psychedelic elements in some songs. The band hails from England, however this song I am sharing with you today with their most massive U.S. hit and for good reason. Honestly, I can't think of a better way to express yourself than to wail "I Love You" over a sea of screaming voices, drums, flutes, violins, and other shit. I want to walk down the aisle to this. Awk or tight? Wait, I don't care. I can do whatever I want at my wedding. I'm walking down the aisle to this.

Singer Justin Hayward wrote this song when he was 19, which makes me want to take a good hard look at what I've done with my life. Man, this kid was really feeling some things. Heavy. To all the ladies in the house: can you imagine having a song like this written about you? Wowsville.

The bottom line: if you want to sing along to a song so hard and long that your nose will probably start bleeding, this is the one. I mean it, too. It's like almost eight minutes long. It's so super tight.

The Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin

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tight people of the day: the four tops

I simply cannot tell you how much I adore the use of fancy footwork by groups like the Four Tops. These guys could do magic with their twinkle toes and one microphone! And in slim cut suits, no less. I wish more people wore suits on stage these days. Look, it's all about me, not the comfort of the performers. Anyway, I just ate a Lean Pocket and I'm feeling the glow of a delicious combination of four cheeses in a reduced fat crust pouch. I just can't help but love on that picture right about now!

I've selected the Four Tops for coupla reasons. One: they are ballers. Two: the main lead singer, Levi Stubbs, passed away last week. So many of us know Levi's voice, but maybe just don't realize it. I feel like Levi's voice is one of those unique univeral voices that will get a toddler and a pepaw and a mean old tax collector all dancing and singing. I mean, I feel like I know every word to every Four Tops song Levi ever recorded. THE POWER OF MUSIC. RIP Levi, and enjoy the great gig in the sky.

Here's the deal. This is the pure Motown sound. This is it. There are amazing shades of soul, disco, jazz, doo-wop. I mean, this group has it all. The Four Tops could be played at any event and people would leave happy. This group had a major amount of hits, mostly provided by the big cheeses Holland-Dozier-Holland. Who wouldn't want songs written for them by those badasses? Frrl. Once again, I'm left crying into my pillow that I wasn't alive during this time so I could move to Detroit, find Berry Gordy, and try to make it. Maybe in my next life, America.

Here is a Four Tops treat from 1973. I have a serious love relationship with all of their songs from the sixties, too.

Four Tops - Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)

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tight person of the day: bill haverchuck

You guys. If you have never watched Freaks and Geeks, I feel bad for you. Sike. But you really need to. I've never encouraged people to try anything more. This is my favorite show ever. It's a close race between F&G, Gilligan's Island, and Knight Rider. Major j/k on the last one. The point is, this show rules and I plan on posting more about the show itself at a later date. But for now, I just had to make Bill a Tight Person of the Day. Bill is easily my favorite character on the show, and I have a huge torch for Nick Andopolis. So this is huge.

Bill Haverchuck is one of the "geeks" and he's really tall, has a horrible peanut allergy, and has glasses that magnify his eyes incredibly. However, his deadpan delivery totally gets my goat and his dramatic/emotional scenes seriously make me burst into tears. I mean, the h is o when this guy is crying in the backseat of a car. One thing I love about Bill's character is that he is obsessed with the show Dallas. This completes me. Bill is played by Martin Starr, who has gone on to other acting jobs, but will forever be known as Bill to me.

Here's a clip of the lovable and amazing Bill talking about why he thinks French kissing is gross. I also want to point out that I spent a good minute deciding if I should capitalize "French" there. But I did.

upside down dogs

I know posting has been slow this week. Work is bananas! But even in the darkest of days, we all need something to feel good about. For me, it's eating a cream cheese brownie in pajama pants while watching two hours of the Starz channel. Look, if KXAN and Time Warner are going to have a battle, then Starz is a fine alternative for me. I decided that something Lesley sent me the other day was just the ticket for the blog. Something to make us all rejoice at the beauty of human life.

Yes, I'm talking about pictures of upside down dogs. Or picture of dogs taken upside down. Either way, it's tight. As I sit and scroll through these, I know what love and happiness are all about. Talk about a stress reliever! I had about fifty good LOLs at these. Now I just need this cold weather snap to stick and for Starbucks to put out those red Christmas cups and we are GOLDEN, my friends.

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tight person of the day: merry clayton

I love when I can find a tight woman for Tight Person of the Day! Especially one with soul and amazing hair and PIPES! Also, how great is it to be named Merry? I wish my name was Merry. Maybe I will legally change it to officially confirm my love for Christmas. I hope that isn't too over the top because it's about to happen in 2k9. Frrl!

Merry is tight because you have probably heard her voice before and just didn't know it. She sings the duet with Mick Jagger on "Gimme Shelter." What a baller! Increasing her awesomeness to the nth degree, Merry was born on Christmas Day in 1948. Jesus sang! She has performed or recorded with some huge no-name hacks like Elvis Presley, Billy Preston, and Ray Charles. Who are those jokers!? Kidding! Basically, Merry's vocals on "Gimme Shelter" from the 1969 Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed are some of the best. She is about to pop a lung. Day-um. So tight. Merry has had a pretty awesome career, and the perfect career in my opinion. I always wanted to be in the background, though. Too bad I have some things working against me, like my lack of singing ability. Here's Merry singing "Gimme Shelter" all on her own and bringing down the blog.

Merry Clayton - Gimme Shelter

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Lucio Battisti - Sì Viaggiare

llama goes to the dentist!

I llove llamaz. It's my classroom theme and it kind of runs my life. They are totes peculiar. I mean, what are they? It's a freakish horse/camel combo but I'm eating it up! Anyway, this video speaks volumes to me. I might even venture to say it's my favorite thing on YouTube. I want to give props to Daniel for reminding me of this video like a year and a half ago through a Myspace comment. Myspace has proven to be good for something.

Couple of things about this video, which is super tight. I'm so confused where you would put a llama in Manhattan. And that llama does not give an f! Look how cocky he is! Also, how calm is he when that dentist is scraping off all his llama enamel? What a baller. I need chapstick, sunglasses, and a stress ball to make it through a dentist appointment. Warning: this song will get stuck in your head. Sowwy! Other thing - does anyone else notice the Marilyn Manson eye on this guy? Wowsville.

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tight person of the day: barbara lynn

Oh, I'm sorry - haven't heard of Barbara Lynn? Well, get ready to have your mind blown apart. This is just about the coolest lady around. She is a huge baller and I don't throw that term around loosely.

Barbara Lynn was born in beautiful Beaumont, Texas. She plays guitar and totes spends her free time perfecting how to look like a huge badass. I have had her song "You'll Lose a Good Thing" stuck in my head for about a week. This song was a #1 R&B (real and baller) hit in 1962.

I can't get over this lady on guitar! I don't know, but it's make me crazy, nahmean? She's tight. I think it's killing me how her ankles are crossed so daintily. Perfection. I have some Barbara Lynn but I bought it on iTunes and sadly can't upload it for you. However, please take the time to watch this video of her singing that aforementioned song which is driving me wild, in a good way. This is one of those songs that makes me want to get up and scream, "Grab your lady!" I mean, it's really like a last song of the night. Anyway, she looks great and sounds even better and you really don't want to pass that up.

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tight people of the day: grateful dead (american beauty era)

Recently, I watched the entire series of Freaks and Geeks. All eighteen eps. This is a great show. Throughout the show, music plays a big role. One of the biggest albums, and an album that has a huge role in the series finale, is American Beauty.

We all know the Grateful Dead hail from San Fran and are probably most well known by Jerry Garcia. Some of Jerry's steel work on songs like CSNY's "Teach Your Children" make my heart sing. I've never been a huge Dead fan. Rather, I just never had much to go by. Well, American Beauty is one of the best albums I have ever heard. This is frrl. You cannot even believe how much I love the song "Ripple." I think it might be in the running for my #2 favorite song of all time. That's tight! Released in 1970, this was their fifth studio album and probably has some of their best known songs on it. They sure got it right with this one.

Grateful Dead - Ripple

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tight person of the day: gwen ifill

So we all watched the Veep debate. Palin still sucks, Biden's got weird hair, and overall I'm still pretty nerv for our country. However, there was a very interesting and happy surprise during this whole mess and her name is Gwen Ifill.

Gwen has worked her way into my heart with her probing questions and turquoise raw silk blazer from Talbots. Apparently she broke her foot the day before the debate, but was still able to hobble to the stage and laugh silently at Palin. Anywayz, she is a senior correspondent for NewsHour so that means she works with my dreamboat man, Jim Lehrererrerrr. She also moderated the 2004 Veep debate between Cheney and Edwards and was supposedly "snippy" to Cheney. GO GWEN. I'm giving it up to Gwen because I'm tired of everyone acting like Sarah Palin is the woman they want to hang out with. It's Gwen! I so want to take her to Torchy's.

So I present to you: the many moods of Gwen Ifill.

The hot pink-inyerface-not getting away with it-Gwen.



The this is making me nervous-about to throw a punch but holding back-Gwen



The happy-smiling-IjustgotinvitedtoTorchy's-Gwen

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Veep Debate Cocktails

So I trust that you've all got your Bingo cards ready to go for the evening's festivities, and there are certainly enough drinking games to have you in a coma by the second question, but there is certainly a reason that debates always seem to air during cocktail hour. I've taken the liberty of creating a drink menu for all your Debate Party needs:

The Palin-drome
1 part Russian vodka
2 parts bitters
1 shared maritime border
2 parts bitters
1 part Russian vodka

Wet Yer Wasilla
1 part vodka
1 part tequila
1 part rum
1 part gin
1 part triple sec
1 1/2 parts sweet and sour
splash Coca-Cola®, like the polar bears drink

Toddtini
1 Labatt Blue

Sarahcuda
1/2 bottle of tequila
1 Route 44® Ocean Water from Sonic
splash of lime

Bris-tal
this one's actually just Cold Duck Andre in a Mason jar


Enjoy!

Ninja Cat

Ninja Cat comes close without moving.