Album of the Month for May

The Album of the Month is technically a bunch of albums. I absolutely love the fact that iTunes and American Idol have teamed up, and I can download the songs I like the best. It's not just a recording of the short performance. It's a legitimate cover. Full length.

This is the performance that inspired me to sing this song at the showcase. Sorry if it's a little emotional. I love it.

Album of the Month for April

I don't know if I've raved about this movie here yet, but if I haven't then you need to go get it. It is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I could probably watch it once a week. Goodness knows I listen to the soundtrack repeatedly. The music of the Beatles is reworked phenomenally. The vocals and instrumentation is astounding. I can't help but smile when I hear this music. This is one of the best soundtracks available. It's the number 6 album on iTunes right now.

Anyway, I'm off to dinner. Talk to you later.

PS. It's beautiful out today!

Vacation's Over

Almost time to go back to JSC and classes, but not before:

I hope I don't have to tell you all who Idina Menzel is. By now, if you've been reading, you should know. She's amazing. I've had this album playing on a loop all of break.

NOW:

I know it's a day early, but enjoy. I am absolutely obsessed with him, and I'll totally get his album when it comes out.

PS. Chelsey, if that's you in the anonymous comment below, cut it out. Put your name on so I know who it is.

Snow Day Fun

It wasn't technically a snow day, but whatever. All classes after 12:00 were canceled, so I didn' t have piano lessons today.

I did go sledding today, however. It was super fun, and I really want to go again soon. We had a fun time. It was Rayshelle, Tara, Lorena, Anna, Justin and I. Tara was not very good at it. She didn't like going too fast, so she'd put her hands out, but that just made her swerve and spin around, so she'd veer all over the place and end up going down backwards. We had some great crashes, and Justin made it all the way down to the McClelland parking lot.

Then we had dinner and then played Scattergories. Followed by a "dance party" of sorts.

And I didn't forget!!

AND

Two albums by Landon Pigg. He technically has five things out right now: his album, LP; two EPs, This is a Pigg and Live in the Alice Lounge; his single, Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop; and an older album, Demonstration, which can't be found anywhere. The two EPs I've only found on iTunes, and I linked the album artwork above to the iTunes store. He's a fantastic singer/songwriter, and I strongly recommend you check him out.

Peace out, peeps.

Snowy

It's been snowing off and on all day today, and it's been really windy. Not impressed.

I've decided that I would post my American Idol notes and Talky Blogs on Wednesday nights after both nights of auditions. So check back later for a Talky and my notes.

Also, it's 22 days late, but I have the Album of the Month. Somebody seriously needs to start reminding me.

Legally Blonde the Musical

That's right. The new musical Legally Blonde. I've fallen in love with this show since seeing it on MTV a few months ago. Many shows on Broadway recently have been adapted from movies, and I'm always skeptical. Legally Blonde blew me away though. The songs written for the show are perfect and just amazing. Go check out this show.

I promise, February 1st I'll put up the next Album of the Month, and it won't be from a Broadway show...

Album of the Month

I forgot again. Sorry. Been so busy.

Here it is:

Merrily We Roll Along

This is one of Stephen Sondheim's least-known shows. I was fortunate enough to be in the cast of my high school's production of it in 2005. It tells the story of three friends, Frank, Charley and Mary, and their trials and tribulations and attempts to keep their friendship alive through scandal, fame and betrayal. Backwards. That's right the show is backwards. It starts at the end of their story in 1980 and works its way back to when they first met in 1955. It was a flop on Broadway, closing after only 16 performances. Like most Sondheim shows, it's quite complex musically, lyrically and story-wise, but it is still a show worth giving a try.

Umbrella-ella-ella...

Yeah, this post really isn't about umbrellas. I just have that song stuck in my head.

Oh my GOODNESS, people! I TOTALLY FORGOT THE ALBUM OF THE MONTH!!

Here it is:

Hairspray: Soundtrack to the Motion Picture

Hairspray Original Broadway Cast Recording

Why'd I pick Hairspray? Probably because I'm a bit obsessed with it right now. When I got an iTunes giftcard for my birthday, I bought the soundtrack to the movie. It blew me away. I loved it beyond belief. Then I borrowed the OBC recording from Dana and loved it too. Personally, I prefer the movie soundtrack. That's strange for me, because usually I prefer Broadway recordings over movie soundtracks. Anyway, you should go pick them both up or borrow them from a friend.

So, what'd I do today?

Woke up at 11:30 and went to lunch. I woke up earlier for breakfast, but I decided not to go. I was lazy.

Then I hung out in my room and watched the penultimate (second to last) episode of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on YouTube. I liked it.

Then I had to head over to class. It was an OK day. Theory wasn't bad, but Ear Training wasn't a piece of cake. We actually did ear training exercises. We were really rusty.

Then I went to Elementary Methods. It was a really fun class. Our professor's wife was a guest teacher for the day, and she was really good. We had a nice class.

Then afterwards, we (Dana, Josh and I) had to run to dance. I totally forgot we were showing pieces tonight, so I wasn't prepared really.

The Ghostbusters dance went well. Greased Lightning, not so much. It was the first time we'd done it without Jenn Lindsay either doing it with us, rehearsing it with us, or yelling the steps and counts out to us. It wasn't too pretty. Plus a lot of people were missing, but we who were there held our own.

Then I came back to my room and hung out. Watched CSI: Miami and two episodes of Tyra. Yeah, I'm that cool.

Well, that's all for today. Blog at ya tomorrow.

Concert Re-Cap, VotD, AotM and Talky Blog!

Ahhh! HUGE UPDATE!

So last night was the Teddy Geiger concert. We had fun. The lame part was when we decided to go to Ken's Pizza for dinner, and it took FOREVER for them to get food. My salad and two slices of pizza came right away. Hah. It was nice to see KC.

Then we made our way to Higher Ground. We waited in a long line. We enjoyed the high school drama.

We got in. Jer Coons played. He was awesome. We enjoyed him. Rayshelle, Lorena and I got his autograph on our tickets. He thinks that I rock, and he hearts Lorena, but he only knows how to spell Rayshelle's name. Hah.

We didn't really pay attention to the two guys between Jer and Teddy. Teddy was OK, I wasn't too impressed. He kept talking about how his strings were new. Lame.

We all got tired and decided to leave before it was over to avoid the mad rush of cars. Then we enjoyed a nice ride home followed by a good night's sleep.

I woke up today and went to brunch with Brittany and Josh. Then I came back and chilled for a bit before going to dance at 2.

Tap is hard. The end.

Went to Mal and Kate's after tap. We made nachos. Yummy.

Then went back at 4 for their dance. Rawr!

Then went to dinner. Then did homework with Josh in the library for like two hours. WHOA!

Then came back. Then went to Late Night with Lorena. Then went and sat in Tara and Rayshelle's room while we ate. Then played Apples to Apples with Lorena, Mel, Amanda and Anna. Fun times.

So...
Here's the Video of the Day:


And here is the Album of the Month:
In honor of the month of October, the Album of the Month is Wicked. If you don't know what Wicked is, then you're an idiot.

And as promised here's an exciting Talky Blog:



Good Night!

Album of the Month - September

OK folks, it's time for an Album of the Month. First I'll update though.

Yesterday was pretty lame. No classes = sucktastic boringness. Yep.

I was sad, because I got left out of plans last night because Rayshelle, Tara and Lorena and others were having a Ladies' Night. Alas, I am not a lady.

I walked over to Mal and Kate's apartment around 10 though. Talked to Mrs. Bowler on the way over about going to observe. Hung out there till about 10:40ish and then went with them to check the cast list for Big Love. Mal and Kate showed me part of their Ghostbusters dance. It looks cool.

Worked today 10-6. Got up at 9 to get ready for breakfast at 9:30. Unfortunately, they're not doing the continental breakfast anymore. Lame. So I headed over to the library early and got things set up.

Work was so frightfully long. Oh man. Suckage.

I'm going to Burlington tomorrow with Lorena. Fun times.

OK, here it is. Album of the Month:

RENT - Original Broadway Cast

If you're reading this and you haven't heard of RENT then go fall in a ditch. Seriously.

From Wikipedia:
RENT is a American Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. After previews that began on January 26, 1996, it opened in New York City on February 13, 1996, at the New York Theatre Workshop before moving to Broadway, opening at the Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996. Based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème, the musical centers on a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Alphabet City in the last days of the Bohemian East Village, under the shadow of AIDS.

RENT was one of the first Broadway musicals to clearly feature gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgender characters. It is also noted for its ethnically diverse cast, which includes many racial minorities in its ensemble and leading roles. RENT is considered revolutionary for bringing controversial topics and counterculture to a traditionally conservative medium, and is credited with increasing the popularity of musical theater in the younger generation. Many critics have also mentioned how the show speaks to Generation X the same way that the musical Hair spoke to the baby boomers or those who grew up in the 1960s, calling it "a rock opera for our time, a Hair for the 90s."

The cast album from the show was the most successful recording of an American musical in almost 30 years, featuring both a double-disc "complete recording" collection with a remixed version of the song Seasons of Love featuring Stevie Wonder and a single-disc "best of" highlights.

RENT has been enormously successful on Broadway, enjoying both critical acclaim and word-of-mouth popularity. The Original Broadway Cast reunited at the Nederlander Theatre on April 24, 2006, to stage a performance for the rock opera's tenth anniversary. With more than 4,000 performances and still running, it is the seventh-longest-running Broadway show. It became the second-longest-running musical currently on Broadway when Beauty and the Beast ended its run on July 29, 2007. It is still eight years behind The Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running musical in Broadway history, which is still running.

For more info --- CLICK!

Till tomorrow!

Album of the Month and Talky Blog

OK, so maybe I'm going a bit overboard on my first day... But I don't think so.

So I finally got my camera to work and so here's a Talky Blog!



Also, I've decided to start a monthly tradition of honoring a cast album the "Album of the Month" award. This month it's ---

[title of show]

From Wikipedia:
[title of show] is a musical that began its life at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in New York City in 2004. The show was written by and starred Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell. Michael Berresse directed. The musical's plot documents its own creation.

In a nutshell, it's a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical. What I love about it is the fact that it's like a workshop production. The soundtrack doesn't have a full backing orchestra. It's got keyboard. And four vocalists. It's just a really great soundtrack to listen to if you need a laugh.

Well, that's all I have to say for now. Check back later, I may have another Talky Blog with Fred. Bye, bloggers!