DIRTY LOOPS: ROLLING IN THE DEEP (ADELE COVER)

I know they've been around for while now. A lot of people have discovered the wonder that is Dirty Loops. But I just wanted to share this because they're quite a musical discovery for me, and I absolutely appreciate and enjoy their talents. Their cover of Britney Spears' "Circus" has made me a fan of that song. Anyway, enjoy some really good music.

My night with Boyz II Men.

It's been almost 3 weeks since I saw Boyz II Men, I can't believe I haven't written about my experience! To think that it was quite an historic occasion for me, being that, I was the biggest Boyz II Men fan back in the "way back" machine (thanks, Sherry!)! My best friend, Rizza, and I obsessed over them endlessly, we pretended that we were dating two of the guys. LOL That's how crazy we were! My friends knew how huge of a fan I was that, when they threw my parents and I a going-away party (we were moving from Toronto to Los Angeles), they bought me a button-up shirt that looked very similar to the ones they were wearing in the video "End of the Road" (yes, the brown plaid ones). But despite my claim of being their biggest fan, I had never seen them live, in concert until now. It took almost 17 years for me to actually see them in concert, and that moment happened on January 14, 2009, at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. My dear friend, Vanessa, accompanied me to the concert even though she was not a Boyz II Men fan like myself (she liked their songs, but never really followed them).

After a semi-OK opening act, Jupiter Rising (no offense, the music was good, just not my cup of tea), the Boyz took the stage. Boy, it brought back so many memories! They opened with "Motownphilly", then after a couple of new songs (which signaled to me that they may be coming out with a new CD with new songs), they sang "On Bended Knee" and I almost cried! LOL Mostly for sentimental reasons. I absolutely love that song. It was a monster hit. The whole concert was like a huge sing-along! Everyone was singing the words, at the top of our lungs (I tried to harmonize in some songs), it was quite an experience! I did get very teary when they sang "A Song for Mama" and asked the crowd to take out their cellphones, call their mothers and hold it up so they can hear the Boyz sing the song on the other end of the line. I called my mom, but couldn't hear her on the other end, so I just told her not to hang up and listen to the song. LOL I know, silly me. Hey, but I wanted my mom to somehow share that moment with me. Later on, when I got home, I asked her if she heard the song, she said she barely heard it because it was so loud! LOL Poor mom. So, I just started singing the song to her. :)

Everything was such a blur, next thing I knew it was all over! Vanessa told me that she enjoyed watching me more than she enjoyed the concert. I'm really glad she came along and indulged me. ;) I really wish I had shared it with Rizza. She went to her first Boyz II Men without me (I had already moved to L.A.), so we didn't get to share that as well. I wish I had my camera with me so I could take pictures. I didn't know that they allowed cameras at the HOB (from many previous times I've gone to concerts at the HOB, they have a no-camera/video policy), but for some reason, they made an exception for this concert. I tried taking pictures and videos with my cellphone, but they didn't turn out well. Oh well. There's always next time. ;)

I miss this song...

“Don’t Tell Me You Do” by Rockapella. They need to put back this song into their live concert repertoire…PERMANENTLY.

And for the “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” fans, here’s a gem.



"The warrant!" Fun times.

Level 42-love.

Man, I love Level 42!!! Thanks to a co-worker, I am now a serious Level 42 junkie!!! LOL just in case you don't know who Level 42 is, they're a Brit-funk, pop-jazz group, who were huge in the '80's, not so much here in the U.S., they're huge all over Europe and Asia, and the rest of the world back then. After my friend, Ed, at work lent me his CDs and videos, I have been hooked ever since! Especially that "Fait Accompli" video they have. I've seen a whole new side of the group that I've never seen before. I've known of them since I was 7 years old. They were huge in the Philippines, especially their singles, "Something About You" (my absolute fave) and "Running in the Family" while I was growing up. I had a crush on the keyboardist/vocalist Mike Lindup. I thought he was the cutest thing! Then I lost track of them. I sort of "rediscovered" them again about a year and a half ago, after finding out that Jeff Thacher listed them as one of his fave music groups. Mind you, I didn't start liking them because of him, but I did get curious after that and started looking them up on the 'net and I stumbled upon their website, and found out that the original line-up of the group is no more. They've parted ways, except for Mark King, the lead vocalist/bass player. He bought the rights to the the name Level 42 and is now touring with a whole new line-up under the name. So, in a way they're still around, except for the fact that there's only one original member left. The other original members (Mike Lindup, Boon Gould and Phil Gould) are now doing their own thing.

Let's talk about Mark King. The man is brilliant! He's been called the best bass player in the world, and arguably so. The man, known as "Thunder Thumbs" is freakin' amazing on the bass! He plays it at lightning speed. And apparently, he was the one who popularized the "slap bass" technique. It's hard to really explain how the technique works, but basically, you use your thumb to slap the top string of the bass and pluck the bottom string with your pinkie, creating a rhythmic bass pattern, which is now very popular with a lot of funk-bass players. If you ever have the desire to learn how to play the bass, you should look to Mark King as a role-model. The man is amazing! I want to marry him, except for the fact that he IS married and has children. Well, I am not delusional, you know? LOL … Well, at least not EXTREMELY delusional. Okay, I think I'm gonna go watch the videos right now. good night!