Dance

Everyone needs to shake it every once in a while.

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Friday Dance Party – Aloe Blacc Needs A Dollar

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for another week of living.  We give thanks for making it through and for being able to celebrate this fact.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So take a moment and be proud of the fact that you’re here and you’ve made it to another Friday.  Not only you, but your family and friends as well.  So, to that end, are you alive this Friday?  Have you given thanks for this?

Good, now let’s dance.

I’ve been reflecting a lot about my constant desire or need to buy things.  I’m absolutely someone who loves to shop.  Clothes and shoes, of course, but I can shop for dirt and be pretty happy.  There is nothing better than to scan the internet and see what things pop up that I feel that I need to buy.  My favorite internet items have to be books, music, jewelry and….again….clothes and shoes.  However, what’s scary about the internet and shopping on it is that it is too easy.  All you need to do is pretty much hit a button and you’ve spent money.  Not as real as actually counting $20 bills out to a sales clerk.  So while I enjoy shopping, I’ve been looking around and taking notice of all the things that I have.  We had to build onto our house to store all the clothes and shoes that we have.  I have more pots and pans and kitchen gadgets than you can shake a stick at.  Jewelry….forget it.  While I am lucky to have a great job and can pay for all of these things, that is just what they are….things.  Better yet, do I really need them and, if the answer is no, why do I keep buying?  Simple answer….no, I don’t need anything and I think I keep buying because that act of being handed a bag full of something at a store or a box full of something coming from the internet makes me feel good.  That feeling that there is something here for me.  I guess it makes me feel special and validates me in that short set of a few seconds.  I’m really trying to feel validated in other fashions.  It might never happen, but I’ve been trying.

Which leads me to our dance party song for this Friday.  With all of my soul-searching, I thought we needed a little soul music.  Aloe Blacc and his song ‘I Need A Dollar’ can help here.  He is a soul singer that I have recently discovered and can’t get enough of his music.  While he is from California, he seems to be much more popular in Europe.  I don’t think that is going to be for long.  Sometimes things come together for a reason…I’m thinking about all of my things and then I hear this song about needing a dollar.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to want or need something and not have a job or money to pay for it.  I can’t imagine the angst you would go through.  It would be even worse if you had a family.  Makes you think about things, that’s for sure.  So this week, we’re going to do a little soul swaying.  You’ve made it through another week so you deserve it.  However, this week, if you are financially secure, give yourself another round of applause.  Having your life, your health, the love of your family, friends and being secure is a blessing.  Who needs things when you have all that?  If we are going to keep it real, one day at a time, we need to make sure we understand this.  We need to re-define and understand what’s important.  Thanks for letting me preach.  Now turn up those speakers and dance!  What life lessons have you learned or are working on at this point in your life?

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Friday Dance Party – Will I Regret Blow by Ke$ha?

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for making it through another week and for being alive and present here on Earth.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So, are you alive this Friday?  Are you and your family safe and sound?  Take a few seconds now to be in the moment and realize what a great life you truly have.  Did you give thanks for that?

Good, now let’s dance.

I’ve thought a lot about music this week and even did a post about it.  As I’ve been reviewing my collection of music in all forms:  8 tracks, cassettes, vinyl, CDs and now MP3s, I’ve realized that what I was listening to at certain times in my life was really a reflection of how my life was progressing at that certain point in time.  Great times seemed to attract great music and vice versa.  As my post this week discussed, there were some times that I have no idea what was going on in my life given the music I was buying and listening to at the time.  What was going on when I was listening to ‘Muskrat Love’?  You look back at some of those old tunes and just say ‘what was I thinking?’.  So that’s why it’s funny that I have this tune for us to dance to this week.  Again, while the song by Ke$ha is fantastic, what is going on in this video?  The dude from Dawson’s Creek, a party with unicorns and a laser fight?  I’m sure I will be looking back at this video ten years from now and asking again ‘what was I thinking?’.  For the time being, it is a great tune to dance to in front of your computer.  Remember, you’ve made it through another week and you deserve to celebrate through dancing.  So turn up those speakers and let it rip!  What other strange videos do you remember watching over the years?

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Albums I Loved But Shouldn’t Admit

This is a story about albums that I have loved, but am now embarrassed by the fact.  Everyone has them.  Those stacks of albums, cassettes, CDs or whatever medium you use that you can’t believe you bought.  It’s one thing if you bought them and didn’t like them.  It’s another thing to buy them and like them and then, years later, realize how embarrassing it was for people to have heard you listening to it or, even worse, singing to songs on that particular album.

Kids of today have it much easier.  They can download a particular track.  They don’t have to buy the whole album or CD to get one favorite tune.  They can listen on their iPhones or iPads to particular genres on apps like Pandora.  They don’t have to go to a record store like I did and ask the clerk for advice on a new music type.  I walked into Record Shack in Iowa one day as a teenager and remember asking the 40ish year-old woman if she had ever heard of a music genre called rap.  And if she did, could she make suggestions on a rap CD I could buy?  She could not.  In our day, it was more trial and error.  You bought as many duds as you did great collections in order to stay hip and current.

I’ve recently had the chance to think through my music collection.  I have decided that because I have always liked to sing is one reason for so many embarrassing albums.  My second reason for the embarrassment comes from the fact that I have always liked a good ballad.  With ballads come bad choices….trust me.  So here are five albums that I dearly loved, but am ashamed to admit it today.  What was I thinking?  I am sorry to all the people who had to hear me sing along to the songs on these collections, that had to hear me discuss their musical merits or that had to stand in line with me when I bought them.  Here goes:

In 1975, the Captain and Tennille came out with ‘Song of Joy’.  The actual tune, ‘Song of Joy’ was to become the last song they sang each week on their ill-fated prime time variety television hour.  I knew all the words.  Each week, my parents would be forced to sit in their recliners and watch the Captain and Tennille entertain and, at the end of each show, watch me join in as they played and sang through their signature goodbye song, ‘Song of Joy’.  Towards the end of the first and only season of their variety hour, I was able to sing harmony to Tennille’s melody.  I’m sorry Mom and Dad.  As a side note, this album also spawned the song ‘Muskrat Love’ which I played so often that the needle from my stereo actually destroyed the grooves on the album.

In 1978, my main man Barry Manilow released ‘Even Now’.  I had several Manilow albums in my stash already, but this album is the one that always sticks out in my mind.  While it contained three of my favorite Manilow hits, ‘Even Now’, ‘Can’t Smile Without You’ and ‘Copacabana’, there was always a sadness in my heart when I listened to it.  I knew that Barry’s world dominance was coming to an end.  This album was one of the first where I realized that I was going to have to work it if I was ever going to be in entertainment (which I am not).  I would sit on my bed and belt ‘Even Now’ out in a manly, yet sensitive seating arrangement.  I even introduced a light dance number to the interlude on ‘Can’t Smile Without You’ just to spark things up a little when I sang it in my bedroom.  I also asked our local barber in Iowa if he could cut my hair just like Barry Manilow’s.  I think that I may have been asking for a mullet, but I thought it was perfect for me.  Barry’s hair was always ‘business in the front, party in the back’.

In 1982, Diana Ross released ‘Silk Electric’.  The big hit on this album was ‘Muscles’ written for her by her friend Michael Jackson.  At the time, I was into some sports like wrestling and track (although not great at either) and therefore thought I had an incredible body.  Let me re-phrase….I did have an incredible body at that time, but didn’t think so.  Now that I am a troll, I realize what a waste of time that was thinking I needed to be in better shape.  I should have worked it more!  Let me tell you right now that there is not a man on Earth that should ever, ever sing ‘Muscles’ where anyone can hear them or could possibly hear them.  There is no good that can come of it.  Yet, I was proud to sing along to the radio in front of my friends.  I’d sing over the buzz of a loud party when it came on so that everyone knew that I knew all the words.  I was proud of that.  Sometimes I would flex my arms to really get into it.  Again, not good.  Don’t try this at home.

My roommates in college during 1985 were listening to new music that their parents would never allow them to listen to at home.  I am remembering Rush and AC/DC.  I was listening to Sheena Easton’s ‘Best Kept Secret’.  ‘Almost Over You’ was my favorite.  Again, any ballad is a good ballad to me.  I listened in my college dorm room to this song when I was happy and I listened to this song when I was sad.  For Christmas that year, my college dorm roommate gave me headphones that worked with my stereo.  He said he had heard enough of Sheena Easton and that song.  I was stunned.  As a side note, I gave every girl I knew the fashion tip to wear her pearl necklaces at an angle like Sheena did on the cover.  I didn’t date once that year.

In 1990, I had moved to San Francisco and was enjoying the whole new R&B and hip/hop scene.  Bobby Brown’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ was the album to own if you liked this kind of music.  There is nothing wrong with this album and the music on it.  ‘My Prerogative’ is still one of my favorite tunes and I listen to it on my iPod even today.  It is probably (and unfortunately) Bobby Brown’s singular contribution to the music scene before he turned into the crazy Bobby Brown he is today.  The problem was the clothes.  I filled my closet up with double-breasted suits that had huge, stuffed shoulder pads in them.  Tab collar shirts buttoned all the way up to the neck were all I wore.  As the album got hotter and hotter, my shoulder pads got bigger and bigger.  My hair got shorter and shorter on the sides and higher and higher on the top.  I saw Bobby in a sequined blazer at one point and exhausted several department store sales people in a massive hunt to find a match.  This is the truth….see the jacket in the picture on the left.

I was cool while this style was popular.  However, after it wasn’t popular anymore, no one told me.  When a woman in a club looked at me circa 1992/93 and called me a ‘Sad Bobby Brown’, I knew I needed a makeover.  It was my prerogative to change, so I packed up my suits and tab-collar shirts and put them away for another time when they would be back in style.

They say that the truth will set you free.  Telling you about my embarrassment and shame around these albums is helping to release me.  Again, there is nothing wrong with the music on any of these albums…they are not duds.  It’s just that hindsight is 20/20.  Looking back 20 and 30 years later, what was I thinking?  Thanks for reading.  I’m off now to download a couple of these songs onto my iPod.  At least I can listen to my iPod in secret with my ear buds and no one will even know what I’m lip synching to in my bed room.  What albums do you still love but are embarrassed to admit…be honest?

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Friday Dance Party – Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) With Katy Perry

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for another week of living.  We give thanks for making it through and for being able to celebrate this fact.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So take a moment and be proud of the fact that you’re here and you’ve made it to another Friday.  Not only you, but your family and friends as well.  So, to that end, are you alive this Friday?  Have you given thanks for this?

Good, now let’s dance.

Every Summer has its own song.  You know, that one song that speaks for that one particular Summer season.  When you hear it, you immediately identify it with what you did that certain Summer, where you went on vacation that certain Summer, who you were dating, what you were drinking, etc.  I was reading Billboard.com and actually found a list of the top songs of Summer by year.  Reading through the list brought back memories and also made me realize that I’m not getting any younger.  The songs were ranked on each track’s performance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the Summer.  So here’s the list for the last ten years, just to refresh your memory:

  • 2000 – Bent by Matchbook Twenty – I must have been in a coma because I don’t even remember this song.  Where the hell was I?
  • 2001 – Let Me Blow Ya Mind by Eve featuring Gwen Stefani – Nothing bad ever comes from Gwen.
  • 2002 – Hot in Here by Nelly
  • 2003 – Crazy In Love by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z – Danced to this one and thought I was hot and that I had all the moves until I saw a video of myself and realized I was an old man who had too much to drink and wasn’t very good at all.  Love her!
  • 2004 –  Confessions Part II by Usher
  • 2005 – We Belong Together by Mariah Carey – Listened to this one so much that when I hear it now I sort of cringe.
  • 2006 – Promiscuous – Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland – Still love this one and listen to it all the time.
  • 2007 – Umbrella by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z – Still to this day I will belt ‘Brella, brella, brella’ for no known reason.
  • 2008 – I Kissed A Girl – Katy Perry
  • 2009 – I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas – Will.I.Am is what Martko1964 Wants.2.B
  • 2010 – California Girls by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg

So what will be the song of Summer 2011?  I am putting my vote in now for ‘Last Friday Night’ by Katy Perry.  Yes, this would give her three Summer titles, but this song is what Summer is all about.  Letting go and having some fun.  She also has quite the cast of characters in this video, including Kenny G.  What can be bad about that?  So enjoy the rest of your Summer and let loose to this little T.G.I.F. goodie.  You made it through another week and deserve to celebrate.  Does anyone even wear retainers like this anymore?  What do you think the song of Summer 2011 will be?

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Friday Dance Party – Shaggy’s Sugar Cane

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for making it through another week and for being alive and present here on Earth.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So, are you alive this Friday?  Are you and your family safe and sound?  Take a few seconds now to be in the moment and realize what a great life you truly have.  Did you give thanks for that?

Good, now let’s dance.

Wow, it’s been a hectic week here at work.  There was a new system upgrade (which really didn’t work that well) and so it meant a lot of late hours for my team and lots of stress.  This week I was pondering on where we should go for summer vacation and although no final decisions have been made yet, after this week, I need a break.  Whenever you have an extremely hard week at work, do you every so often think about just throwing in the towel and starting over from scratch?  This was one of those weeks for me, but every time I think about what I’d do if I could pick a different job, I can’t figure out the answer.  I just can’t think what I want to do when I grow up.  That’s what made me think of this song for this week’s dancing.  Why not give up all of this and move to a sugar cane ranch somewhere on a far away island?  I could do that.  Could I do that?  Can you see me as a sugar cane farmer?  Anyway, this is a great song by Shaggy.  So get your reggae beat going and sway to the sounds.  It’s been a rough week, but we’ve made it through.  We deserve to dance and dance hard.  Oh Whoa…Oh Whoa…Oh.  Do you ever think of giving it all up and moving far away and starting over?

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Friday Dance Party – All Time Low But Dancin’

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for another week of living.  We give thanks for making it through and for being able to celebrate this fact.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So take a moment and be proud of the fact that you’re here and you’ve made it to another Friday.  Not only you, but your family and friends as well.  So, to that end, are you alive this Friday?  Have you given thanks for this?

Good, now let’s dance.

At our July 4th party, I used an application on my iPad for the first time called Pandora.  Basically, Pandora is a music application where you key in the name of a favorite song or artist.  The application will then play the song you requested or a song by the artist you selected and then continue to play songs that are similar to your initial request.  So if you choose Beyoncé, she starts singing and other songs that follow are similar but by artists like Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey and Brittany Spears.  We changed the theme up a few times going from pop to R&B to standards from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.  All we needed to do to keep the great music playing was hook the iPad into a speaker and an electric source and we were set for the day.  Pandora did the rest.  We highly recommend Pandora for your iPad or iPhone.  Even better is that the application itself is FREE.  The one thing we did notice is that one song kept playing for several of the songs/artists we selected and people were actually commenting about how much they liked it.  The song was from a band called ‘All Time Low’ and is called ‘I Feel Like Dancin’.  Since that is what we like to do on the Friday Dance Party, we thought it would be perfect for today’s song.  So crank those speakers up and get to groovin’.  You’ve made it through another week and you deserve to celebrate.  Don’t sprain anything!  What cool music applications can you recommend for our iPads and iPhones?

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Friday Dance Party – Mumford & Sons ‘The Cave’

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for making it through another week and for being alive and present here on Earth.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So, are you alive this Friday?  Are you and your family safe and sound?  Take a few seconds now to be in the moment and realize what a great life you truly have.  Did you give thanks for that?

Good, now let’s dance.

We’re getting ready here on Glen Road for a big 4th of July party.  125 people are coming and we just keep inviting more people.  It’s crazy.  Everything is set for a good time.  Plenty of food-the BBQ kind outside on the grill and the Italian kind inside the house.  The pool is heated to a warm temperature.  Since it is forecasted to be 90 degrees outside, it is important that the pool be kept at a constant 80 degrees, right?  Speaking of the temperature, we have had a large tent put up in our back yard so anyone not wanting the sun beating down on them can sit under it.  The tent itself could host a circus.  At night, it has lights in it so the party can go on late into the night.  Oh, and did I mention the booze?  Needless to say, there are bottles everywhere.  All the makings of a great 4th of July!  Now all we need is the music.  Music is always a tough one because at a party like we are having, you need to please people from 5 to 90 years old.  However, this song will absolutely be played because it is one of our favorites this month.  It’s Mumford & Sons ‘The Cave’.  It’s one of those songs that is a cross between several genres of music.  Great strings.  The best part of it, we have absolutely no idea what the lyrics mean.  Internet surfing says everything from a song about recovering from addiction, getting over depression to getting over a failed relationship.  Sounds great for a party, right?  Whatever it means, its our dance number for this week.  So turn the speakers up and celebrate another week of living.  Happy 4th of July and enjoy your dance.  You deserve it.  What are your plans for the 4th of July?

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Friday Dance Party – JTX’s ‘Love In America’ And A Love Rant

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for making it through another week and for being alive and present here on Earth.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So, are you alive this Friday?  Are you and your family safe and sound?  Take a few seconds now to be in the moment and realize what a great life you truly have.  Did you give thanks for that?

Good, now let’s dance.

It passed. 10:30 PM NYC time right now!!!

What’s the state of love in America?  It seems that everyone in politics seems to have a view on the subject these days.  If you live in the State of New York or close by in Connecticut like we do, you have heard a lot of people weigh in on the subject over the last few weeks.  This is primarily due to the New York State Legislature working to vote on a marriage act that will allow same-sex partners the right to marry in the State of New York.  Connecticut already allows it.  I first have to tell you that we are very pro same-sex marriage.  We look at it differently though in terms of views at Glen Road.  One view is that if two people love each other, than they should be allowed to marry.  Another view in our house is that same-sex partners should have the same rights and protections that others are given and this includes marriage.  Another view in the house is that they would want to be married if the church recognizes the union and they care less about the government.  Which one is right?  I think that it is probably a mix of all of these opinions.  So why does it bug me that the debate on same-sex marriage is such a big deal and so controversial?  I just don’t get it.  I just think it is so easy to see.  I don’t think that God frowns on it like some, I don’t think it dilutes the bond of marriage traditionally held between a man and a woman and I don’t like politicians weighing in on something I don’t think many of them know too much about.  Again, I like to keep it simple.  I think it all comes down to love and love is one of the most pure and simple things we have.  If you love someone, it is love.  There is no straight love, gay love, Caucasian love, African American love, Hispanic love, man love, woman love, etc.  There is just LOVE…the same feeling no matter how you get there.  There is just LOVE and if you and someone else are in love, you should be allowed to marry if you are so inclined.  The marriage that you enter should also be equal to all other marriages done in this country.  It’s only fair…this is about equality.  So to the same-sex marriage haters….if you don’t approve of gay marriage, don’t marry a gay person.  Mind your own business…God forbid if you were told you couldn’t do something that someone could do!  So that’s my rant on love.  <deep breath>

Moving on, I do think I know something that we can all agree on regarding LOVE.  I’m pretty sure that we all love living, music and dancing.  Right?  You’ve made it through another week and you are still kicking.  Celebrate that fact by turning the speakers up on your computer and shaking it to JTX’s ‘Love In America’.  You deserve it.  Go ahead and shake that money maker and remember to love the one you’re with.  What’s your opinions on LOVE…we’d love to hear them?

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Friday Dance Party – Solveig and Dragonette Come To Say Hello

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for another week of living.  We give thanks for making it through and for being able to celebrate this fact.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So take a moment and be proud of the fact that you’re here and you’ve made it to another Friday.  Not only you, but your family and friends as well.  So, to that end, are you alive this Friday?  Have you given thanks for this?

Good, now let’s dance.

When I first started this blog, I never imagined how many other people do the same thing and have been doing it for years.  Yes, I had absolutely seen the bigger blogs that offer advice, communicate information or shape lifestyles, but hadn’t spent that much time understanding the number of normal folks that frequently communicate on what is going on in their lives.  The more time I have spent on WordPress.com reading these blogs from ordinary people, the more I have been impressed and inspired.  I have often wondered why everyone does their blogs on a regular basis.  What is their motivation?  It is a lot of work, there is no money in it and getting famous by writing a blog is like getting rich by winning the lottery–the odds are not good.  For me, I have enjoyed blogging for the creative aspect it provides and for it making me appreciate what’s real and great in my life.  I also like it for the chance to say ‘hello’ to so many people I would never have had the opportunity to meet and share a little about my life.  So to all the people who visit us here at Acorns On Glen each week, we would just like to say ‘hello’.  To that end, our little ‘Hello’ song this week is just perfect.  So take a listen, celebrate life and shake it in celebration.  You deserve it.  When did you start to blog and why do you like to do it (or not)? 

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Friday Dance Party – Tonight Tonight With Hot Chelle Rae

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for making it through another week and for being alive and present here on Earth.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So, are you alive this Friday?  Are you and your family safe and sound?  Take a few seconds now to be in the moment and realize what a great life you truly have.  Did you give thanks for that?

Good, now let’s dance.

My company has summer hours.  This means that people who work at my company are able to leave every Friday from now until Labor Day at 1:45 in order to enjoy a little more time at home with family and friends.  I’ll be honest, most Fridays I don’t get out of the office until much later, but even leaving early by an hour or two seems like such a big deal.  It gives me the extra time to run a few errands, get home and take a little disco nap with the Yorkie and then wake up and get ready for some Friday night fun.  Summer hours are such a great way to start a Summer weekend.  So given that I’m able to catch up on a little sleep each Friday before I go out, I seem to be in much more of a party mood these last couple of Fridays…..meaning I don’t want to go home and be in bed before 10:00 PM!  So this week, I’ve decided to celebrate the start of Summer and summer hours by partying on top of the world.  So be happy for living and shake your money maker to this new song by Hot Chelle Rae (again, sorry for the pop up ad – just hit the ‘x’ to suppress it.  Anyone know how to get rid of these annoying things?).  This is a tune where dancing hard and wild is just the ticket.  Go ahead and let loose….you deserve it.  Do you get summer hours where you work?