There’s a new soap in my life…
…and like VL, it’s German. I like international soaps, but I LOVE German soaps…they must call to my Germanic ancestry (from Hamburg to New York, circa 1890s). It also could appeal to my Euro-centricity…I am a Brit after all, even if I am living here in the colonies *wink*. I like British soaps as well, they just rarely seem to have as many lesbian storylines. The Germans know how to do a gay storyline, btw, and there seem to be a plethora of them to choose from.
Tell me about it already, you say? I will.
MARIENHOF
What’s so special, you ask? Check it out for yourself…here’s a little teaser:
Check out this YouTube channel to watch from the beginning (it just started, so you are only 18 clips behind…) with English subtitles, or this one without (but with fantastic summaries of all the action in the ‘more info’ section).
It’s no Carla & Stella, but it’s pretty darn close…just remember ladies, it all starts with chocolate (watch for yourself to find out why!).
In: Kerstin & Juliette, Marienhof, TV · Tagged with: Marienhof Kerstin Juliette
Amelia Island, Florida
|open road|
Seasons Greetings
A pomegranate for the season...
My year in music…
In descending order, these are my favourite albums of 2009. They’ve each been stuck in my car CD player at one time or another, often for weeks and months at a time. Without further ado:
10. Erin McCarley – Love Save The Empty. Top 3 Tracks: It’s Not That Easy, Pitter-Pat, Gotta Figure This Out
A collection of powerful honest songs released singer-songwriter McCarley at the end of 2008, I first heard Erin on Grey’s Anatomy and was immediately pulled in. Her songs are emotionally raw and lyrically strong and that appeals to me, especially on tracks like Pitter-Pat. See for yourself:
9. Paramore – Brand New Eyes. Top 3 Tracks: The Only Exception, All I Wanted, Ignorance
I love Hayley Williams’ voice, and this album is stacked with powerful examples of where this woman can go vocally. Critically honest, this album is a fitting follow up to Misery. Love songs and social observations abound. This one is for the emo cynical girl rocker trapped in all of us. All I Wanted kills me (her vocals, her vocals…shiver), so I set it to a Carla & Stella video (why not, right?):
8. A Fine Frenzy – Bomb in a Birdcage. Top 3 Tracks: Electric Twist, What I Wouldn’t Do, Stood Up
No album was more anticipated by me than this follow up to the incredible One Cell in the Sea (2007). When I heard One Cell in the Sea, I was smitten: it was love at first listen. I would go as far to say that OCITS is an album that is close to my soul. It’s incredible. At first, when I heard Bomb, I was a bit disappointed – I’d built it up so high, it was a like a disappointing second date. Bomb in a Birdcage is a very different album then OCITS. Closer to pop than the folksy singer-songwriter feel of OCITS, it took a while for it to grow on me, but it did and I began to appreciate, even love, the evolution of Alison Sudol’s sound. These are catchier, more upbeat tunes but still infused with her trademark complex lyrics and imagery. Listen to Stood Up, arguably an anthem for an era:
7. Bat for Lashes – Two Suns. Top 3 Tracks: Moon and Moon, Sleep Alone, Pearl’s Dream
Listening to this album is like travelling to an alternate universe. Things there are similar, but they are done so differently that you are shocked, awed, inspired even. I’ve heard BFL compared to Kate Bush. A little, I guess. Ethereal, metaphysical, mythical, supernatural, science fiction. The tracks on Two Suns pull on all kinds of imagery. Listen all the way through and find yourself transported.
6. Brandi Carlile – Give Up the Ghost. Top 3 Tracks: Pride and Joy, Looking Out, Before It Breaks
I reviewed it here
Pride & Joy is a powerful piece. Enjoy:
5. Metric – Fantasies. Top 3 Tracks: Gimme Sympathy, Collect Call, Satellite Mind
This CD is great for rush hour traffic, early mornings, getting yourself psyched up for a productive day, or to take on a 10-hour road-trip from Atlanta to DC, which I did this past Spring to this very album. These Canadian rocker girls deliver what I think is their best and most accessible album yet. Have a taste:
4. The Gossip – Music for Men. Top 3 Tracks: Love Long Distance, Pop Goes the World, Vertical Rhythm
What is there left to say about the phenomena that is Beth Ditto. I can only add this: blow your mind vocals, powerful lyrics, raw energy, this album completely knocks the competition out of the ring. Now, enjoy Pop Goes the World – totally a gay anthem:
3. Imogen Heap – Eclipse. Top 3 Tracks: First Train Home, Tidal, Half Life
Another much anticipated release, and in no way did this disappoint me. I love Imogen, and listening to her music is thrilling, refreshing, exciting, like a good novel or a new love. It’s like meeting someone you immediately fall for, and bonus – they fall for you, too! Strong poetics, a powerful and raw voice, and refreshing unique musical arrangements flavor this album.
2. The Saturdays – Here Standing. Top 3 Tracks: Here Standing, No One, Open Up
I love Brit-pop, especially girl bands like The Sugababes and Girls Aloud. Acts like these are aging, getting tired (I think), but The Saturdays are fresh and young and wonderfully pop. There is nothing like them in the US (where, inexplicably and much like GA or Suga, they are complete unknowns). Import them however you can and you will not be disappointed – maybe even inspired, like me when I used them for a Carla & Stella video.
*DRUMROLL*
1. Florence + The Machine – Lungs. Top 3 Tracks: Between Two Lungs, Rabbit Heart, Howl (how can I just pick three *pulls out hair*!!!)
Falling in love does not even begin to describe how I feel about F+TM…it was like wearing glasses for the first time, or discovering Bluray hi-def after years of normal resolution TV. It had to be my number 1 album of 2009. I played it without cease for months on end. Words escape me, so I give it a “Wow!”. Wow! for originality. Wow! for raw enthusiasm. Wow! for lyrics, poetry, imagery. Wow! for taking us to the dark side and making us want it, beg for it, complete with dirt and blood under fingernails, clawing at each other, dying for our love. This album is like a new religion, so tear off your clothes, smear yourself with mud, and run naked through the garden. Go on. Get indoctrinated!
Tis the season…
Here is a Starla seasonal video. Winter Song is a duet by Ingrid Michaelson & Sara Bareilles.
Winter Song – Stella falls in love…
In: Starla, TV, Verbotene Liebe · Tagged with: Claudia Hiersche Anne Wis Carla Stella
Carla & Stella are getting married….
Don’t you just love happy endings. I’m sad the storyline is winding down, but thankful for the happy ending. It makes up for the rushed feel to their love, the lack of together time on-screen and the general off-screen nature of the whole relationship. Carla has been such a great character. I’m satisfied that she gets to ride off into the sunset.
In: Starla, TV, Verbotene Liebe · Tagged with: Claudia Hiersche Anne Wis Carla Stella
|in the gloaming…|
Visibility update…FlashForward
As I was watching FlashForward last night – last weeks show Tivo’d – I was pleasantly surprised that the lesbian kiss I saw in the previews for the series (oh so fleetingly) came to fruition last night as cute and drole FBI agent, Janis, came out and kissed a cute girl. Watch it on YouTube.
Splitting up due to complications due to flashforwards – thats a new one! I see some potential here, although I am nervous re: the shooting and the baby thing (how can you be 6 months pregnant after being shot in the stomach…sounds just unbelievably painful). Maybe ABC can avoid the pitfalls of so many lesbian TV relationships: death or switching teams, or parenting….arg. It all remains to be seen, but this makes 3 lesbian relationships on TV this season, by my count:
FlashForward (ABC)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Stargate Universe (SyFy)
Are there more? Maybe…let’s hope so! (Some potential ones include Heroes with Claire and Gretchen and I hear rumours of a bi character on The Good Wife…it remains to be seen if these are more than sweeps ploys…). Nevertheless, I need something new to obsess about after Carla & Stella leave VL and it would be nice not to have to search for English subtitles (altho I do love my international soap addictions!).
In: Flashforward · Tagged with: Flashforward
Brandi Carlile – Give Up the Ghost
Brandi Carlile…ah, her voice is like a dream to me. Except, instead of dreaming in my city bed, I am on a pack roll beside the dying embers of a camp fire, under the wide western skies, watching the stars, my baby nestled under my arm, totally content. Ms. Carlile is about as country as I get, and I only go there for her because she is a kind of hybrid country/folk/singer songwriter mash up and I discovered her on Grey’s Anatomy, whose soundtrack is a great place to discover new artists. Then, it was only The Story track – a classic in any genre. I immediately bought the album, although I could rarely get beyond the first half of the CD. It was just that good. This new CD does not disappoint, and I’ve had it on repeat in my car, on my iPod, and on iTunes as I surf the net. I even made one track the soundtrack to a fan video. And then, like a cherry on the icing, Brandi publicly came out this past week. Not that any of us should be surprised, and not that I am so shallow I don’t look beyond stereotypes, but I would have been more surprised if she’d come out as straight 
. All of this is to say this woman has me hooked. Yup. Hooked. And I hear from a reliable (if not a little horny) source that she is even sweeter to look at IRL, so it can only get better 
.
Ahhh…I put the CD in the CD player (or more accurately, select it from my iTunes library…). What should I expect? I hear that familiar, strong, raw voice, that unexpected twang that melts me in my seat. If Brandi were a preacher, I would be converted: “My one and only wrecking ball, and you’re crashing through my walls!” she sings in Looking Out. The album starts out strong, and soars on Pride and Joy. It is emotionally raw, imbued with a sense of yearning, disappointment, maturity, heartbreak. More consistent than The Story, this album engages me throughout (with notable exceptions, more about them below).
Best lines:
‘I laid a suitcase on my chest just so I could feel somebody’s weight.’ (Looking Out).
‘I was angry. I was a baptist. I was a daughter. I was wrong.’ (That Year)
The notable exceptions are more like low moments on the CD…tracks I can easily skip over. Channeling Cash, the track Caroline completely annoys me. Also, the gender-bending ‘If There Was No You,’ by far the happiest song on the CD and a little too country for me. Makes me want to do-se-do and toe-tap: ‘nothing you could do could make me turn my back on you…” “what I really mean, what Im trying hard to say, is Im counting on you and you got me too, my secrets aren’t safe and …nothing you could do…Im your man…” Although, as I continue to listen, this one grows on me. Touching the Ground completes the more-county-than-I-like trilogy (my opinion completely, of course), rounding it out with a bitter love song…’why do my troubles turn true whenever I rest my eyes on you?” Why, Brandi, maybe you just haven’t met the right gal, yet?
Throughout the album we share the hard times with Brandi, feel the pain, the regret, the disappointment, the sorrow…yet also find some small joy, peaking out its little head every now and then in unexpected places (Oh Dear comes to mind). Before it Breaks is sorrowful, and there is a lyrical quality to her pitch (her ‘yodel’ according to some) which reinforces the pain she sings about. Plus, rock guitar rifts…wicked. Makes it one of my faves and perfect for a Carla & Stella break up fanvideo:
I Will features a lovely backing vocal “I can try but I wont find it where Im looking, I can hold it like putty in my hands, you cant break a heart that’s not yours to break. But I will do the right thing in the end.” “I don’t think you ever learned a thing from me, but I am sure you want me to learn from you. You draw heavy lines around morality, but it’s just your point of view…” Definitely some soul searching on this album, infused with some bitter and tortured angst and regret. Just perfect.
Oh Dear is as hauntingly beautiful as it is melodic and simple, featuring a mandolin and more of those wonderful harmonious backing vocals (male): “together you and I forever…heartbreaks, mistakes…” her voice is stunning on this one…such a heartbreaker! “Only you that my heart desires, only you alone can break my fall…”
This CD is a treat, without a doubt, and although it may not seem as ‘hit’ ready as The Story, it is a more mature sound IMHO, and more consistent throughout. I expect to hear it popping up in my favorite shows as the season progresses. It seems perfect for the self-absorbed storylines of Grey’s Anatomy or the over-the-top drama of Verbotene Liebe!
My top song picks: Pride and Joy, Oh Dear, Looking Out, Before it Breaks
Least Favorite: Caroline, Dreams (the released single, and in my opinion, the most boring track on the CD – simple and repetitive, albeit set to a catchy tune, but not catchy enough to catch me).
Rating: 4/5
For more Brandi, check out her YouTube channel.
In: Musical musings · Tagged with: BrandiCarlile