Four Quick Thrills from Lily

Hey there, Readers! Hope you’re coming off a good weekend!

As for yours truly – I actually had one of those weekends where I could relax! With that, I was able to catch up with my iTunes and other fun stuff. Thanks to this little respite…I have stuff to share! These are the things that made my weekend:

Return of the British Songbirds – I am often heard joking that my husband would leave me in a heart beat if his three favorite female singers were to throw themselves in their prime form. Well, the chance of Petula Clark, Lulu, or Dusty Springfield popping up in their shining 60’s glory is pretty slim to none. (Especially since Dusty is dead.) However, there’s a new crop of chanteuses whose music is floating over from the British Isle that might excite him. The last six months have showed us that the British may be invading our airwaves again. It all started last summer with the emergence of Corinne Bailey Rae and her bright ditty, “Put Your Records On.” Then came Lily Allen’s funky reggae infused “Smile,” only to be rounded out with the gritty and ballsy release from Amy Wineman entitled “You Know I’m No Good.” Want to know what the fuss is about? Get your hands on their CDs today!

KISS Gene’s “Jewels” – You know, “The Osbournes” were funny. For about the first season. Then it just became a running joke that you can’t understand Ozzy, Sharon squeals and screeches, and the two kids were bratty ingrates who were happy to live off their parents. With that in mind – I was a bit leery about A&E’s reality show “Gene Simmon’s Family Jewels.” Did I really want to see ANOTHER dysfunctional rock family so full of their own hype? No thank you. Especially the egomaniacal Gene Simmons, long-time girlfriend Shannon Tweed, and his offspring! So I avoided it for the first season. But thanks to a lazy Saturday morning, I kicked myself for turning it away! Surprisingly, “Family Jewels” is very entertaining and far more real than anything I’ve ever seen in the genre. I expected Simmons to spend half the show in his demon costume and white kabuki make-up, Shannon to be haggard to death, and his children (Nick and Sophia) to be spoiled rotten. But in fact – Gene is a workaholic, Shannon is a good mom, while 18-year old Nick and 15-year old Sophia are two of the most grounded kids in L.A. I’ve seen. More importantly, the Tweed-Simmons home deals with some real problems. Check out the repeat episode where the family has a mini-intervention vacation for business crazy Gene! The new season has kicked off on A&E. Check it out on Sundays!

Is a Like Borat, But More Like Smart and Funny – During the Christmas holidays, I watched a quirky little movie on HBO called “Everything is Illuminated.” During the course of the movie, my sister-in-law and her husband raved about the book. Before driving back up from Tucson, I made Lenny stop by Borders and I picked up the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. The story about a young American man searching for the truth about a photograph from his grandfather is by far the best thing I’ve read in the last year. The story is told from many viewpoints, but the best is when our hero, Jonathan, corresponds with his translator-turned-friend, Alex, regarding the details of their trip through the Ukraine in search of family history. The quirk is the way part of the book is written. Alex’s missives to Jonathan are the highlight of it all. Let’s just say that English is definitely Alex’s second language. Mixed with humor, heartfelt emotion, and history – Everything is Illuminated is definitely a read (or DVD) you must pick up!

There We Go…Back from the Early 90’s – I love soundtracks! I guess since I think of my life as a movie, it makes sense. Anyway…after some Amazon.com drama…the soundtrack I order two weeks ago finally came. “So I Married an Axe Murderer” probably wasn’t Mike Meyer’s most memorable movie. But hey – everyone is allowed a few dingers in their career. While the movie was only so-so, the soundtrack was chuck full of some of my favorite 90’s Alt-Rock songs. Listen to Toad the Wet Sprocket before they landed in the one hit wonder bin! Check out the covers to “Saturday Night” and “There She Goes” while rocking out to the timeless Spin Doctors anthem “Two Princes.” Pop in this gem of a soundtrack if you want to relive those early teen years where everything was funny and dressing like a degenerate meant you were cool.