It is coming true

Friday night I went with several (straight) moms to the local movie theatre (really, that is how it is spelled "-tre") to see Milk. It starts with these haunting images - black and white films of police raids in which men are rounded up and placed in the back of vans. The first time you see Harvey Milk, brilliantly played by Sean Penn, he is speaking into a tape recorder. He clearly states as the tape begins recording it is only to be played upon his death.

Before the movie had started I warned one of the women that I was a cryer at movies and I expected to ball profusely. I had kleenex at the ready and was prepared for a good, hard cry. Crying about the hatred that fueled Milk and Mayor George Mascone's assassin, crying about the hope and optimism Milk had until the end, crying that he was so desperately needed since the California Prop. 6 fight of the 1970's (in which anyone gay or sympathized with gays couldn't teach in public schools) morphed into the Prop. 8 fight of today.

But I didn't cry. I didn't cry as the film graphically depicted the shooting at close range, at all of Milk's staff, friends and supporters - 30,000 of them - held candles the night of his shooting. I didn't cry as the postscript flashed on the screen and the bogus "Twinkie Defense" appeared under the murder's name and face.

I shook. I shook uncontrollably. I felt cold. I felt unbearably cold.

The following night was Saturday and I rushed over to the local community house to spend a few minutes at a friend's husband's surprise birthday party. I had helped my friend line up the space, even using my membership to the community house to get the reduced rental rate, and felt I should make an appearance even though Amazing Guy couldn't come (we didn't have a babysitter) and I would literally only know two people there.

So I charged into the house, smiled at the men hanging out along the grand staircase, walked through the room with the food and nodded at the men eating hoers d'ourves - saw a woman in the mix - and walked onto a huge wrap-around porch where my friend was moving some trash bags. I gave him a hug. He told me to find his husband.

I found the birthday boy, gave him a hug and was going to leave. My friend caught me at the door and introduced me to one of the lone straight women but she was heading out the door because she had left her kids alone without a sitter for the first time. Then my friend introduced me to a fellow who does similar work as me. We talked about foreclosures and housing policy (really) and then saw some guys dancing in another room to Madonna's Vogue. I kept looking into the room and then Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) came on and he said "Oh this is a fun one to dance to - come on!"

Suddenly I was dancing in a grand old house with a room full of gay men - some married (because that is legal in my state and has been for years), some not, some old, some young. And as I asked the DJ to play the following song I realized Harvey Milk's words from the the 1978 Hope speech recreated in the movie was true all around me:

"We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets ... We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions."

And while this song was playing, as with Laura Branigan's Gloria, Prince's Little Red Corvette and Madonna's Like a Prayer, I was sweating. Sweating and dancing.

Please join in Music Monday. Just remember if you plan to use little Mr. Linky above then write a post about music and link back to me. Music always makes Monday a bit more fun.



But if you plan on posting an advertisement, I will delete your link as well as your comment. Just don't bother.

Songs that Make Her Dance

Songs that make her dance.

That is the subtitle of the CD I gave out to 5 three- and four-year olds at the birthday party on Saturday. As I've noted before, I am on a one mother campaign against the ridiculous crap stuff that is given to children in crap "goodie" bags at birthday parties.

So, as has been tradition since my boys were 2 (they are now big 7 1/2 year olds), we gave out CDs with the songs that were my daughter's favorites throughout the past year. Some of you, I'm sure, will recognize them and the significance they have played during our daughter's third year.

1. Really Rosie - Carole King from Really Rosie
2. The Look of Love - ABC
3. Sing - Annie Lennox
4. True Colors - Cyndi Lauper
5. Blue Savannah - Erasure
6. Mamma Mia - Abba
7. Seasons of Love - Rent The Musical (because she is singing it too - during snack at school)
8. World In Motion (Carabinieri Mix) - New Order
9. There's Always A Way - LazyTown
10. Our Lips are Sealed - The Go-Go’s
11. Walking In Memphis - Marc Cohn
12. Love Song - Sara Bareilles
13. Take On Me - a-ha
14. Alligators All Around - Carole King from Really Rosie

So what would your kids' birthday CD look like this year? Or better yet, pick a year from your childhood and tell me what songs would be on your birthday CD.

Or just sing me any ol' tune.

Did you hear me scream?

Seriously, while I was riding the train, did you hear me? I saw this in the newspaper.

Oh, maybe I should get a little closer.

That's Vince Clark of Erasure. Wait you can't read what's printed under his photo?

Not close enough?

YAZ IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that wonderful combination of Vince Clark and Alison Moyet who created Only You, Situation, Don't Go and Nobody's Diary are releasing a boxed set and going on tour. One of my first posts was discovering that a birth control pill was named Yaz.

Can you hear my heart beating?

But it appears that their tour will only be in England. So those of you who can, go see them. And tell me how wonderful it was.

Yazoo Reconnected: Live

Wed 04 June - Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
Sat 07 June - Manchester Apollo
Thu 12 June - Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Sun 15 June - Brighton Centre
Wed 18 June - London Hammersmith Apollo

"she needs to get some Beastie tunes"

The following came from the December 3rd post at Mic to Mic, a site devoted to all things Beastie Boys. Seems my post about the Boys was discovered.

"Um, I'm sorry, what is your name?"

He gives me this big grin, as if saying that no one has said that to him in a long time.

"Adam Horovitz. I'm in the band."

Read A Soccer Mom in Denial's story of meeting the Beastie Boys in the early 90s. The story illustrates how special they are.

Posted by Hot Sauce.

Hot Sauce - thanks for finding me. And here are the six comments that this post generated (my replies are in italics).

6 comments:

Danielle said...
I have new respect for the band. I was unaware they donated to help the blockades and make the clinics safe. Operation Rescue was a terrorist group that murdered women and doctors. I will never forget their reign of terror. Bless the Beastie Boys!

And you too, Danielle, for understanding the reign of terror inflicted by those, ahem, "pro-life" activists.

Saber said...
she remembers eating pasta & soda but can't remember the conversation she had with the boys???

Sorry to disappoint Saber.

Hot Sauce said...
You don't forget good pasta.

That is right!

Brody said...
Awwww, I like confirmations they're nice guys!! :)

Awwww I'm glad to give you confirmation Brody.

Kevin said...
Nice story but she needs to get some Beastie tunes.

Alright Kevin, what are your top five Beastie tunes? Just five.

Todd said...
Nice story but kind of a bummer that she wasn't a huge fan. I still spaz out whenever I tell somebody about the time I shared a newspaper with Mike D. at the car wash.

Todd, I couldn't agree more that the experience I describe was a wasted opportunity on someone like me. Good thing you didn't notice in my article the signed concert wall sign I can't seem to find.

Sigh. Music fans. Aren't they adorable? I mean, who would be so rabid about a music band to write about them constantly?

I mean who would?

[Note to self - see if erasurefanatic is available somewhere for a blog name. It's not like I have another blog.]

Mamma Mia

Long before the musical, the Erasure covers or the vile of turd from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, ABBA was a singing group that played on the car radio. Specifically the large station wagon my parents bought six weeks before the oil embargo of 1973.

I remember sitting in the back seat, my younger brother always on the left side directly behind my mother and I on the right, wearing lap belts that have the same buckles airplanes still have today. In the mid-1970's ABBA's Dancing Queen would come on the radio and my mom would start clapping and singing, bopping her perfectly coiffed head of hair to the music.

So while many folks associate ABBA with 1970's themed dance parties or the musical, whenever I hear them, I think of my mom driving a huge car, dancing to the music.

Happy Birthday to my mom. The original Mamma Mia!

And my mom shared a birthday with a dearly departed dog. Go read about her at Flower Child's windowbox. Then there is a fun movie soundtrack recalled by Wholly Burble (and a big welcome to her since this is her first Music Monday!). And Jenn in Michigan adds another terrific tale of tunes from her childhood.

Birthday CDs

As the moms dropped off the kids for last week's birthday party at the ballpark (which ended up being rained out, causing one of my boys to declare "that was the worst birthday party EVER!" Phew. Glad we took care of the worst birthday by age 7) I told them of our family's custom, instead of "goodie bags" full of small plastic lead-covered toxic toys from China - and candy that rubs against them - we give out CDs with the boys' favorite tunes from the previous year.

"Oh thank goodness!" declared a mom who only the previous month had handed just such a bag of candy and toy crap to both my sons after her boy's birthday party. "I wouldn't want him to have more sugar!"

Gee lady. Thanks for being so considerate after your kid's party.

Here are the songs we gave after the rained out baseball game birthday party last week:

1. Opening Dialogue – Johnny Cash
2. Paul Revere - Johnny Cash
3. Welcome Table – Dan Zanes with Blind Boys from Alabama
4. Get'cha Head in the Game – Troy from HSM
5. I'll Make a Man Out of You – Donny Osmond from Mulan
6. I Don't Want Your Millions Mister – Dan Zanes
7. The Tide is High – ska version
8. Higher Ground – The Blind Boys of Alabama
9. The Battle of New Orleans – Johnny Cash
10.Hello My Baby – Ladysmith Black Mambazo
11.Big Foot – Johnny Cash
12.Reaching for the Stars – Johnny Cash
13.These are My People – Johnny Cash

For a select few there is an extra song (really because iTunes throws a fit after you make 7 copies thus requiring another song to be added to the playlist).

14. Sunday Girl - Erasure

And I always end the list the same.

Compiled by Mistress Mom.

***

Hey I have to ask - why did yesterday's post generate so few comments? Do you have something against iPods? Basing music purchases on advertisement? Is there a backlash against music from Puerto Rico (eek! they speak Spanish!)? Or reggaeton? Only the marvelous Jen from A2eatwrite commented (I told Jenn in Holland not to comment because I complained in an email to her. She honored that). Thank you Jen with one "n"!

Interrupt for some Fun, High Tide and L'Amour

Huh? But I'm already on vacation. At the beach. With the man I love.

A few weeks before we left, Craig informed me we would be taking a side trip from our lovely vacation home for one night. He said it would take a few hours to get there. So Sunday arrived, and he told me it might take a bit longer than 3 hours. I still didn't pack a lot of activities for the kids because I figured it wouldn't be that long.

We left the house at 9:15 am. We were still in the car at 3:15 pm. Suddenly his joke about going to Chicago didn't seem so funny. Nor his singing We're on the Road to Nowhere. At 3:50 pm we pulled into a nondescript hotel along a highway. When we got into the room he handed the kids an envelop with 5 sheets of paper.

They were tickets to the True Colors concert that night in a venue five miles from our hotel.

My husband drove all of us nearly 300 miles to attend a Gay-palooza organized by Cyndi Lauper and the HRC to raise awareness about the Matthew Shepard amendment being considered for the federal hate crimes bill in the Senate.

I'll admit, I moaned a bit when I realized the tour with Cyndi Lauper (remember my kids sing Cyndi?), Debbie Harry of Blondie (hello? the shirt!) and of course Erasure would be in our home town during our vacation. But I moaned at most a day and I worked hard to get over it. In fact, I almost forgot the concert was even happening. Almost.

So imagine my honey's surprise when I told him that if we were at home I had no intention of taking the kids to the concert. Not because of the music (my kids also got to hear Dresden Dolls and Rufus Wainwright) but because of the MC between the acts. Apparently he had never heard of Margaret Cho. But after her first 10 minute routine we heard with the kids, we started forcing bathroom breaks and food runs on them.

But I have to say that watching my sons sing to Erasure was a trip. Having my daughter in her Tide is High t-shirt and pink cowgirl hat befriend TJ and John next to us, was so much fun. She had them dancing with her. When they left she was so sad. "Oh, my little fag hag" said my husband as he comforted her.

And we were back on the beach by Monday afternoon.

I'm not a stalker

Please be assured that I have no plans of stalking anyone. Really.

It isn't like I've been following the British synth-popster Vince Clark since the mid-1980's and own nearly every single record and/or CD he has been involved in.

Who, you ask? Who?

Vince Clark:

was a founding member of Depeche Mode in the late 1970's and wrote nearly all the songs on their first album Speak and Spell (including my favorite Boys Say Go).

left the band and created Yaz (Yazoo in England) with Alison Moyet - Don't Go, Situation, and Midnight are just yummy.

there was a little adventure called The Assembly that produced a single.

Then, the wonderful and glorious Andy Bell joined Vince to form Erasure and for the last 20 years have created such tunes as Blue Savannah, Oh L'Amour, Sometimes and Always.

I've seen them open for Duran Duran in the 1980's. That's right, I went to a huge venue to dance and scream during the opening act. The lights were on, the teeny-boppers talked through the performance and were very confused with the lead singer in a rubber top that resembled a baseball catcher's vest.

Then there was the night they performed an over-21 performance while I was still a senior in high school (therefore NOT 21). I cried at home. At one point my dad offered to take me and tell the bar owners he wouldn't let me drink. I explained it was a bar, not an R rated movie. But to this day I'm still grateful that he understood how deep this adoration goes.

So deep in fact that when they toured for Chorus AND DIDN'T GO TO NEW ORLEANS (hello - do they know there are gay people there? And hags who LOVE them?) friends at the time who were living in Houston went to the concert and got a poster signed for me. Why didn't I go? I was a public school teacher and it was during the week. Houston and during the week. Just adding insult to injury.

Even my kids - who will insist on the same song over and over and OVER again regardless of the crazed look on my face - realized they had to relinquish the car CD player last Tuesday evening so I could play the newest CD, Light at the End of the World. When there were a few whimpers I would say with reverence "But I'm hearing these songs for the first time!"

And now the song they call "# 2" (I could fall in love with you) is the new favorite for the kids. Just keeping them culturally informed.

Last week there was an article about Vince Clark in my local paper to correspond with the release of this CD. And guess what? He lives 2 hours and 59 minutes from my house. It's not like I inserted my town and his town into Google Maps and figured out he lives THREE HOURS AWAY FROM ME!!

Breath. I promise I will not jump in the car and descend upon his quaint little home. Really.

Really.

Because the Erasure shirt is too small

Huh? The Erasure shirt?

Diva

When I was 8 and 9 years old I would lip-sync to Donna Summers in the living room. The record player was in one room and there was a speaker in the living room (how cool was that). I would strut, croon and wiggle to my heart's content.

I have no memories of anyone watching me. It was my own private performance. There were no doors so various family members probably watched but they have kept quiet for all of these years.

I rarely can see my 2 year old sing in her car seat since I am usually driving and she sits behind the driver's seat. On one of those rare times we were all in the car together, I was in the passenger seat. She was singing to the song on the CD (Erasure, of course) and looking out the window. Then she broke into a perfect

You got to believe!

Complete with eyes closed, head back and teeth bared. When she opened her eyes, she saw me staring at her. I was smiling because while she was 6 years early, I knew exactly where she was in her creative mind.

"No mommy! Don't watch me!"

My work is done

I put Laurie Berkner in the mini-van CD player.

From the carseat behind me,

"Um, um, um, no, No, NO, NO! I don't want Laurie Berkner!"

"I WANT ERASURE!"

There's nothing else to teach her.

In training

My daughter's favorite t-shirt to sleep in is too small for her but she loves it. She looks for it in the dirty clothes basket and has to be convinced to wear a different shirt until it is clean. In case you can't read the font it says:

My Mum's an Erasure Fan

That's right. My daughter is a fag-hag-in-training. She's singing tunes from the Moulin Rogue soundtrack. We'll work our way up to Wonderland.

First time

I've been writing for an office blog - a practice "sandbox" - to see how a system change organization can use blogs and Wiki to change the world. Or at least help low-income women become economically independent. Not that many poor people have blogged their way to self-sufficiency. But once that is up and running I'll be sure to link to it.

I want to write my own things. I'm definitely the one on the office blog who keeps writing when no one else does. So time to jump on my own.

Musings of a soccer mom in denial. I have three mostly amazing kids who drive me nuts and make me love them more every day. I drive a mini-van (that's called "mom's car") complete with a soccer air freshener. Yet I've convinced my kids that Erasure and Eurythmics are children's music so now we are listening to "Right By Your Side" over and over again. Better than Barney...