I'm in love with this video. Happy Halloween, folks. More coming tomorrow.

This is almost as good as Jimmy's Neil Young impersonation videos. If you haven't seen them, go look up his version of the theme song to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" or his duet with Bruce Springsteen of Willow Smith's "I Whip My Hair Back and Forth," both with Jimmy as Neil Young.

"And Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us. This pier lights our carnival life forever. Oh, love me tonight, for I may never see you again. Hey, Sandy girl, my, my, baby." ~bruce springsteen

.

I have another day off tomorrow thanks to Sandy. Today I ventured outside to look around and to meet a friend for dinner, and luckily my neighborhood wasn't hit too hard. I saw one store awning that had fallen and a handful of fallen trees, but it seems like we got pretty lucky compared to what others in NY and NJ are facing. And I never lost power, which is a blessing. I've seen tons of pictures and videos of what's happening elsewhere, and I'm in awe of the devastation. I feel for everyone hit hard by the storm and am thinking of and praying for them.

"Hurricane Jessie's gonna crash into the harbor this summer. She don't wanna wait till she gets older. Hurricane Jessie's gonna crash into the harbor this summer. She don't want to wait, she said it only gets harder." ~the hold steady

Folks, thanks to Sandy Frankenstorm you get to see what happens when I'm really bored. I've had a whole lotta time stuck in my apartment with nothing to do and nowhere to go, so I've been playing around on my computer. Scroll down to check out my recent posts (music-related), because I've been posting a lot lately. Here's another project I did. I watched last week's Parks and Recreation a whole bunch of times, and I made some gifs of my favorite scene. The gifs are after the jump; don't click if you don't want to know what happened in the last episode. Stay tuned for more evidence of my boredom.

 "'Cause I belong to the hurricane, it's going to blow this all away." ~florence + the machine


Scroll down to my last post to see/hear my favorite hurricane-themed song. 

Because I didn't have school today (or tomorrow) thanks to Hurricane Sandy, I had time to put together another Counting Crows concert post!

Counting Crows is my favorite band, so seeing them once last week just wasn't enough (scroll down for my previous CC concert post from earlier in the week). I also saw them at Roseland Ballroom on Thursday. I've seen CC so many times that at this point I'm always thrilled to hear them play a song I haven't heard live before (I'll be perfectly happy to never hear them play Mr. Jones again because I've heard it so many times). This time, I was happy to hear Monkey, St. Robinson In His Cadillac Dream, Richard Manuel Is Dead, Time and Time Again, and a bunch of the covers they did (Like Teenage Gravity, Look At Miss Ohio). I will never get sick of Holiday In Spain, no matter how often I hear it. I'm obsessed with that song, and it's their best closer. It was a great concert. Not their best, but still wonderful. I particularly liked the version of Goodnight Elisabeth they played, and Omaha and Hanginaround were fun because the crowd got involved.

Tender Mercies and Mean Creek opened for CC, and I was so, so excited to see Tender Mercies live. I love them. Half of Counting Crows is actually in Tender Mercies, which is kind of funny. They played some of my favorites; I was particularly thrilled to hear them play Wiseblood.

I recorded Counting Crows, so here's my recording. I'm surprised at how well it turned out considering where I was standing. Being in front of the stage right next to a speaker isn't a great place from which to record, but it actually sounds okay. You can download all the tracks here if you want.

I filmed Holiday in Spain because I love it so much.
The video doesn't include his intro speech, which I love, but it's on the audio version.
I also love how he adds something about this city not being a drag whenever he sings this song in NYC. 

 

"Well you can only pray, when you're waitin' out the hurricane. Waitin' out the hurricane." ~augustana



I love, love, love this song, and this seems like an appropriate time to post it. Here's the video I filmed of Augustana playing this song at Rockwood Music Hall awhile ago. It was a fabulous, intimate, concert, and this song was one of the highlights. Be ready for a new post tomorrow, and if you're in Sandy's path, stay safe.

"So cover this warm night in a blanket of starlight. I will follow this freeway, out into the air. In case you should wonder and wanted to find me, I'm traveling homeward to Washington Square. In case you should wonder, I'm in Washington Square, Washington Square, Washington Square." ~counting crows

I think I said my next post would be about theater, but that'll have to come later. Right now my favorite band is on my mind! Look who I got to see perform today!

 If you read this blog at all or know anything about me, you know I'm obsessed with Counting Crows. My tattoo is CC-inspired (by the song "A Murder of One"). I've seen them more times than I can count. I have a huge crush on AD. Yes, I am being completely serious when I say that. Most people find it hard to believe. I love the dreadlocks, the puppy eyes, the goofy grin...anyway, I'm a big fan. At tonight's concert, I ended up with a setlist AND a guitar pick! (I collect both.) This guitar pick is from Immy, which is perfect, because I already have one from Dan (from a concert about five years ago).

They played a short setlist (it was a free concert), but it was still wonderful.

The past few days have been filled with AD. On Saturday I stood next to him for about half an hour, watching a concert. He stepped on my foot when he tried to get around me on his way out, and we did that awkward little dance when each person is trying to get out of the other's way and ends up being more in the way. AD can step on my foot anytime.

Audio (I had a few minor audio issues in the first couple of songs, but it gets better. Please excuse my singing during certain songs; at some points I forgot to just mouth the words rather than sing.):

Untitled:

Start Again:


Rain King:


Mercy:


Meet on the Ledge:


Washington Square:


I love that AD is a New Yorker, and I love how much he loves being a New Yorker.

"The first cut is the deepest, baby I know the first cut is the deepest. 'Cause when it comes to being lucky he's cursed, when it comes to lovin' me he's worse. But when it comes to being loved he's first, that's how I know the first cut is the deepest, baby I know the first cut is the deepest." ~cat stevens (performed by p.p. arnold)

I've seen a handful of movies lately (The Master, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, Argo, Seven Psychopaths) and the song above is in Seven Psychopaths. The movie has a good soundtrack, and I think the music is an integral part of a movie. I had to see it because I'm kind of obsessed with Martin McDonagh. He's best known as a playwright (windowcards from many of his plays are hanging on my living room wall), and this is his second movie (he wrote and directed it). I enjoyed it; it's better than McDonagh's first movie (In Bruges) but not as good as most of his plays. My favorite recent film is Argo. I think Ben Affleck is an incredibly talented director (I'm pretty sure I wrote a gushing post around the time The Town came out).

Funny observation on the Emmys: I've met three of this year's female winners (Claire Danes, Julianne Moore, Maggie Smith).

I love this video. I've been following the growth of this adorable panda cub in San Diego, and he's just too cute. He's starting to walk!
 


Next post will probably be a huge theater post; I've seen a TON of shows lately.

 "I'm not here looking for absolution, because I found myself an old solution. I'm not here looking for absolution, because I found myself an old solution." ~florence + the machine

This is my fall TV post. Here's my initial take on the season's new shows as well as my returning faves.

New Shows:

The new show I'm most excited about is Nashville, which premieres this Wednesday. Based on everything I've read, it seems like it'll be the new biggest hit. It'll be weird to see Connie Britton as someone other than Tami Taylor/Mrs. Coach (oh, how I miss Friday Night Lights), but I love her and am sure she'll be amazing. And I generally love anything in which T Bone Burnett is involved. This show looks like it's right up my alley, and I'm super excited to see it.

Elementary: I'm surprised at how much I like this one. The chemistry between Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller makes this modern day Sherlock Holmes tale (set in NYC) worth watching.

Ben and Kate: I wish this show were on during a different timeslot, because I think it's a cute show and would like to stick with it. Right now, though, I already watch Hart of Dixie at that time and probably won't be able to keep up with Ben and Kate. But I like the relationship between this pair of adult siblings, and Maggie Elizabeth Jones is absolutely adorable as Kate's daughter (and she's not too precocious, which I appreciate).

The Mindy Project: This is another sitcom about which I'm cautiously optimistic. Mindy Kaling is a smart, hilarious writer who has created a flawed lead character you can't help but root for. The supporting cast is really strong, too (I love Anna Camp and Chris Messina).

The New Normal: Meh. I wanted to like this show because it stars so many people I've seen onstage (Andrew Rannells, Justin Bartha, Ellen Barkin), but most of the characters seem like two-dimensional stereotypes. Although I do have to give the show props for honoring Grey Gardens in one episode! I loved that.

Go On: Here's another one I want to like because of the cast (I like Matthew Perry, and I love theater vets Julie White and Laura Benanti). I'll stick with it for awhile, but it hasn't really grabbed me yet.

Revolution: It's hard to tell now where this will go, but I like it so far. Billy Burke is the standout for me, and it's an interesting premise. I'm really curious to see where Elizabeth Mitchell's storyline is going, and curiosity is a good thing.

666 Park Avenue: Another "meh." I like the cast, we'll see where it goes.

Returning Shows (no spoilers included):

Homeland, Homeland, Homeland. This is my favorite show ever. I seriously think it might be the best TV show ever made. Have I talked about the Emmys yet? I watched them with Nicole and I think I scared her with my insane excitement at all of Homeland's wins. I mean, the show won best drama series in it's first year of eligibility (stealing the crown from Mad Men, which had won four years in a row). Of course Claire Danes won for best actress (that was a given). I didn't think I could love her more than I already did, but her acceptance speech managed to convince me otherwise. "Mandy Patinkin, holla!" Oh, Claire. I wish I could work that phrase into all of my conversations. "Mandy Patinkin, holla!" indeed. But I really lost it when Damian Lewis won best actor in a drama series; that was an upset I never could have predicted (everyone thought the race was between Bryan Cranston, who was three for three in that category, and Jon Hamm, who has never won for Mad Men but whom many considered deserving). I literally jumped up from the couch and screamed in joy. So anyway, Homeland won big at the Emmys and I believe the show was 100% deserving. This season is already off to a riveting start (and I've heard the third episode brings the show to new heights, if that's even possible).

Revenge: I have the season 1 DVD and rewatched the entire first season before this season began in preparation. It was great to be reminded of everything I love about this show. My favorite thing about it is the relationship between Emily and Nolan, and I can't wait to see more of their scheming in season 2. I'm especially excited about Jennifer Jason Leigh joining the show.

Parenthood: I'm surprised that the storyline I'm enjoying the most so far this season is Julia and Joel's. I want to see more of how Victor is fitting into their family. I like Ray Romano's character, although I'm wary of his growing relationship with Sarah.

Grey's Anatomy: I'm not sure why I still watch this show; I guess it's just a habit that I can't break. It seems silly to give up at this point. I'm just sick of all the disasters and deaths and catastrophes.

Scandal: I'm liking this season so far. They manage to dole out information at a good pace; they give you just enough and still manage to keep you interested and curious.

Hart of Dixie: I really liked Lemon in this season's premiere, and I think (hope) she'll have a good arc this season. I'm a bit annoyed at how the love triangle (square?) from last season's finale was "resolved," but I still am eager to see what happens.

The Amazing Race: The twins! I love the twins! They're hilarious!

Survivor: I like this season so far! I'm on Team Denise; I'd love to see her win. She reminds me of my mom (I realize in some ways they're very different, but I see similarities).


Chuck has left a gaping hole in my TV life, but I'm managing.

Thank you for 19 wonderful years, Chipper.