Whole Lotta French and Saunders

This post was inspired by my good friend Jennie. For you newer readers that are wondering who Jennie is, the time will come for that post. For you more dedicated folk, you may remember her from other posts as: a friend from school, a friend from work, a good pally I had a good Thanksgiving turkey sandwich with. But this is really neither here nor there.

The point is that she referred to me as a “book obsessed” person one of her most recent blog posts. This is not offensive, nor worrisome. It was the word “obsessed” that made me start a-thinkin. I have been called this before in reference to many things: books (clearly), Beatles (you should see my room, it’s like I’m a teenager in the 60’s), and whatever currently grabs my fancy. Currently, my obsession de-jour is the ever funny French and Saunders (mostly Saunders) double act.

I stumbled onto this dynamic British duo during the summer. My dear friend David and I were in a public library several years ago (probably 2005-ish) just wandering around. He saw a copy of a show called Absolutely Fabulous, and asked me if I had ever seen it. I hadn’t. And at that time, my anglophile-ness hadn’t really reached the level it is now, so I brushed it off. I had always liked those old British sitcoms you see on PBS late at night, but didn’t actively seek them out. So, one day this summer, I saw Series 1 (they call 6 episode seasons “series” in the UK) of Absolutely Fabulous (or Ab Fab, as is commonly called) at the library. I picked it up skeptically because the cover of the DVD looked old. I was hooked within 10 minutes of the first episode.

The show revolves around a character named Edwina Monsoon (played by Jennifer Saunders), a self-obsessed, alcoholic, drug abusing, middle-aged woman who can’t get out of the 60’s. Sounds bleak? No, it’s hilarious because they pull it off with British humor. Here in the states they tend to not “go that far” with jokes and apologize the moment they do. They end out sitcoms (other than maybe Seinfeld) with sweet syrupy messages. This show does no such thing. Eddie’s best friend Patsy is just as bad, if not worse. Eddie also has a mild mannered daughter named Saffy who is their foil. The show was originally made in the early 90’s, and has 5 sporadic series (6 episodes each), with several “special Christmas episodes”, throughout the past 20 years. It is an iconic comedy in the UK and recently returned on Christmas day for another 30 minute special, with two more to follow in the next few months.

The show started from a 9 minute sketch on the French and Saunders sketch show. Jennifer Saunders took this character she had portrayed and decided to write a show around her. Dawn French, her comedy partner, was unable to do the series with her. Saunders has won a BAFTA (like an Emmy and Oscar mixed together) for her work on the show and was nominated for several others. The following clips are some of my favorites from the entire show (they are super short clips).

Eddie and Patsy are forced to take a menopause class

Baby shower confusion



Drug convictions

New Years Eve plans

After I had watched every episode twice, and then bought all the episodes, I decided to check out clips from the French and Saunders show. I’ll admit, I didn’t love it at first. The show is very British and it took me a couple tries before I could start understand their accents, and then catch on to the humor. Now, I own all of their series as well. The show started in the late 80’s, and they’ve since retired it. It is also an iconic show, and French and Saunders received the highest honor the BAFTA’s could give a couple years ago for their contribution to television. What I like most about the show is that it is two lead females and that when you watch it, you just keep thinking “That’s exactly what that’s like.” Of course, there is also slight exaggeration for comic effect, but I think what makes it so funny is that it is so true. I’ve attached two clips below that I think are pretty good.

"I've Had That"



Schoolyard Trouble

Lobster Night

I had decided that I wanted to try and make lobster when I watched an Alton Brown episode last summer. I have never really had lobster, didn't even know if I liked it. But I did like the challenge. So I roped my friend Avery into it and on the 22nd we headed up to Dan's on Foothill to buy ourselves some lobsters. (For readers also interested, that is the cheapest place to buy it, I called around). These pictures detail our night. There were plenty of laughs and screams (very loud screams), but fear was overcome and we prevailed with two delicious lobsters.

Conclusion: I don't much care for lobster.

The Swedes (Part 2)

So here we are with what I consider the greatest contributions to pop music . You may think these songs cheesy, silly, etc, but popularity and sales don’t lie. People like this music and buy it, even if it is just a guilty pleasure. I submit to you the jury, Exhibit C.

Max Martin:
If you were into the bubblegum pop and boyband scene in the late 90’s, early 2000’s, you may recognize this name. When he was just 25, he started writing and producing for a band called The Backstreet Boys. I think his discography speaks for itself:
Backstreet Boys: Quit Playing Games, We’ve Got It Goin On, Everybody (Backstreet’s Back), As Long As You Love Me, Larger than Life, I Want It That Way, Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely, The One, The Call, Shape of My Heart, Just Want You to Know, I Still…, Climbing the Walls, Bigger (and many more, including solo albums)
Robyn (see yesterday): Do You Know (What It Takes), Show Me Love, Time Machine
NSync: I Want You Back, Tearin Up My Heart, It’s Gonna Be Me
Britney Spears: Baby One More Time, You Drive Me Crazy, Oops!..I Did It again, Stronger, Lucky, Overprotected, I’m Not a Girl Not Yet a Woman, If U Seek Amy, 3, Hold It Against Me, I Wanna Go, Till the World Ends (many more)
Celine Dion: That’s the Way It Is
Bon Jovi: It’s My Life
Kelly Clarkson: Since U Been Gone, Behind These Hazel Eyes, My Life Would Suck Without You
P!nk: Who Knew, U + Ur Hand, So What, I Don’t Believe You, Please Don’t Leave Me, Whataya Want From Me (also released by Adam Lambert), Raise You Glass, Perfect
Katy Perry: I Kissed a Girl, Hot n Cold, California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Last Friday Night (TGIF), The One That Got Away, ET (plus more)
Leona Lewis: I Got You
Taio Cruz: Dynamite
Usher: DJ Got Us Fallin in Love
Avril Lavigne: What the Hell, Smile, Wish You Were Here
Glee Cast: Loser Like Me, Light Up the World

In addition he has worked with: Bryan Adams, Westlife, A-ha, The Veronicas, Enrique Iglesias, James Blunt, Daughtry, Carolina Liar, Simple Plan, Cyndi Lauper, Sugababes, Carrie Underwood, Ke$ha, TI, Pitbull, and the newest pop sensation Jessie J. When reviewing the “original songs” he wrote for the TV show Glee, Rolling Stone said “For their first foray into original music, the producers of Glee didn't exactly go out on a limb: They hired Swedish songwriting genius Max Martin, the most reliable and prolific hitmaker of the last decade and a half.” And this Swede is still only 40 years old.

Abba:
In other words, the greatest pop band of all time. They have sold over 370 million records worldwide, making them the fourth best selling music artists in the history of recorded music, behind only The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson (woah-za). They still sell between two to three million albums a year (thank you Mamma Mia). Last year they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I don’t know how to talk about them because they are so prolific, even after Abba disbanded. The two men of the group wrote other musicals, including Chess and obviously Mamma Mia, which was one of the biggest selling movies that year. I can only submit Exhibits D, E, F, G, etc etc as clips because hearing is believing when it comes to them.

So, I feel like I’ve proved my point, especially with the last two. I’m not going to even talk about other successes, such as Roxette, Ace of Base, and current boomers Swedish House Mafia. Every nation has its collection of hitmakers, in my opinion the UK and US reign supreme. But in pop music, the greatest contributions have come from the ol’ Blue and Yellow, as I call them. No need to argue, just enjoy.

The Swedes (Part 1)

Sweden is known for many things. It’s blue and yellow flag, it’s yellow haired population, and that it is a big country located somewhere near Finland and Denmark (geography is not my strong point). However, I would like to throw something else in the mix and praise them for another thing they are good at. And that is that as far as pop music is concerned, the Swedes do it best (when I speak of pop music, I am referring not to the technical term of “popular music”, but the “bubble gum” dance infused melodies). Generally speaking, Europe is the greatest geographical area for pop music (Euro Pop), and I have been known to sing the praises of Her Majesty’s England in producing music. However, you can’t argue with facts, and the facts are these.

Robyn:
You may remember this blond pixie from her 1997 hits “Do You Know (What It Takes)” and “Show Me Love.” I have a special place in my heart for her because she was the first non-Disney CD I ever owned. And man, in my 6th grade class, she was it. She was cooler than the Backstreet Boys (for some reason) and ever cooler than the Spice Girls (also not sure why). She disappeared a little during the early 2000’s, only to resurge on the scene having shook off the shackles of her previous record label, and began to make her own sound. The wonderful electro-pop sound that we hear on our radios so much today. She had stayed fairly famous in Europe during this time, but had not cracked America again. With her next project, she would embark on a 3 CD release in one year, the “Body Talk” mini albums. Rolling Stone said about this project and the final combined CD that "It all adds up to the best dance-pop album of 2010, 15 songs that are both immaculately catchy and packed with quirks". At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 86, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim." My personal favorites include: Dancing on My Own, Hang With Me, Indestructible, Time Machine, and Call Your Girlfriend. This Swede knocked it out of the park. See Dancing On My Own Music Video (WARNING: she's a terrible dancer)

RedOne:
This next entry may not be as familiar of a name. His real name is Nadir Khayat, and he is a producer and songwriter. Let me list some of the songs he has produced: Just Dance, LoveGame, Poker Face, Bad Romance, Alejandro, On the Floor, I Like It. That’s right folks, he is the mega-producer behind Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, and is considered by some to be the key to Lady Gaga’s success. Whether you love her or hate her, she has dominated the last few years in pop music and he has been a key contributor to all her albums. He has been nominated for multiple Grammy awards and has been the #1 producer on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. There are many more bright years ahead for this Swede. I would post a Lady Gaga music video or song, but there would be lots of WARNINGS for those. So, see youtube if you care.

This is the end of today’s entry. I will continue with another post tomorrow, as this one has already gone on too long. If you are not convinced yet, wait for my last two pieces of evidence. You will be.

My Two Favorite Things

Is calling them things rude? You get my point. I will just let these pictures describe the cuteness (with maybe a couple words).

L: Sam wearing his dad's old pajamas M: Sam eating his shoes R: wearing overalls so I could see


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