Random thoughts…

My ADD is in high gear today, so I’m just going to throw some thoughts out there.

1. What is the big hubbub over Idletard? It’s gone. Good riddance. I got over people like that a long time ago.

2. Is the balloon boy hoax more harmful to the American public than Taylor Hicks’ hoax that he’s going to bring “real music back to fucking pop music”?

3. Don’t hate my brilliance.

4. I have decided that Taylor Hicks fans need a sense of humor. Somewhere, somehow, their collective sense of humor got lost. He’s a reality TV winner. I mean, let’s not go choosing our lottery numbers by his birthday or anything. That being said, it’s not blasphemy when I post about other musicians. Expanding horizons are a good thing. Expanding waistlines, not so much.

5. When did grownups start thinking Halloween was for them? Martha Stewart and Southern Living Magazine did not invent Halloween.

6. I’ll close here by saying I have never forced any staff members of this blog to sleep with me to keep their job. Granted, it’s just me…but I’m not pulling a Letterman.

Help!! I’m being sucked back in….

Every once in a while, I think to myself…Ok, I’m done. I don’t need to hear every little bit of Taylor news. I don’t need to know where he is 24/7. I don’t care who he’s dating. I just am going to back to my normal life and leave Taylor in the past. Every time, Taylor then does something to pull me back in. I knew that the Mecca weekend would bring some pretty good videos. I knew Taylor would be on his best behavior and put on a hell of a show. I don’t think he disappointed anyone. Not even me.

Here are some of the videos responsible for my inner fangirl seeing the light of day:

Wow. Tons of emotion in this one…

I haven’t listened to this song in a very, very long time…and hearing it brought back some memories…good and bad. I can’t say enough about Brian Less. He is seriously awesome!!

Josh Smith. AMAZING. If you’re like me, you’ll skip to about the 4 minute mark when the magic begins. What can I say? WRIR is not one of my favorites…but damn, the ending is fantastic!!

Whew. I’m about spent. But this one…is very cool. Love, love, love the original ones.

Shut up and sing. I voted for you.

Priceless.

“I hope everybody can hear me…”

Taylor Hicks Webcast 09/10/09 03:19PM

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more about “Taylor Hicks Webcast 09/10/09 03:19PM…“, posted with vodpod

 

Some random observations:

1. Distracted much, Taylor? Dude, Ritalin can be your friend.

2. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could actually smell the person that was talking? What? Might be a good thing…might not be.

3. So, I guess Taylor is now an Idol expert since he’s talking on the Early Show. Guess what? The Early Show is on in the morning. Ha.

4. Taylor does not want to be on COPS. Damn, that could have been fun. He could always be on Entourage. That can’t be too far from the truth. They just did an episode at a celebrity golf tourney!

5. How many times is he going to say “You guys!!”?

6. “Let me read some of this chat stuff. Ummmm…..cool.” ahahhahahahhaaha

7. 1976-1982 That’s what he wants to go back to? Oh boy. He wants to be the next Tom Jones. Well, he’s already got a drum full of panties.

8. Limin’…gotta love that song.

9. You can tell that he is definitely having a hard time focusing. And he’s cracking himself up too.

10. ” Hire a good mouthpiece.” “Don’t date a musician and don’t mess with anybody’s dogs.” Ok, is it just me or does it seem like Taylor talks in sound bites?

11. It seems a little odd to me that he won’t mention the cologne he wears. Is it because it’s too personal? Or because he doesn’t want 4908574 bottles sent to him? Or is it because it’s really Love’s Baby Soft Musk? ahahaha

12. Well, that was…interesting.

Well, I’m kind of impressed…

Woke up this morning and noticed that Taylor had an announcement. The old taylorhicks.com is out the window, and a new revamped website is up. It’s kind of like a Facebook for Taylor fans. You can add photos, videos and become “friends” with other fans. It’s an interesting concept, and may help the fandom in the long run. Kudos to Taylor and his crew for doing this!! Here’s some great pics that Taylor posted:

The harps…how cool is this pic?

Check it out!!

My Taylor Hicks journey…

Thanks to NolaMar for these great pics!! Seeing them reminded me of my TH journey.

This is like the beginning of my journey, so full of optimism and hope for the future, waiting to see Taylor on American Idol every week. Reading all the blogs, listening to all the pre-AI music that Taylor had done.

Then I partook in the excitement and the music, loving every minute of it. The American Idol tour, the shadow gigs, traveling around the country going to concerts, making great friends.

Then came the bitterness of the Soul Patrol, the fan site wars, the competition of who was the better fan fueled by speculation of who Taylor was really dating. The excitement and the music were still there, but the drama of the fandom took it’s toll.

But yet, with a smile on my face, I keep coming back for more. Drawn by the music, perhaps drawn by the potential that I see. Maybe I’m still waiting for that “something”…

And then this:

Thanks to Candy for getting this!! Gotta love Spoonful James. These guys rock!!

Spoonful James/Taylor Hicks

(thanks to 4tay for the pictures)

Thanks to Seven Days for showing me this from the Boogies.

Oh yes. You can have it on your iPod now.

It’s a beautiful thing…

Yay!! Vids from Smiths!!

This is a great vid…

Nice.

I don’t know…maybe people should have talked louder in this one. They almost drowned him out.

There is something about this video…something about the way he sings, the expressions. Just reminds me of the old shadow tours.

The Distance

Get into the wayback machine with me…the last time Taylor was at Smiths.

Any Spoonful James vids out there? I couldn’t find any. *crying*

So, I’ll just have to post this one.

Ok, sit down…

…get a drink, and clean off the computer screen. I want you to watch these videos of the Triple Door, BUT I want you to watch them in HD, then hit full screen. I have never seen clearer videos on YouTube. Big shoutout to Lh1100, whoever you may be..these are very much appreciated.

Have I mentioned my love of tags?

Harp. Yes.

Are you doing what I said? HD and full screen.

Um. Taylor speaks. And this: “This is the most words I’ve said since I’ve been here in Seattle. Something about the weather.” Oh, he’s trying to be funny..and actually does a pretty good job of it. Then, he explains why he’s not playing the guitar. Ok, he needs to act like this in concerts all the time. And for all you Bill Will fans out there, there is a glimpse of the fair haired wonder boy. More tagging, too. GAH!

Turning the dinner theater into a roadhouse…and I’m liking the way he’s handling that guitar. There. I said it.

I Live on a Battlefield…Great solo by Josh Smith. What’s up with him wearing ties now?

Woman’s Gotta Have It. Taylor wanted to turn the lights down low, but the lighting guy didn’t want to, I guess.

My Sweet Lord…playful Taylor on stage, actually encouraging the audience to participate. Very nice.

All in all, those videos have to be the best concert footage that I’ve seen of Taylor. Thanks again for putting them out there.

Finally, finally the man speaks on stage. Yes.

Love is a Battlefield..or something like that

A big thanks to Robin for bringing this video to my attention.Out of all the songs on The Distance, (aside from Indiscriminate Act of Kindness), this is the song, I Live on a Battlefield, that I’ve wanted to hear live the most. I wanted to hear how Taylor would sing this, away from the constraints of the studio. I was not disappointed…and Josh, you rocked. Wow!! Oh, and I’m loving the new look on Josh too. Stepping it up a little, I see.

I can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am that somebody got Taylor tagging, also.

Hymns to the Silence, Raincheck, and Days Like This are sampled here. What a great tribute to Van Morrison.

And I hope we get something like this performance on Wednesday night…I’m sure it won’t be quite this long..but please, give us some harp!!

Might not be so bad after all…

According to the latest figures over at MJ’s, while The Distance might only be 58th on the Billboard 200, he’s 5th on the Top Independent Albums chart, and 16th on the Top Internet Albums chart. While it’s not the huge numbers that he experienced with his Taylor Hicks cd, it’s pretty damn good for a release on a private label. If I’m honest about it, I guess I don’t really expect huge numbers from Hicks, considering his music isn’t exactly mainstream. My guess is that he’s probably happy doing what he’s doing now. He’s way better off than he was when he was traveling around the country in a van with no air conditioning, which also doubled as a merchandise table, I’m sure. He has a place to sleep every night, he gets media (although most of it isn’t exactly good), and he’s able to do the shadow tour, even though it is only once every couple of weeks or so.

Let’s face it. This is a small fandom. He’s probably not going to reach the numbers of a Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood, ever. But, as long as continues making music in a live venue, he’s going to make 95% of us happy. The reports of the shadow tours that I am hearing are good, and he seems to be getting better with each show. Just keep on keeping on, Taylor.