#36: It ain't my life, just my passion!

[Cotton]

Oh, Wow!

I just though of a great montage. Maybe somebody has done it already, I don't know.

Picture the movie Love Letters.

This song - in the background of pictures of the older couple, I think they were dancing down by the water at one point - of them having dinner together by candlelight. Then flashbacks of them in their youth.

Has somebody done this?

I'm going searching at youtube.

If I get lost - somebody come find me!

[justclay12]

Cotton, I wish I looked that good. And my body wouldn't have fit in that dress 20 years ago let alone today. And Couchie, your lioness is adorable.

[Couch Tomato]

Ah thanks...she did really good for her first time but when they had the big closing prodcution number she seemed in awe of everything going on around her and seeing how her little steps fit in..and her favorite part was watching the curtain go down on the end. She asked her brother (who is quite the clacker at only 9) if he got that on the video tape during dress rehearsal.

Lucky I think you got it..regarding the lyrics.

[Cotton]

Well, the pictures are from 5 years ago at DS's wedding.

I did gain weight, but lost it all last year when I go so sick, so I could probably get in it today.

Sad thing is - when I gained and lost so much - my skin stretched and it still the same! Ack! Talk about everything going south!!!

ETA:

Couchie, how old is she?

I must have the name of the movie wrong.

James Garner - what is it?

[Couch Tomato]

the thought of me getting in something from 20 years ago is laughable. Let's just say I was called skinny minny until at least the age of 30.

She turned 6 on Wednesday Cotton.

ETA: I saw that movie..Love Letter..that sounds right.

[Cotton]

Well, here's an interesting one from Yollie - Legends - Something About Us

ETA:

Oh, CRAP!

I'm in this one by

This one is "Something about Spam!

[Claygasm]

SAU is one of those songs that I think is going to kick-ass when you see him sing it "live" but doesn't have the same visceral feeling to me when you just listen to it.

I think that's why I loved it from the start. The first time I heard it was when I saw him perform it at QVC. I t was the only one of the songs he sang that really struck me - partially due to the bad sound in the studio. But I just thought it was so sexy and jazzy. I thought the same thing after watching him seduce me on the AOL video. Oddly enough, it was the only song that didn't get a standing ovation from the audience.

I'm hoping Mr. Aiken is in Birmingham, Alabama tonite....getting ready to celebrate the wedding of his good friend Ruben. That would make me smile.

It would make me smile too. I love their friendship! I would bet anything if he's back from Somalia, he is there. I cannot imagine Ruben not wanting him there and I can see Clay moving heaven and earth to get back in time to be there!

LadyJ said it best the other day..it really is all about tone.

To me it makes no sense for there to be anger and bitterness behind the words when you're talking about hair.

What do you m ean no anger and bitterness about hair???? BAD HAIR IS INEXCUSABLE!!!!! <snark>

TGIF!!!! Its been a VERY long week!!!

[keepingfaith]

With the advent of satellite radio, the earthly airwaves are called terrestrial -- so yes, AM and FM radio. I have no idea what the eventual outcome could be, but I do know that this will be a huge fight as things now stand -- and that passage next year could be more likely. I do believe that this legislation is a reaction to the overblown power and outrageous profits of a very few broadcast groups, and you know who they are, in comparison to the near financial collapse of the recording industry. With almost everyone ripping music for free, at least the ones profiting from it should have to pay. I have a suspicion that payola is not such a factor under these conditions. CC is a monolith and forcing it to share the wealth with the artists and labels they freely exploit is the right thing to do in my mind. The fallout? I don't know. But as far as Clay is concerned the status quo isn't working so well, so I'd look kindly on change fraught with possibilities. How it would work would undoubtedly be controlled to some extent by legislation. You could imagine a lot of scenarios ...

a standardized pricetag?

a tiered system?

established artists costing more than new talent?

broadcasters buying package deals that would further guarantee saturation play?

more talk shows and less music?

increased political bias? It exists now, so does anyone think that CC would ever pay to play the Dixie Chicks?

Actually, I foresee terrestrial radio as having numbered days anyway, especially where music is concerned. Does Clay get played on satellite radio?

Regarding SAU, I think I already posted about my CD in the car skipping from the middle of EIDN to, "Stop the Music! Play the song ..." and it became clear to me that's exactly what that meant. Stop everything .... and play the song, their song. I get in the mood for this one. Some days I do skip it altogether, and other days I hit repeat. It's not a style of music that I would ordinarily fall for, but Clay is clearly in his element here and I love the sounds he makes. He way he sings this is just sex-aay.

Great pictures, Cotton! You two make a hot looking couple. And speaking of hot, HeidiHo, you are smokin' this board today. More! More!

(((Couchie)))

(((Everybody Group Hug)))

ETA: I'm of two minds as to whether Clay would be at Ruben's wedding. Clay could be vacationing after his UNICEF visit. He pays his own way, and I wouldn't be surprised if he took the opportunity to visit the Pyramids in Egypt or maybe the Seychelles (if he liked water). Once again, I think it would be great if he sang at Ruben's wedding ... but the bride could have a say in that, too.

[Tijala]

Couchie, she's just adorable!

I just got back from YouTube myself...that place is addicting! I'll have to check that one out Cotton.

[Cotton]

This is the QVC one up at youtube.

His raspiness kind of works with this song!

Something About Us - QVC

[playbiller]

Are we shipping Clay as a friend of Ruben now or is that a known fact? Inquiring minds want to know!!

[Scarlett]

Not caught up yet (had a v. v. long day!) but wanted to say "Awwww, you looked great!" to Cotton.

And couchie, your niece is adorable!!!

Haven't had supper yet, but catching up here is the most important thing!

ETA: Great to see the members outnumbering the guests 4 to 1 tonight.

[Cotton]

Lost in the land of YouTube!!

Check this out!

Falling

[ldyjocelyn]

Cotton, you and your hubby are lookin' GOOD!

couchie, your niece is adorable! I love kitty cats!

SAU: as many here have said earlier, for some reason, this one works much better live for me. My favorite version, by far, is the Sessions version, followed closely by QVC. CG, I'm extremely jellus that you got to hear that version live. Swoon. ducky, I agree totally that this is a "chick" song -- but I love it, because it's about LURRRRRRVE! And since I'm in LURRRRRRVE with my hubby, I love the sentiment of the song.

I've already got the video for this song shot in my head -- Clay in a tux, but the tie undone. He's singing into an old time mic, grand piano behind him. The crowd is sitting at tables, martinis in hand. And several couples at these tables, making goo goo eyes as Clay sings the song.

Not much more time now, but I want to say that I love each and every one of you. Special :F_05BL17blowkiss: to Bella -- another Trekker!!!!!! EEEEE!

[liney23]

ETA:

Anybody want a White Zinfindel Slushy with me???

I put my wine in the freezer to chill.

Left it too long!!!

Cotton... me.... me! Sounds great! By the way, I love the back of that red dress. Course I think you look great in it, too, but I love the back with all those strings!

couchie... your little lion is sooo cute! I don't have a pic, but I recently went to my 4.75 year old DGD's first ballet recital. Soooo cute! Some of the little ones just stood there and watched the audience!

I figure it's 50/50 whether Clay went to Ruben's wedding or not. They are friends, but I'm sure neither of them want the day to be the circus it could be with Clay there. So, I just don't know.

[Claymatron]

I absolutely adore Something About Us (it's tied with EIDN as my one of my two favourites on the album). To me it's a musical full-body massage....soothing, satisfying and very sexy. Love is corny and cliche. How can you describe it any other way?

I love when he sings "a fool can see, we're meant to be" The hair on the back of my neck stands up when he sings "fool". (GAH!!!)

The lyrics, "stop the music, play the song" to me means lets get away from the generalities and get to the specifics. This is a love song, pure and simple, it's not meant to be interpreted any other way. I think one critic mentioned somewhere along the line, it's the kind of song that makes people who don't have, or have never had, this kind of relationship really pissed off with people who do.

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones!

[Tijala]

Hey, I'll take one of those slushys...might as well since I'm sitting on my butt watching YouTube all night! I'm enjoying this immensely.

This one is particularly relevant this week:

It's In Every One Of Us

Apologies if this was already posted.

[Cotton]

Something About Us - by Clay's own definition . . .

"a Straight Up Love Song".

hee

And with that - I'm hauling my tired body off to bed!

And I better sleep better tonight than I did last night!

(Faye Parker was in my dream somehow or other last night! I wanna dream about her son, demmit!)

G'Night my Pretties!

Thanks for the kind words about my pics! (I love the back of the dress,too! Worried actually, about it's appropriateness for DS's wedding. RED, and just a touch scandalous - no way to wear a bra with that back! You know the MOG is not supposed to be more noticeable than the MOB! Oops!)

[jmh123]

Hey, I'll take one of those slushys...might as well since I'm sitting on my butt watching YouTube all night! I'm enjoying this immensely.

This one is particularly relevant this week:

It's In Every One Of Us

Apologies if this was already posted.

I love this one. Great pictures, Clay with children all over the world, Clay's singing, the song is perfect for the subject--what more could you ask?

[KAndre]

I am trying real hard to remember if I simply beat my computer to little bitty bits with a hammer, it won't work.

Grrrrrrr....

I have a new HDMI receiver. I have a stupid (but gorgeous) nVidia graphics card. Of course, the first five ways, I have tried to get my output through the receiver ISN'T WORKING! I have ordered a doohickey (HDMI DVI Converter w/SPDIF V1.3 1080p) and it BETTER work. Dammit.

Clay sings pretty. I like Something though definitely a chick song. Not one of my "must repeats".

My whole thing on the "respect" vs. "right to criticize" tends to be based on what does it accomplish and how hypocritical it is. I dunno, I can mock and criticize with the best but a lot of it depends on my audience - if you talk about how someone's hair looks like crap, or isn't stylish or current or hip, I personally think you'd better be sporting something suitable for Vogue. I have seen some of the more notorious critics and have said to myself and my friends, "Does she own a mirror? Why doesn't she work on her own issues before she starts on someone else's?"

[Iseeme]

Good evening. The smoke is finally starting to blow away a little bit but now the weather people are predicting thunderstorms on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Thunder brings lightning. Lighting brings more fire. We had dinner at a little restaurant close by and 2 large California Department of Forestry crew trucks stopped in. Those guys are TALLLLLLLLLLLLL and quite hunky! Several times during dinner one or two of them had to go outside with their radios. For young'uns they really looked exhausted. Hope they get a chance to rest before the next onslaught.

Are we shipping Clay as a friend of Ruben now or is that a known fact? Inquiring minds want to know!!

I think they've never stopped being friends. Clay mentions that they talk on the phone as much as they can and we know they went to a Kelly concert together and that Rube and Kelly were at the Raleigh compound. I like to think they're good friends.....sheesh, certainly better than Klo and Clay! Ruben never has anything bad to say about Clay or vice versa. I hope Clay is at the wedding.

Couchie - your little lioness is adorable!!! What a cute costume.

ldyj said:

I've already got the video for this song shot in my head -- Clay in a tux, but the tie undone. He's singing into an old time mic, grand piano behind him. The crowd is sitting at tables, martinis in hand. And several couples at these tables, making goo goo eyes as Clay sings the song.

Oh yes - that's it!!! Can see that so well. The tux he wore in the pictures for Elle Magazine!!!! Gahhhhhh..............

I have seen some of the more notorious critics and have said to myself and my friends, "Does she own a mirror? Why doesn't she work on her own issues before she starts on someone else's?"

Laughed out loud at this.

Cotton - your dress was beautiful! In the first picture your hubby kind of looks like Sean Connery!

I, too, like the Sessions version of SAU the best! Especially when the camera focussed on his hands playing up and down that microphone.

[cagney1950]

You guys are just so darn interesting, I can't stop reading the posts. i am bone tired but I wanted to post about Something About Us, but I have been busy reading the thoughtful discussion.

SAU has fluctuated between my one and two spot since I heard the snippets. After seeing QVC I became enamoured with Where I Draw the Line but that performance of SAU was stellar too. He also did a fabulous job singing that on Sessions. But I love the recorded version too.

I love the quality of his voice in this song and the sounds he produces. Claymatron, I am with you on how he sings "fool." The tone in his voice then drives me to distraction. And his delivery of the last phrase "about us" is perfection. The song is a throwback to some of the singers and songs I liked when I was younger. Somehow Jack Jones keeps popping into my head with the intro to a song from 1962, "I Just Can't Stop From Loving You" or something like that. I have been music gaga since forever and even when I was drawn to more beat driven music of rock I always had a place for singers like Sammy Davis Jr. (preferred him to Frank Sinatra when I was younger) and early Barbra Streisand when she did standards-My Name is Barbra and Color Me Barbra, I think were the names of the albums I particularly liked. I never liked her music when she went for a poppier sound. Something was lost for me.

So SAU evokes that feeling for me and Clay's performance of that song is amazing. I know at one time he said that this could be his favorite song and I think when he said he wanted to produce a "Clay Aiken" song, he had this in mind. And really, I think this song may turn out to be a standard associated with Clay.

This is the song that gets the most positive mentions from people I have gifted the album to. From my hairdresser who lives and breathes country to a colleague to whom I sent the AOL sessions link because it reminded me so much of her and her new hubby, to a very close friend who likes Clay but doesn't follow him. This is the song they talk about. And when my soon to be 85 year old mom gets in my car, she asks for the song about Romeo and Juliet.

I am thrilled that it is getting extra exposure in the Obama montage. I have read some of the comments and many of the positive ones do not appear to be clay fans as determined by clicking their name and looking at most watched videos by these posters.

I love that Its In Every One of Us montage with all those pictures of clay with children. They just gravitate to him and looks so comfortable and happy in their presence. I had forgotten about some of my favorite pics that were featured. That one when he read to the class in the school in Harlem. The look of glee on those children's faces! And when he was holding that boy during his Unicef trip to Mexico.

[playbiller]

My whole thing on the "respect" vs. "right to criticize" tends to be based on what does it accomplish and how hypocritical it is. I dunno, I can mock and criticize with the best but a lot of it depends on my audience - if you talk about how someone's hair looks like crap, or isn't stylish or current or hip, I personally think you'd better be sporting something suitable for Vogue. I have seen some of the more notorious critics and have said to myself and my friends, "Does she own a mirror? Why doesn't she work on her own issues before she starts on someone else's?"

Since I never remember to look in a mirror, I find it easier to be generous to Clay.

Are we shipping Clay as a friend of Ruben now or is that a known fact? Inquiring minds want to know!!

I think they've never stopped being friends. Clay mentions that they talk on the phone as much as they can and we know they went to a Kelly concert together and that Rube and Kelly were at the Raleigh compound. I like to think they're good friends.....sheesh, certainly better than Klo and Clay! Ruben never has anything bad to say about Clay or vice versa. I hope Clay is at the wedding.

You do know I was just kidding because of my non-shipping rep? Actually, Both Ruben and Klo had to put up with a lot over the years - they would go out to promote themselves and have to talk about Clay - always. I am a bit curious because the latest interview of Kim did not include a Clay mention - this is the exception to the normal case. I wonder if she just won't talk about him now? As to the circus the wedding would be -

I am sure that Ruben does not mind the news coverage, he was even caught by the paps and asked about Clay, which he handled wonderfully. I would think that if Clay was in and out, that it would not be disruptive, sort of like how he went to Ruben's concerts in the past where only the Ruben fans saw him sneak in after it started and disappear before the end.

[Scarlett]

I will get caught up someday if I stop watching all those neat YouTube links you post... (thank goodness we don't need content here)

Nite-nite for now! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[Iseeme]

You do know I was just kidding because of my non-shipping rep?

Nope - thought you were serious. Sometimes it's hard to tell around here who's funnin' and who's not.

Scarlett went to bed without saying goodnight to her sweet Baboo.....

I need to head that way, too. It's been a looooong hot day breathing ugly air particles. My allergies are kicking up like you wouldn't believe.

Sleep well everyone...................maybe tomorrow will bring some news.