I Swear... It Happened Just Like This!

If you are new to this blog, you might not have noticed that I am off my Blogging Game. I was supposed to put up a HERE'S TO YOU post yesterday. I didn't have one. Say what? ::gasps are heard from the peanut gallery::

I know. This NEVER happens. Yet, it did. There were so many things that got put on the back-burner during April and the A to Z and they all attacked me at once.

 If you were thinking, "OH NO! She has quit the HERE'S TO YOU FEATURE.... Relax. It will be back next week (barring any hazards). And if you don't know what I am talking about... well, you are in for a treat.

Now, I SAID that I was going to post the Battle of the Bands results on the 7th. I totally forgot that was the IWSG post day. Really, just too much all at once. I did COUNT the votes, but I actually had "stuff" I wanted to say about this battle. First, there is no way of telling if you've done a good job in choosing the "combatants" until the votes start rolling in. I thought that more of you would like the Rihanna version, because it was the original, and would be the one you are accustomed to hearing. I didn't take into account how many of you don't listen to current music on the radio. Hahahaha. My mistake. And I might make it again, but isn't that part of the fun in life???

Second, Train whomped Rihanna in this battle. Their version of Umbrella got 26 votes without mine. Rihanna only got 3 votes. CW Martin said, "If it was done in my living room, maybe Rihanna." But he voted for Train. As for my vote?  Well I LOVE LOVE LOVE Train.  Some of you already knew that. How? Your first clue MIGHT have been the series I wrote on Train before attending their concert back in 2012. Then, before I went to the 21012 Train concert in Atlanta I am almost positive I posted this picture of myself in my Train concert T-shirt. I bought this shirt when I saw them the First Time back in 2004. Rarely do I go to a concert and buy the T-shirt, so it was a BIG thing.

Me in 2012 before Train Concert

Third, Briane P. didn't like either choice and voted instead for a cover by The Baseballs. I had never heard of The Baseballs or their cover, BUT it was FANTASTIC. And had I heard it earlier, I would have done this Battle completely differently. Ah... the things we learn AFTER THE FACT.

Fourth, Dawn Malone said that she would have liked Train's version better if it didn't have all the "ella ella ella" business in it. I agree. That is why I prefer their live, acoustic version. However, it wasn't the version they RECORDED and it didn't seem fair to use it. And the lead singer, Pat Monahan, has crazy hair in the acoustic video. I love Pat, but I swear it looks like he stuck a finger in a light socket.

Which brings me to my fifth point... To let you know I do listen to you, I will share The Baseballs version of this song (thank you Briane P.) and the acoustic version by Train (this is for you Dawn). You can vote again if you want on this new match-up (or not). It isn't an official battle. I just wanted you to hear the Battle That Could Have Been.

First up Train with their acoustic version:



And the new-to-me group, The Baseballs:



I apologize for not getting around to everyone's blog. It has not been Business As Usual here and I feel very behind. I hope to make the rounds before Monday.

So, now who do you like? Train Acoustic or The Baseballs? Remember the videos are entertaining to watch, but we judge strictly on the music. Yeah, it turns out I do want to know... I will be back on the 15th with a NEW AND DIFFERENT BOTB match-up!

The Grammys and Marshall Mathers Should Have Won Best Album. Just Sayin'.

Okay, I know that you have all been on pins and needles awaiting my Grammy Award breakdown. No, I didn't have a breakdown of any sort after the show. I am referring to my critique of the event. You guys are so silly. Since you seemed to like the bullet points, perhaps we shall gave that another go.

*Once again, they only presented awards to the folks who showed. That is getting annoying. That means entire categories get left out. They also just didn't present some awards to folks who did show, but announced before they performed that they had won awards. Now, that is even suckier. What awards?
*In the case of my man Marshall, they announced his two award wins before he even won the second one. Idiots. Of course, since they run that thing so crazily, and he was up for ten awards, how was he to know?
*Another clue if you are going to win: are you performing? If so, chances are good that you are a winner. Ding ding ding.
*A lovely surprise of the evening was the first announced award. Train won Pop Duo or Group for Hey Soul Sister. I love Train. I am glad to see them getting back on track. Pun totally intended.
*Miranda Lambert winning The House That Built Me didn't shock me at all after she had just performed the song. Personally, very happy to see Miranda get some Grammy love. Now, she was not favored to win in this category, but I think of the Grammys in much the same way I do the ACM awards.
*How's that, say you?
*The most unlikely people win those awards. Let's say someone has a huge year. They give the award to someone that has just popped out of the woodwork and has maybe two songs under their belt. That is just how they roll. It leaves everyone rolling their eyes and saying, "WTF" at the watercooler the next day.
*Apparently the Grammy voters lunch with the ACM voters and discuss the "proper" way to do these things.
*Batshit crazy. That's how. Moving on.
*Now, I am not saying that they always get it wrong. I am just saying that they often pull things right out of their a$$. That's all.
*For instance, Lady Antebellum picking up all of the country awards is not surprising. They are freaking awesome and deserve them. I have posted several of their songs on here. Love them. However, I have not posted Need You Now. So, here it is.



*I loved David Letterman's list of ten things. I have to agree with him on one major point. What is the difference between Best Record and Best Song? Near as I can tell, it is nothing. They are both nominations for songs. And it appeared that most of the noms were the same. In this case, Lady Antebellum won them both for the same song.
*Isn't that redundant?
*Or is it just me and David on this one?
*Lady Gaga winning best Pop Vocal Album was totally expected.
*Lady Gaga arriving in an egg was a huge surprise.
*While I will never count myself a Justin Bieber fan, I can't count myself a Justin Bieber hater either. You gotta admire someone who is willing to fight for a career as a singer at 13. Usher told him something like, "If we meet again, we'll see." And he kept coming. At 13, that would have been enough to send me home.
*I would have been crying and saying, "He wouldn't even listen to me sing." That is the difference, you see, between someone who knows that they have the magic "it" and someone who just wants to be a rockstar.
*I still want to be a rockstar, but I know I don't have the magic "it."
*Every now and then I can sing a good tune.
*Back to the awards show...
*So, anyway, this kid can actually sing. And then Will and Jada Smith's kid comes out and raps with him. And OMG, that was the cutest. He is a cute kid. But what was the cutest was the look on Will and Jada's faces. They were not celebrities. They were parents who were all about their kid.
*Priceless moment at the Grammys.
*Back to me and what I am doing while the show is on. I found this site on yahoo. It has each category with the nominees, Expert Pick, and the percentages of people who voted for each person. In other words, it should be a good indicator of how the general public feels about who should win in each category.
*Now, you see what I mean about how the head scratching over the choosing of the winners. And why it reminds me of the ACMs.
*Now, that we have talked about everything non-Marshall Mathers, let's get down to it.
*I know from having read his book that he would really like to win an award that is not specifically a rap award. He did win the video award for Without Me, but that is it.
*I really thought with 10 noms that this would be his year. He would get Album of the Year, Record of Year, or Song of the Year. Nope. Lady Antebellum snatched Record and Song and Arcade Fire grabbed Album. Frankly, I think that he should have won best Record and Best Album. I am perfectly happy letting Lady Antebellum keep Best Song.
*As I said, they are the same thing. Different voters. Dumb. Moving on...
*That it is not what happened. And it hurt. A lot. It was painful for me. I can't imagine what it was like for Marshall. It had to sting.
*With that in mind, I went through the old winners and rap just doesn't win much outside of its own category. Outkast won a couple of years ago, but that is about it.
*I am going to throw up some more live footage. One is MM performing with Rihanna and Dr. Dre. It has some breaks in it, but it is the best going on youtube. The song is Love The Way You Lie Part 2 (modified) and I Need A Doctor (modified). I am also throwing up Marshall accepting his Grammy for Best Rap album. Then I am throwing up both original songs with lyrics. They make more sense that way. You might want to watch those first and then the live performance.











image found at www.weheartit.com

I LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE

I know this will come as a HUGE shock: I was up until 1am fiddling with my music player on here and then I blasted off onto YouTube. I had two things going on. One was a migraine that was making sleep difficult anyway. And the other was insanity. It was brought on by the migraine. My initial line of thinking was that I would go through my existing music, delete some, and then add some. The problem with that line of thinking is that I liked everything I put there in the first place. Duh. So, there was no deleting. There was just adding. I now have 125 songs on my player. I just discovered that only 100 will show up on here. I guess that means that my playlist randomly selects which 100 pop each time you folks drop in. Interesting.

If you will recall, today is supposed to be inspirational song Saturday. I have come to the conclusion that this is not going to work for me. I can go with music Saturday. Or sometimes inspirational song Saturday. Or inspirational to me song Saturday. Music is near and dear to my heart. I love it. I really can't imagine being deaf. I really don't know how Beethoven managed that one, and still managed to write not just music, but one of the most amazing pieces of music of his entire life. He never got to HEAR it. People can be freaking amazing. I am not putting the Hallelujah Chorus on here, although that is very inspirational. Maybe another day.

Last night, while I was scrolling through music on the playlist for my eclectic selection, I had to include Eminem. Those are five words I thought I would never type. I had to include Eminem. There, I typed them again. So, I put his name in the search, along with Not Afraid, and it came right up, and it got added. I also added Airplanes 2. I then added a WHOLE BUNCH of other stuff. I was winding down, and then for the heck of it, just put his name in to see what would come up. One of the songs that came up was with this one: I LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE feat. Rihanna. So, I pressed play to give it a listen and... I have no words, people. I listened to it again. I added it to my playlist and logged out. That was when I switched over to YouTube.

It turns out there is a video for this song. This has to be a new video because I was just on YouTube on Wednesday picking up footage for Bath (Not Afraid) for HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY, and this song was not there. I would have noticed. With trepidation, and some excitement, I pressed play. I had to watch it again. After the third time, I was done. In some ways, the video is distracting. I was glad I listened to the song first, without all of that video action. However, before you watch the video, I want you to think about some very important things.

1) They hired big-shot actors and actresses for this thing. Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan.


2) This is one of the flip sides of physical abuse that I haven't talked about (make that two): with some couples it goes both ways. The girl usually gets the worst end of the deal, but she gets her licks in, too. The second thing is that no matter what happens some people can't walk away no matter how ugly it gets. They just can't.

3) I love how honest Eminem is about the rage this guy is feeling. This song is about social activism. It is a wake up and smell the coffee song. I applaud him for being so damn honest. When he mans up, he means it.

Don't forget to shut off my music player at the bottom of the page.





Okay, I am going to assume that you watched the video. I have to say that the end with the fire business totally freaked me out. It was a little bit like watching my dreams come to life. Except not. Still, the first time I watched it, my eyes about bugged out of my head. It is still weird, but that is my personal weird and nothing to do with the video. So, getting back on track...

Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that's alright
Because I like
The way it hurts
Just gonna stand there
And hear me cry
But that's alright
Because I love
The way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

I can't tell you what it really is
I can only tell you what it feels like
And right now there's a steel knife
In my windpipe
I can't breathe
But I still fight
While I can fight
As long as the wrong feels right
It's like I'm in flight
High of a love
Drunk from the hate
It's like I'm huffing paint
And I love it the more that I suffer
I suffocate
And right before im about to drown
She resuscitates me
She fucking hates me
And I love it
Wait
Where you going
I'm leaving you
No you ain't
Come back
We're running right back
Here we go again
It's so insane
Cause when it's going good
It's going great
I'm Superman
With the wind in his bag
She's Lois Lane
But when it's bad
It's awful
I feel so ashamed
I snap
Who's that dude
I don't even know his name
I laid hands on her
I'll never stoop so low again
I guess I don't know my own strength

Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that's alright
Because I like
The way it hurts
Just gonna stand there
And hear me cry
But that's alright
Because I love
The way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

You ever love somebody so much
You can barely breathe
When you're with them
You meet
And neither one of you
Even know what hit 'em
Got that warm fuzzy feeling
Yeah them chills
Used to get 'em
Now you're getting fucking sick
Of looking at 'em
You swore you've never hit 'em
Never do nothing to hurt 'em
Now you're in each other's face
Spewing venom
And these words
When you spit 'em
You push
Pull each other's hair
Scratch, claw, bit 'em
Throw 'em down
Pin 'em
So lost in the moments
When you're in 'em
It's the rage that took over
It controls you both
So they say it's best
To go your separate ways
Guess that they don't know ya
Cause today
That was yesterday
Yesterday is over
It's a different day
Sound like broken records
Playin' over
But you promised her
Next time you'll show restraint
You don't get another chance
Life is no Nintendo game
But you lied again
Now you get to watch her leave
Out the window
Guess that's why they call it window pane

Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that's alright
Because I like
The way it hurts
Just gonna stand there
And hear me cry
But that's alright
Because I love
The way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

Now I know we said things
Did things
That we didn't mean
And we fall back
Into the same patterns
Same routine
But your temper's just as bad
As mine is
You're the same as me
But when it comes to love
You're just as blinded
Baby please come back
It wasn't you
Baby it was me
Maybe our relationship
Isn't as crazy as it seems
Maybe that's what happens
When a tornado meets a volcano
All I know is
I love you too much
To walk away though
Come inside
Pick up your bags off the sidewalk
Don't you hear sincerity
In my voice when I talk
Told you this is my fault
Look me in the eyeball
Next time I'm pissed
I'll aim my fist
At the dry wall
Next time
There will be no next time
I apologize
Even though I know it's lies
I'm tired of the games
I just want her back
I know I'm a liar
If she ever tries to fucking leave again
I'mma tie her to the bed
And set the house on fire

Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that's alright
Because I like
The way it hurts
Just gonna stand there
And hear me cry
But that's alright
Because I love
The way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie



The lyrics are powerful, no? In the end, he says it best. I know I'm a liar. She does too. And still, at the end of the video, you see that they are still together. He says all of the classic abusive stuff. It was you. No, it was me. I apologize. I can't live without you. I am sincere. Then he threatens. Then he says the next time I get mad I will hit the wall. Then he says there will be no next time. Then he says that he knows he's a liar. And he tops it all of by saying if she ever tries to leave again he'll kill her. In other words, this crazy relationship has gotten so crazy, that he really has lost his mind.


Not all abusive relationships are women walking around on eggshells. Some are like what you saw right here. She is abusive, too. She is probably on drugs and is an alcoholic (not Megan Fox, but the woman in the video). She doesn't realize the fire she is playing with could get her killed. So, she fights with him, spits at him, slaps him, goes out and plays pool with other guys to either purposely (or not) make him jealous. Even though she gets the raw end of the deal each time they go round, she still goes. Eventually, he will go too far, and she will want to leave, and that is when there will be trouble. She's tried to leave twice in this video. Once out the window and once out the front door. She will very likely end up dead at this man's hands.

Do you feel less sorry for her because she fought back or egged him on (however you see it)? Let's say because the abuse ran both ways? The only difference is she was always in the weaker position. Does that make her more or less of a victim if she ends up in the burning bed? Or would it be more of a tragedy if she never fought back, didn't go to the bars, and just tried to escape and got caught? Is one situation more tragic than the other? Does one situation make him more guilty? Less guilty? Or does tying a woman to a bed and burning her alive just make you a monster no matter how many times she spit at you? The last question was rhetorical. I am not really looking for an answer on that one.

all images found www.photobucket.com