Comptoir des Cotonniers Fall 2008

See the whole collection.

The latest season from Comptoir des Cotonniers, with the title 'Rock and Romantic' is really rocking my boat. I am seriously considering blowing my money on the black pleated dress (pictured above) and a black tulip skirt I saw in the shop.

Also, the band, Moriarty, featured on their website is fantastic. My superior web-sleuthing skills tell me that the album is called Gee Whiz But This is a Lonesome Town, released by Naive, a French independent record company. You can download a free sampler of songs, which includes one Moriarty song, if you sign up with them on their website.

Take 6 concert

Deciding on which Mosaic Music Festival performance to attend when on a budget was a tough choice. There were so many good acts to choose from! But one act I knew I couldn’t miss for sure was Take 6, an a capella gospel group. I’m not familiar with their music, but have a couple of their songs on jazz compilation CDs, which I enjoy very much.

It was a fantastic concert; and I was very glad to see that they weren’t ashamed to proclaim their faith, but at the same time didn’t take the preachy high road and try to beat you over the head with Jesus. Instead, they let their songs be the message, and kept their banter with each other and the audience light and fun. I liked their interactions with each other, especially when they engaged each other with mock song battles, and also their attempts to get the audience to hum along.

They sang mostly songs from their latest album, like You Can Make It – Get Victory, I Need You, Feels Good and More Than Ever, but also brought out some classic secular songs, like Smile (the only song which was accompanied by instrument on piano) and Just In Time, and a snippet of Michael Jackson’s I Wanna Rock With You (complete with Michael’s dance moves, to hilarious results). But my favourite of the night was a beautiful rendition of the hymn Lamb of God (also in their new album). That one song alone makes me want to buy their album.

While extremely enjoyable, the concert wasn’t without its faults. At times, the balancing of the sound wasn’t too good, and some voices came out more than others (more of a sound engineering issue). There were a couple of songs which, to borrow an American Idol judge’s favourite phrase, were “pitchy”, as if the group weren’t too sure of the key they were singing in, and were sort of wavering in between keys. This happened mostly when they were singing songs which involved many key changes and more complex harmonies. Also, at times I felt the group’s banter was a little too rehearsed, and while I laughed at their antics, I wished they could have been a little more spontaneous.

Of course, I’m just being really nitpicky here, and on the whole, I loved their concert and wished they could have sung longer than the 1.5 hours they were on stage. They were given a standing ovation by the audience, who seemed to be made up of mostly fans, and the group wasn’t allowed to leave the stage until they had given us 2 encores.

The soundtrack to your life

While reading Robot Johnny, I came across another iPod shuffle meme. I really can’t resist music memes, especially one that can construct a soundtrack to your life. So here’s how you play:

1. Open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing.
5. New question– press the next button.
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool.

Opening Credits
Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper

Waking Up
I Have Nothing, Whitney Houston

First Day at School
Too Funky, George Michael
So not true, I was a real nerd in school.

Falling in Love
Latin Simone, Gorillaz (featuring Ibrahim Ferrer)

Breaking Up
The Heart of Worship, Sonicflood
Errrr….okaaaaay.

Prom
The Vibes Ain’t Nothin’ But The Vibes, Barry Adamson

Life’s Okay
I Want to be Buried In Your Backyard, Nightmare of You
Shouldn’t this be in Funeral Song or Death Scene? And I don’t want to be buried in anyone’s backyard, thank you very much.

Mental Breakdown
6th Avenue Heartache, The Wallflowers

Driving
Holiness, Sonicflood
I am anything but holy when I drive.

Flashback
Breathe, Sixpence None The Richer

Getting Back Together
If I Ain’t Got You, Alicia Keys

Wedding
Tenderly, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Hey, this song actually fits!

Birth of a Child
You’re in Love, Wilson Philips

Final Battle
Symphony No. 5, Op. 107 (Andante), Mendelssohn

Death Scene
Last Dance, Donna Summer
I have to admit, this is quite apt.

Funeral Song
Ironic, Alanis Morissette
Oh no, do I strike lottery the day I die??

End Credits
Dances of the Swans, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake
I am a swanee swan swan!

With 1,075 songs in my iPod, I find it interesting that I can still get 2 songs from the same album in this mix. Looks the shuffle function needs to be more shuffley.

Go play it if you want and see what you come up with.

Do the Shuffle!

Can you tell it's a slow day at the office? Robot Johnny has a fun music shuffle game to play with your mp3 player and being the sheep that I am, I decided to follow too. So fun!

1. Saturday’s Alright (for Fighting), Nickelback, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle OST
2. Save Tonight, Eagle Eye Cherry, Save Tonight
3. Piano Concerto #4 in G Minor, II Largo, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Rachmaninov
4. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Barry Adamson, Oedipus Schmoedipus
5. Stellar (Acoustic), Incubus, Drive
6. Lisa Listen, Lisa Loeb, Tails
7. Throw Your Hands Up, Yoko Blaqustone, Back to My Base
8. It’s Business As Usual, Barry Adamson, Oedipus Shmoedipus
9. Murmullo, Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club
10. The Yellow River (Piano Concerto) Prelude, Daniel Epstein, Yin Cheng Zong
11. Sinnerman, Nina Simone, Verve Unmixed 2
12. La Bayamesa, Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club
13. You Are The Universe, The Brand New Heavies, Trunk Funk: The Best of The Brand New Heavies
14. I’m Not Alone, Crystal Kay, Natural
15. Lo Dudo, Pepe & the Bottle Blonds, Latenight Betty

Aww I'm kinda bummed nothing embarrassing came out of this shuffle. Maybe next time, hehe.