#MusicMonday: Ode to the Mixtape (and the friends who make them)

Remember when you used to call radio stations to request a song and then sit and wait with twitchy fingers over the record and play buttons on your boombox so that you could make a totally awesome mix tape for your best friend, but you hesitated for a just a second too long so you missed the first two beats of the song, or the dumb DJ decided to talk over the intro to the song, rambling about how they knew some esoteric bit of information about someone who used to be in the band whose song you had been waiting for, but wasn't in the band anymore, instead of talking about how you had requested the song for your friend which would have been totally cool to include in your super-awesome mix tape?

Oh, you don't? Were you born in the 90s? Then shuddup and let those of us who are totally not old, but you are making feel totally old, you damn young whippersnappers who've always had the internet and a cellphone since you were twelve, reminisce. Thanks.

I am one of the few people that still has the ability to play a cassette tape, and not because I bought a tape player ironically from Urban Outfitters. I've driven the same car since I was sixteen and it still has a tape deck. However, most of the tapes I play were produced back when Paula Abdul was still a chart topping recording artist. Yet, I still have That Friend who makes awesome mixes, even if now they are on CD's instead of cassettes and she can just pop on the internet instead of having to talk to douchey DJs.

Renee is the friend that you turn to when you are having a party and want to make sure butts are shaking the whole night. A lot of the time, you don't even have to ask, she'll just show up with a couple of CD's full of a few hours of party-jams of the new, classic and where-the-hell-did-you-find-this-amazingness variety.

Most recently she made a super-awesome mix for our friend's birthday party. And since I'm not one to be proactive about my music collection, I asked her for copy, mostly because of this song which I cannot help but shake (and pop) my butt to. It turns out the video is just as awesome and homemade as Renee's mix-CD's. These video vixens come in all shapes, sizes and genders, are fully clothed and are probably all best-friends who probably make mix-CD's for each other. I want one made by the guy in the hat:



Now, didn't that make your Monday better?

Your Friday Awesome: Teh Gays Are After Your Husbands (and are hilarious)

This is kind of pure genius. An Australian sketch comedy show tackled marriage equality by co-opting the epitome of masculinity in current pop culture. The last three lines made me snort.

Transcript available at Feministing.

Your Friday Awesome: Haughty Hedgehogs and Pitter-Patting Penguins

Some days you just need a dose of cute. This is one of those days:

Via the ultimate finder of cute, Amber &.



Thanks to librarian extraordinaire Nnekay for the alliteration help. Like I said, one of those days.

#MusicMonday: Flashback - The Breeders

Confession: I am a feminist with an MA in Women's and Gender Studies and I didn't listen to Bikini Kill until I was a junior in college. I was technically old enough to participate in Riot Grrl while it was happening (I made the last official birth year of Generation X by three months), but I grew up in a small town with no MTV until 1993, no internet until 1996, no college radio station with a frequency strong enough to reach my bedroom, and friends whose edgy anti-establishment soundtrack was heavily influenced by The Cure.

However, when we did get MTV in 1993 I thought this video was AMAAAAAAAAAAAAZING. Three women on guitars and bass who didn't have product in their hair, and a song that started with the super deep, un-feminine, "Ah-ooo-ooo." Yes, please.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't know who the Pixes were until about 2001.

Your Friday Awesome: How To Be Alone

I was a Congressional intern during the summer of 2000. I was the only underage student without a fake ID at AU so it was the first time in my life I had to learn to be alone once in a while. It helped that I was also a member of the District's teeming masses of summer interns studying for the LSAT which necessitates being alone sometimes. But besides learning that I did not want to go to law school, the best lesson I learned was how to enjoy being alone. A town full of amazing free museums and cozy coffee shops helped, but it is pretty awesome to be okay with just being awesome on your own once in a while.

via Feministing.

Housekeeping: Commenting

A friend and reader let me know that she can't comment on this blog - ever. Logged in or not. If you are having the same problem, do me a favor and let me know so I can try and sort it out with Blogger: thenotsolittlethings at gmail dot com

...her theory is that blogger knows she opted for Wordpress :)

#MusicMonday: Rae Spoon

An indie folk-singer with a haunting voice and quiet ode to Kraftwerk. I love contradiction.

Speaking of...he also does an annual cover of Beyonce.



References to Morrissey and Kraftwork, folk sensibilities and Beyonce covers? I think Adam and I need to see him in concert ASAP.

Your Friday Awesome: Don't Be A Spock

My husband and one of our friends may have just started the newest internet meme. Only good can come from super smart, super tall, ballerinas who research space radiation. In this case, bathroom signage that has now been featured on BoingBoing, Gizmodo, SuperPunch, and even the Wall Street Journal to name a few. Trekkies love ergonomics evidently. That or sassy HR people.

Its also nice for Uhura to finally get her due.

#MusicMonday: Erasure!

I'm working on a post about feminism and relationships for the fantastic Small Strokes which has me thinking a lot about my wedding. And what do I think of when I think about our wedding? Erasure, of course.

Right, if I haven't mentioned it before, we got married when everyone in the state of California could, but certain people were fighting to change that. Our musical selection became a small protest of that effort by including a whole lot of music that would not be out of place in a Castro dance club - or ironically, the Mormon dances of my husband's youth.

No pants, waist-cinchers and red patent heels. Take that, Gaga.