pop cultured

In a world of MP3’s, how dated is the word “album”? Guess it’s better than talking 8 track tapes.  But I just spent the afternoon watching VH1’s “Top 100 Hard Rock Songs Ever” and man did it bring back memories.

I dusted off my vinyl collection long ago– I don’t even own a record or a cassette player anymore–and most of my favorite music has been replaced in MP3 format. Which means when I go on iTunes, I don’t always download EVERY song from an album. Which is a shame, because you forget some of the best songs and tend to download just the most well-known tunes.Which brings me to my list of great albums albums.

There’s a few albums that I can think of offhand, where EVERY song on the record is just so darn good.

In a nutshell, here’s my Top 11 list, because I couldn’t stop at just 10:

Let It Bleed- The Rolling Stones

Dark Side of the Moon- Pink Floyd

Rumours -Fleetwood Mac

Van Halen II- Van Halen

Damn the Torpedoes-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Appetite for Destruction -Guns and Roses

Blood Sugar Sex Magik- Red Hot Chili Peppers

 In Utero- Nirvana

Live Through This-Hole 

Dookie- Green Day

White Blood Cells- The White Stripes  P.S. I could just say every Nirvana album, but that would be redundant. 

Over the holidays I discovered Facebook. I know, I know, Facebook is soooo 2008—2007 even! –, so I’m late for the party. But I must admit I’m having a lot of fun with it.

I’m learning a few things about Facebook. First of all, I will not be friending my friend’s kids. That’s right, my best friend from high school’s teenage son is on Facebook, and she actually emailed me and suggested I “friend” him. I just think that’s a little creepy. No teenager wants their mom’s friends witnessing their Facebook activity. I politely declined.

 On a more positive note, I reconnected with some overseas cousins who I haven’t seen on over a decade, so that’s been fun. But that old boyfriend from high school? He hasn’t come out of the woodwork—yet.

As we approach the new year, my thoughts always turn to possible  New Year’s resolutions, the most common one being losing weight.  Back in the early 90’s. I was mesmerized by buzz-cut blonde fitness guru Susan Powter. Do you remember her “Eat –Breathe- Move” regimen? And her infomercials? I read a few of her books and I found her to be motivating, albeit a tad loud and maybe sorta tacky(okay, more than maybe).

Still, whatever happened to the author of “Stop the Insanity” and “”Pocket Powter”?  Apparently she’s still kicking around, still working on motivating women to get fit.  Although today she is significantly less famous than she was 15 years ago, her most recent book is called “The Politics of Stupid” and she is still dispensing advice via her over-the-top website, www.susanpowteronline.com.

Want a surefire way to get you in the mood for Christmas, while escaping the madness of it all? Try reading John Grisham’s book, “Skipping Christmas”. It’s a hilarious look at some of the absurdities we all experience during the hectic holiday season. Every Christmas season this book takes me away from it all- and I laugh out loud in the meantime (which is a rarity when I read).

If you’ve read other books by Grisham, you will surely find “Skipping Christmas” to be different. It’s the story of Luther and Nora Krank, a couple who decide to skip all the Christmas hoopla and instead take their money and go on a cruise. But their friends and family don’t let them get away with it too easily.

Oh, the movie version of this book, called “Christmas With the Kranks” doesn’t have anywhere near the charm of the  book.  Skip the movie and just read the book.

Everything Oprah Winfrey touches turns to gold. Okay, well, with the exception of her movie “Beloved”.  But  aside from “Beloved”,  if Oprah recommends a book, it becomes a bestseller. If Oprah promotes a TV show, it becomes a hit. If Oprah chooses a “favorite thing”, it flies off of store shelves.

So when Oprah announced her support of Barack Obama for the U.S. presidency, did her viewers follow suit? Many voters in our country voted for the first time in this election.  People of all age groups. Not just young voters. Obama won by a landslide margin. Oprah’s endorsement certainly didn’t hurt him and it may have garnered him thousands – maybe even millions– of votes. Because in this country, when Oprah talks people listen.

We at Popcultured congratulate President-elect Barack Obama on his victory.

Here I am, dipping into politics again. Tomorrow will be a historical Presidential election here in the United States. After tomorrow, we will either have our first African American president or our first female vice-president. Either way, it’s history in the making. It may not be the most appropriate day to write about TV commercials or teen idols.

I spent much of my weekend fielding calls from the Obama camp. Talk about historical! Never in my life have I seen an election where one candidate had so much publicity, who campaigned so hard! Every time I checked my caller ID this weekend, the calls were from the For Change Campaign.

Then it was the flyers left on my doorstep. Every time I’d come home, I was greeted by a glossy photo of  Barack Obama. I almost forget what John McCain looks like at this point.

Then it was the door to door campaigners. I didn’t usually answer the door when they came knocking, but my kids did on Saturday. It was minutes after I’d hung the phone up from a local pollster hawking Obama to me. I took the glossy flyer from the man at my front door and I quipped, “Boy, you guys are at my door and on the phone to me everyday. I’ve never seen a campaign like this. It’s almost harassing!”

He quipped back, “We’re only gonna lose in 3 states”. He went on to recite the 3 states, but I tuned him out.

Talk about confidence!

Yes, tomorrow will be historical either way.

The big news on Wednesday night (besides the last few innings of Game 5 of the World Series) was Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s 30 minute television special. Actually it was a commercial. Actually it was commercial containing information about him, so actually it was an infomercial.

I certainly won’t liken it to an ad for the Thighmaster, Proactive Solution or Richard Simmon’s Deal a Meal, but it is what it is. And sure, it was a bold move on Obama’s part, but at this point in the game nothing surprises me. This  was Obama’s chance to get his word out to the nation without being interrupted by a moderator. His camp spent millions of dollars to have his 30 minute spiel air on several networks.  In another week or so, guess we’ll find out if it was money well spent or not.

pop culture: a contraction of popular culture; that which is most strongly represented by what is perceived to be popular among society; a commercial culture mass-produced for mass-consumption.

I don’t usually get into politics in this blog and I don’t intend to start now, but how can I not at least mention the upcoming presidential election, and most notably, the most recent addition to the Republican ticket?

Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska was born in 1964. By some books she’s on the tail end of the baby boomers. In others, she’s practically a Generation Xer.  Either way, she’s young enough to have watched “The Brady Bunch” as a kid. She may have owned a Velvet or a Crissy doll, and she may have had David Cassidy or Leif Garrett posters in her room. She most certainly knew what an Afterschool Special was, or at least watched Saturday morning cartoons,  and she likely waited all year for those Rankin-Bass Christmas specials to come on (back then they only came on once a year).

1964 was a pivotal year in pop culture and in the world. The Beatles broke out on the Ed Sullivan Show. Bewitched debuted on ABC. Jeopardy debuted on NBC.  And, ever so possibly, 1964 may be the year that America’s first female Vice president was born.

The CBS reality show, Big Brother, is slated to start its 10th season on Sunday, July 13. In case you’re unfamiliar with the premise of the show, Big Brother is a reality show, hosted by CBS news personality Julie Chen, that sets a group of 13 strangers in a house for the summer. Each week a houseguest is voted out. At the end of the season, the winner gets $500,000. There are some physical competitions on Big Brother, but nothing along the lines of the show Survivor. Big Brother is more of a mental game.

Ready to meet the cast?

CBS announced the Big Brother 10 cast this week on The Early Show. Here’s who you can expect to see:

Angie- 29 year old pharmaceutical sales rep from Florida (single)

Brian- 27 year old account manager from San Francisco (single)

Jerry-  75 year old retired great grandfather form Texas (married)

Keesha-  29 year old waitress form Burbank, CA (single)

Memphis- 25 year old mixologiost from LA (single)

Ollie S- 27 year old marketing sales rep from Minneapolis (single)

Steven- 35 year old rodeo competitor from Dallas (single)

April- 30 year old financial manager from Arizona (single)

Dan- 24 year old Catholic school teacher from Minnesota (single)

Jessie- 22 year old professional bodybuilder form Huntington Beach, CA (single)

Libra- 31 year old Human Resources rep from Texas (married, mother of 3)

Michelle- 28 year old realtor from Rhode Island (single)

Renny- 53 year old beauty salon owner from New Orleans (married)

Season 10 of Big Brother starts on Sunday, July 13, 2008 on CBS and it will air 3 times  a week.