'Valerie'- Mark Ronson at the BBC Electric Proms

featuring Wee Kyle Falconer. I love this version more than I can coherently state.

Oh, boo-effing-hoo

When Elisabeth Hasselbeck bade farewell to her cohosts on "The View" Tuesday, it was all hugs, well-wishes, and baby-product endorsements. But as Hasselbeck begins her 2 1/2-month maternity leave, the political landscape is shifting, as well. America's most dangerous conservative - or so some liberals see it - is leaving TV for a while.

OMG, WHATEVER WILL WE DO? The media! It's too liberal! Aiiieeeee!

Alright, I'm as liberal as all get out- scratch that- I'm a dirty fucking hippie, and let me tell you, I don't consider Elisabeth "dumb-as-a-sack- of- hammers-former- reality-show-contestant-footballers-wife" Hasselbeck to be "America's most dangerous conservative."

Maybe "America's-Most-Deluded-Former-Reality-Show-Contestant-Footballers-Wife-Every-Sperm-Is-Sacred
-Wingnut-Dumbass".......

Yep, that's it.

Well, that's over with

Today, the flower shop that I work at did a rather large wedding. Unlike most of the seven bridesmaid weddings we've done, the wedding party wasn't ginormous, but we had a lot of centerpieces for the reception. 30, actually.

(Now my girl Jen, being all practical and shit, would tell you that 10 of those were very simple and easy to put together, but she's not the one telling this story, is she? And I'm a big old drama queen and have the medals to prove it).

I have been SO paranoid about this week. SO. PARANOID. Why? Because my mom, the shop owner, has been out of town since Wednesday AM, and two of the other designers were gone after 5PM yesterday.

Again, why was I paranoid? Because I assumed that the combination of Big Wedding+Designers Out Of Town would equal F-U-N-E-R-A-L-S.* Faaaaaaarrrrr too tempting for Whomever controls these things. And very little can ratchet up the crazy like a
F-U-N-E-R-A-L.

Luckily, this did not come to pass.

So, this morning. Thank Whomever my youngest brother had the good sense to propose to a lovely girl that works in a floral shop in their college town, and that they came back this weekend. Because his fiance? Is a darling girl, a hard worker, and best of all, takes direction really, really well. So Jen and I put her to work doing the piddly shit that we didn't want to do. And bless, she did it. Quickly. And then asked us what else we needed. I love this girl, though I worry about her marrying said brother, since he's a bigger drama queen than I am.

And Jen and I had the massive advantage of our best friends from childhood and beyond having remarkably low thresholds for fun. Traci and Stacie LIKE working at the shop. AND they have common sense, which as you may know, is not common. So our girls ran the shop while we set up. They are lovely. Not to mention, I came back to a completely immaculate store.** Let me stress this. LOVELY.

So, it was mainly we two who did the wedding pieces. It's safe to say that we got a bit punchy last night. And this morning. There was much singing to Oasis, The View, Kasabian and The Fratellis. Badly on my part. Bit of dancing, too. Again, badly on my part.

Since we had so many reception pieces, we needed 3 vehicles to deliver them- the store delivery van, a van we borrowed from a local dealership (where my family gets all of their vehicles) and my dad's truck, Old Blue.

I drove the pickup. This is hilarious. Why? Let's just say, I'm not exactly a truck-type of girl. And it's really tall. I'm 5'9, and I have to jump up a bit to get in it. So, picture this- woman with a Posh Beckham bob hairdo, charcoal gray sweater, wide-legged dark denim jeans and ballet flats jumping into a Dodge Ram 4X4. A farm truck. Trust me, I looked a dork.

Since it's ancient, Old Blue doesn't have a CD player, so I was forced to listen to the radio. I was dreading this (am used to Sirius Satellite Radio). I shouldn't have worried- on the way to the wedding, I heard the following-

-'Crazy Train'- Ozzy Osbourne
-Kickstart My Heart'- Motley Crue (hells yes)
-'Big Pimpin'- Jay-Z
-'Should I Stay Or Should I Go?'- The Clash
-'Stronger'- Kanye West

I find it perversely enjoyable to listen to rap in my dad's vehicle. Bit different from my usual Brit indie fare, but variety is the spice of life.

Most everything went off without a hitch. I think this is mostly to do with Jen's being a much better person than I am. She has WAY more karma points built up.

And now it's over. Thank Christ.

*F-U-N-E-R-A-L-S are the Voldemort of the floral world. You Do Not Say That Word Unless You Are Prepared For The Consequences.

**and we did have an order that came in for one in the neighboring town right before we left for the wedding. So I had to go back to the shop, and complete the order AFTER we were done with setting up. I was so tired by this point, I'm not sure I should have been driving.

Lavendelmark ved Murs, Provence

Lavendelmark ved Murs, Provence, originally uploaded by jetnic.

'Police On My Back'- Lethal Bizzle

Awwwwwwww.....

Although Gallagher told BBC 6 Music the appearance was not as well practised as they has intended.

He said: "I was supposed to rehearse yesterday but as I have recently become a dad, my little lad put pay to that the night before by keeping me up all night, so I was knackered."

Random ten

1. Lust For Life- Iggy Pop
2. Valerie- Mark Ronson feat. Kyle Falconer (live at BBC Electric Proms)
3. Love Machine- Girls Aloud
4. Music When The Lights Go Out- The Libertines
5. Dirty Harry- Gorillaz
6. D Is For Dangerous- Arctic Monkeys
7. Cigarettes And Alcohol (demo version)- Oasis
8. Crazy For You- Madonna
9. Lord Don't Slow Me Down- Oasis
10. Up The Junction- Squeeze

Bonus-
11. Fix Up, Look Sharp- Dizzee Rascal
12. Thunderball- Tom Jones

Wow. HOLY COW!

Wee Kyle does The Winehouse. Bless.

Mark Ronson rounded off the opening night (October 24) of the BBC Electric Proms 2007 with a set packed with guest stars. Opening with two instrumentals including a cover of Maximo Park's 'Apply Some Pressure', the DJ/producer then showcased his recent album 'Version' and assorted songs backed by the BBC Orchestra. "Hello everyone I'd like to welcome everyone to the Electric Proms," Ronson told the crowd. "These are my favourite songs, some I've written, some I've covered, some other people have covered. I only get to do this once and I'm glad you're here."

Phantom Planet's Alex Greenwald was the first guest vocalists, crowd surfing during his cover of Radiohead's 'Just', while singer Adele enthralled the audience with her strong vocals as she debuted her new song 'Cold Shoulder'. Lily Allen's billed appearance did not materialise and instead Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson covered himself as he
reprised his vocals on 'Oh My God'. "My friendly Lily was supposed to be here but she cancelled last minute," explained Ronson. "That's cool, people have lives and stuff, so we got someone who was in town and knew all the words!"

Following slots from Candie Payne and Wale, The Rumble Strips' frontman Charlie Waller brought his band's version of Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black' to the mix."I spent most of the year covering other people's songs, so it's nice to hear a remix back," explained Ronson of the choice. "Charlie did a phenomenal remix of 'Back To Black', I think I like it more than the original now."Waller then joined Santo Gold on a cover of The Jam's 'Pretty Green' with the singers splitting the song's vocals straight down the middle before the Brooklyn-based singer busted out some dance moves at Ronson's request. Gold then performed a duet with The Specials singer Terry Hall, play his Fun Boy Three song 'Our Lips Are Sealed', before Ronson's childhood friend Sean Lennon joined him on The Beach Boys' 'Sail On Sailor'. With The Charlatans' Tim Burgess and Mark Collins on hand to play their own single 'The Only One I Know', Ronson then unveiled and unlikely replacement for Amy Winehouse. Playing TheZutons' cover 'Valerie' from 'Version', The View's Kyle Falconer filled in for the bee-hived diva who is currently touring.

Following an encore featuring a series of songs with regular collaborator Daniel Merriweather including The Smiths' 'Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before', Ronson wrapped up the night with Lennon returning to lead some of the evening performers through The
Beatles' 'We Can Work It Out' - albeit in the style of Stevie Wonder's cover.

Babyshambles @ Oui FM, Paris | 18.10.2007

http://www.flickr.com/photos/le-hiboo/1621160615/, originally uploaded by Rod Le-hibOO.com.

I live in the wrong country

part 399 in an ongoing series....

The Coral opened the 2007 BBC Electric Proms tonight (October 24) by recruiting Noel Gallagher on guitar for their performance. Playing the Roundhouse in London, the band got Oasis' leader to join them on their song 'In The Rain'.

Introducing Gallagher, Coral frontman James Skelly simply told the crowd "one of our mates is going to play on this one" as the Oasis man sauntered onstage and picked up his cherry red guitar. After adding a solo to The Coral's song, Gallagher simply waved to the crowd as he left the stage to a humble "ta" from Skelly and loud cheers from the Roundhouse.

'Away From Here'- live at Newcastle

I adore this picture

Why? Let's go left to right.

lower row-

1. Love little Tom The Enemy's trackie jacket. And that he can convey attitude in a picture.

2. Wee Kieren. Sigh. Flashing a peace sign. Double sigh.

3. Wee Kyle's grin. So cute.

4. Bizzle's hoodie. Love it. Also love that his hand is bigger than Wee Kyle's head. Curly mop top and all....

Top row-

5. Carrrrrrrrrrloooooos. Hello, darlink.

6. Holy cow, is Kele Bloc Party SMILING? He is. Nice!

7. Drew. Le sigh. Am a bit concerned about the clerical look he's rocking, however. Who am I kidding? He's still swoon-worthy.

So many of my favorites....

finestra fiorata

finestra fiorata, originally uploaded by ratatuiadotnet.

Hmmmm, another potential grad school....

It's a challenge that most universities face - how to get their students out of bed and into the study hall. Today the University of Salford may have hit upon an effective solution: get Johnny Marr to give the lectures.

The legendary guitarist - whose career has taken him from the Smiths, through Electronic to, most recently, Modest Mouse - has been announced as Salford's new professor of music. Not just an honorary title, Marr's responsibilities will include hosting workshops on the composition and performance of popular music.

'Lady Marmalade' at Fashion Rocks (UK)

The 'Moulin Rouge' arrangement, with Sugababes and Patti LaBelle.