September 12, 2017- Paul McCartney Concert

 

 My brother and I had a great time at the McCartney concert. Sir Paul put on an excellent show. He has a lot of energy for someone in his mid-70s. He is only 3 years younger than our parents. It was the longest one that I have ever been to- 2 hours and 45 minutes. We definitely got our money’s worth. It started at about 8:40, 20-25 minutes later than I thought that it would.

   He told some interesting Beatles stories before or after some of those songs, like “Something”. During part of that, he used the ukulele that George Harrison had given him. After “Back in the USSR “, I am pretty sure that he mentioned that they were the first rock concert ever in Moscow’s Red Square.

   There were also tales for “Blackbird”, “Love Me Do”, and” I Wanna Be Your Man”; they gave the latter song to the Rolling Stones to record. I am pretty sure that he said that this was the first number one hit in the UK for them.

   I was so happy when he did “Eleanor Rigby” which is one of my favorite Beatles songs. We would have been so disappointed if he didn’t do “Live and Let Die”. There were some loud pyrotechnics during that.  I only knew this and “Band on The Run” out of the 6 Wings songs. I did used to have the albums but my memories of them are hazy.

   McCartney was reading out some of the people’s signs. One guy had seen him either 100 or 110 times. After the concert, I overhead a lady saying that she has seen him 12 times. I wish that I had been to some of his shows in the past. It seems kind of surreal that I was even at this one.

  It was funny hearing a couple of ladies saying something like “He’s so cute” when McCartney was hamming it up a bit.

   I was surprised that my brother said that seeing him was on his bucket list. He sometimes tells me that the Beatles are so over-rated. Yet he has a greatest hits CD of theirs. He wishes that he had gone to see The Rolling Stones the last time they were on tour.

   Once again, regrets about getting rid of my Beatles/McCartney/Wings albums and tapes were on my mind. I took them to the book and record exchange place in Cranford. I didn’t even get that much credit for these and later saw high prices on them. I should have at least kept 1962-1966 and 1967-1970

   I feel bad that I exchanged my Dad’s 2 45’s at a record show too. I also threw out all the dubbed tapes that a boyfriend made for me in the late 90s. I can’t afford to get the CDs of these. I need to save money for other things now.

  I was doing some people watching; those of all ages were there, including some young kids. I couldn’t help feeling like an outsider even amongst other fans as I do at other concerts and events that I attend.  

   We talked to a nice couple at the Linden train station. Naturally, I was feeling anxious. They were going to the Yankees game. They live on a street in that town that is nearby our old apartment.

   I wrote down the set list this afternoon. There were either 36 or 38 songs on it. 5 were new ones that I wasn’t familiar with. McCartney was joking around about the fact that it was like a black hole out there during these unlike during the Beatles songs when the cell phone cameras all lit up brightly, or something similar.

   “Hey Jude” is playing in my head now. This was never really one of my favs. I like it a little up until the annoying part that seems to drag on at the end. Mike feels the same way. I was somewhat getting into it during the show though. I didn’t ask Mike what he thought about that. He probably would say that he wish that he had done “Get Back” instead; he had been trying to sing this earlier in the day.

   I am slightly ashamed that I was singing along during “Yesterday”. I probably would have been more so if my brother were sitting next to me. He hadn’t intended on going but then changed his mind a couple of minutes after I ordered my ticket. He was 3 rows above me, up at the very top of this venue.

   He still teases me about singing along to a couple of Duran Duran songs at the Garden in 2011. He did so about my dancing too. I know that I shouldn’t let this get to me but it is difficult not to.

June 8, 2015- My Duran Duran Fascination

I didn’t really get into Duran Duran  until after “Ordinary World” first came out, but then it was only a little bit. I was mainly into country music in the 1990s up until 1998. I don’t even really remember much about them from the 1980s. I did have a 45 of their “Hungry Like the Wolf”. It was one of only 10 that I had in that decade.

    I never watched MTV or music videos on other channels either. Wait, I did see Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” around the time that it premiered. Even Mom was watching that! I only saw parts of DD videos in specials about the 80s on VH1 and other channels in the 1990s. I never saw a full video of theirs until around 2007. I got the Greatest CD that came with a DVD then.

   I didn’t look in those teenie bopper mags when I was a kid either, except for the 1 or 2 that my Grandma next door got for me because she thought that I had a crush on Michael J. Fox. I liked him in the movie Back to the Future, that’s all.

   I remember wanting to laugh when my grade school classmates were talking about which  one of the Duran Duran guys that they each had a crush on. I simply did not get why they were so fascinated by them back then. I guess that I kind of do now though.

     I’m kind of ashamed to even admit that I am a DD fan. It’s mostly been for the past 11 years. I didn’t even go to their official website for the first time until 2 years later. I learned about the history of this group then. I felt like I was doing research for a term paper on them.

   I would love to say “I just like their music” when people ask me who is my favorite DD guy. I could also simply say that they are all good looking in their own way. A couple of times I have admitted which one it is. I can’t help feeling embarrassed about this. I have got shame issues that I am trying to work on, esp. when it comes to music and certain guys.

   I used to have many dreams with my music people in them, esp. Duran Duran. I was worrying that this might be kind of obsessive but my therapist said that it isn’t. It’s not as if I have any control over what I dream about.

    Should I be ashamed to even admit that I see a therapist? My issues are anxiety- esp. social, extremely low self-esteem and depression. Hopefully I will be able to overcome all of this. My music does help to calm me down and cheer me up a little. Why is it that I often choose DD to do this?

   Why do I feel that it is okay for everyone else to like Duran Duran but for me it seems sort of wrong? I used to feel the same way about Bon Jovi but not so much now. I’m kind of over that phase. I didn’t start liking them until after “It’s My Life” came out in 2000. I guess that it’s better late than never for both of these groups.

   Part of me is just hoping that liking DD a lot is just some phase that I am going through, like my Beatles/McCartney/Wings one of the late 80s and early 90s. It’s not a crime for me to be a fan of theirs. I have to convince myself to believe this. And it’s not a sin to admit that bassist guy is my favorite. Yikes, I can’t even type his name, that is how embarrassed that I am.

     I am hearing “Planet Earth” playing in my mind’s stereo. Now I’m thinking how I’d like to listen to the Night Version of this- love the extra bass. Damnit, does this make it seem like I am semi-obsessed with that guy? -Probably not. Actually, I’d love to see this video. I get a kick of the puffy shirts in that. Bring those back into fashion- just kidding.

   I feel kind of embarrassed for thinking that watching Duran Duran videos makes me happy when I am having a depressing day. That sounds semi-obsessive. The thought that hopefully I will get to see them in concert again sometime this year is like a tiny spark that will help me to get through the tough times. Gosh, that sounds so darn corny.

 

 

 

Our Basement - 1980s

This is the basement of our old apartment in the 1980's. The bottom one is from before my room was down there. I can't remember for sure what year Mark got his basement bedroom. It might've been 1982. It was 1984 for mine. We had our own living room area too. Dad had his own little section as well and there was the laundry area also. My favorite blue couch that used to be in our real living room was part of what seemed like our own apartment down there. Mark is playing a game with our friend Kim - I think it was backgammon.

I loved my pink carpet but by 1990 it got ruined by a flood. Many people would consider paneling cheesy, but I like it and wish that we had some in our current apartment. My grandma at the farm crocheted the blanket and a matching pillow that's on my bed. That photo is from the late 80's when my Beatles/McCartney/Wings phase began. I had such posters on my wall. Elvis is on the wall of our living room outside of my bedroom.

The photo of me in front of the shelves with my stuffed animals and jewelry box is from about 1985. I no longer have the jewelry box and many of the stuffed animals but wish that I did. I do have my Kermit and Piggy which I'm glad that I was smart enough to keep. I have the 2 raccoons and the doll as well.

I'm not sure what my brother is doing in our living room in the top photo. I'll have to look at the original photo and see if I can figure this out. Whenever I scan anything it makes the image less clear and smaller. I like the photo of him in his room from 1986. He has a Haley's Comet bandana hanging on the wall. He still has it in a storage tote.

That apartment is in my dreams alot, probably because it felt more like home which this one that we've been living in since late 1993 never has. Mark is always complaining that this place is a mess and it's true that it needs some major improvements like painting of the downstairs walls but we haven't been able to fit this into our budget. We'd still be living at the old place had my dad not moved back to his mom's house next door after my parents got divorced. Mom didn't want to stay in that neighborhood so now we are on the other side of town. She had married the boy next door.

My Favourite Beatles Songs

I went through a Beatles/McCartney/Wings phase in the late 80's and early 90's. I still like this music but I don't really listen to it much, definitely not like I did then. I had the records but foolishly took most of them to a book/record exchange place by the mid 90's. My boyfriend made tapes of his Beatles CDs in the late 90's.

1. We Can Work It Out

2. The Long and Winding Road

3. Eleanor Rigby

4. Something

5. Norweigan Wood

6. Love Me Do

7. And I Love Her

8. Every Little Thing

9. Things We Said Today

10. In My Life

11. Paperback Writer

12. Yesterday

13. Here Comes the Sun

14. Here, There and Everywhere

15. Penny Lane

16. Nowhere Man

17. If I Fell

18. I liked the 4 songs on Abbey Road - She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End. Haven't listened to that in a very long time. I guess I'd still like this.