Music to Write Home About: “She’s So Mean”, the new Matchbox 20 single!

I told you all the 90s are back. This generation has f-f-f-finally realized how great the era is (duh). To add to the 90s revival, Matchbox 20– a popular 90s pop band led by frontman Rob Thomas–is releasing a new album! You may remember Matchbox 20 from “Push” and “3 am”. Now the boys of Mbox 20 have a new fun pop-rock single out called, “She’s So Mean.” If you exercise or hit the gym, you will want to download this song ASAP! Mbox 20 definitely has a new sound!

 

They’ve released their own lyric video for the song–interesting marketing, right? And they hired Rob Thomas’  stunning wife to star in it! The color pink and bright lollipops fill the video, but the actual song is bittersweet–something akin to Maroon 5′s single, “This Love”. In fact, there is a whole slew of songs that follow the narrative of  “the supposedly innocent, good guy in love (or in lust) with the bad girl.”

How about Third Eye Blind’s “Never Let You Go?” “There’s every good reason for letting you go. She’s sneaky and smoked out, and it’s starting to show.”

 

Or, Beastie Boys’ “She’s Crafty”, where fictional Lucy steals all the band’s stuff? ” The girl is crafty like ice is cold….when I woke up late in the afternoon, she had taken all of things inside of his room….She had taken the bed and the chest of drawers. The mirror, the tv…she robbed us blind!”

In the “She’s So Mean” video, you see a pair of woman’s legs rocking bright pink hot pants and red lips eating candy behind the lyrics, ”For an angel she is a hot mess.. She’s like a one way ticket/cause you can’t come back./ Yeah, you want her, but she’s so mean!”

I don’t love the connotations of this song…… but I like listening to it. The song equates women with candy (women objectified for consumption? annoying), candy stores (women as something to be bought? really annoying), and childlike innocence with hot pants and candy (okay, women are all adults and don’t need to be taken care of. super annoying). However, I somehow feel better by recognizing its faults? And knowing what it’s portraying? I think we all recognize that there are tons of GREAT books, movies, and songs that are problematic: racist, sexist, gendered, and so on. A great example would be the movie Gone with the Wind. The unnamed Black Americans in the movie were portrayed as the nineteenth century US stereotype of the “Mammy”: a jovial, mother-like, enslaved woman who is happy and complacent with her oppressed condition.  This “Mammy” type figure in fact loomed large in 19th century US culture–in stories, poetry, and periodicals–as justifying rhetoric of why slavery was a “positive-good” for the community as a whole. (Did I mention I am an expert in 19th century US popular culture? BB loves pop culture!!) Knowing this, I can still say Gone with the Wind, in some aspects, is a well-made film, but definitely tempered with racist undertones that can’t, and shouldn’t be, ignored. Make sense? There’s today’s pop culture lesson! Cheers!

Music to Write Home About: “Good Time”, the new Carly Rae Jepsen single!

And just when you thought you’ve had enough of Carly Rae Jepsen…..you hear this. And then you can’t stop listening! I know, I know—she is a slightly overproduced teen pop star, but her voice is fitting for pop music, isn’t it? Entertainment Weekly gave this new single positive reviews, saying, “‘Good Time’ goes down easier than a frozen margarita at a beachfront tiki bar.” And I’m going to have to agree. This is pop gold, as far as I am concerned. And you KNOW I will be listening to this at the gym!

from Ryanseacrest.com. The single’s Album art!

I also like her musical partner on this single: Owl City. If you all don’t remember your celebrity gossip, Owl City is the Myspace phenomenon-turned-electronica-pop-star, Adam Young. He is also the adorable young man who released a love song for Taylor Swift on Valentine’s Day. Young found out Swift’s song “Enchanted” was, in fact, about her first meeting with him, and he released a lovely adaptation of her song for her, because he was “enchanted” to meet her, too. (Swift didn’t respond to the chivalrous act, most likely because she is young with still terrible taste in men….like John Mayer.) So, anyway, an adorably geeky, tech pop star singing with a cheeky Canadian pop starlet about “good times”? Yes, please!

Chocolate Kahlua Cake in a Jar (with Almond Whipped Cream)

Hey Burlesquers!

I woke up to humid weather and a weather forecast of almost triple digits. It’s going to be a hot one today, folks! Try and stay cool out there!

Cocoa Cola art, from Pop and Roll.com

Nothing new around my neck of the woods, although I’ve noticed something…..The 90s are back! You may not know, but I love 90s and turn-of-the-millenium culture in the US. Give me Britney Spears, boy bands, and other sappy, cliched pop songs! Give me Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Brian Setzer, and other bands of the Swing Revival in the 90s! Give me all the great Ska punk bands, like No Doubt and Save Ferris! I want to see Greasers, swing kids, hepcats, 2-tone shoes, and Ska lovers out there with their adapted 50 styles!

Honestly, when Emo and the rise of the Hipster started taking over culture—you know, the supposed ironic display of working man’s culture with skinny jeans, flannel, full beards and mustaches, and the consumption of cheap, lower to middle class products, like Pabst Blue Ribbon—I immediately became sad.

(Image from SkinnyDip blog!)

I cannot identify with this trend… at all. Half the population doesn’t even understand that they’re ironically assuming and fetishizing the look of the working class (factory-worker, etc.) as part of the trend. People credit this irony as brilliant, but when most of the hipster populations don’t even know that they’re doing that (or even understand what class consciousness is), I can’t agree.

Anyway, you can imagine my delight when, in a week’s span, I learned that No Doubt, Fiona Apple, and Smashing Pumpkins are out with new albums (if not now, soon), and I spotted students wearing Doc Martins (remember those?) and a ska t-shirt. Then I heard the Aquabats had returned and are on tour, AND Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish announced the “Summer of Ska” tour!  Wooohoo, the 90s are back, folks!  I am so excited!

from Children of the 90s blogspot!

“American Skathic” album art by Jump Up Records

Anyway, in celebration of these fun changes in pop culture (and because of the HOT weather), I decided to debut my cool cakes in a jar. Behold, burlesquers, my BBQ treat: Kahlua Cake with Sweet Almond Whipped Cream.

Sweet to see you!

Barbecuties! Two Kahlua Cakes in Jars for our BBQ dinner with the happy couple.

Ok, these cakes were relatively easy, but there’s definitely a learning curve to this process. For example, I used a bundt-type cake recipe, which actually needs the bundt pan to cook correctly because of its numerous wet ingredients (sour cream, oil, eggs).  (The “hole” in the bundt cake pan allows for an even, overall bake.) However, I cooked the  bundt cake batter right in the jars, and the cakes ended up baking unevenly. My original cooking time was off! Next time, I’m going to limit some of the “wet” ingredients or simply cook a normal “cake” recipe in my jars (nothing too thick or moist). I also quickly figured out that it is damn near impossible NOT to drip cake batter or topping on the sides of the jar. I ended up cooking the cakes in jars and transferring the cakes to new, clean jars for the final prep. I recommend reading the cake-in-a-jar tutorial at the  Beehive and Birds Nest blog. Very helpful!

Overall, the presentation of these cakes was so fun for a BBQ, and I am happy I finally gave this dessert a whirl! Enjoy!

Workout Music to Write Home About: The JaneDear Girls

The word burlesque, from the 1860s to the 1940s in the US, refers to a type of variety show–entertainment that consists of a set of differing acts that include everything from drama, comedy, and even the bawdy or illicit (the strip tease). Think of this blog then in the same sense: every day I’m giving you differing posts of entertainment, culture, fashion and cooking, all wrapped up in showy “burlesque baker” style!

Here’s yet another fun-to-run-to musical act (that just so happens to be two chic women): the JaneDear Girls.

Workout Music to Write Home About: The Fratellis

While some days I don’t love getting out of my warm bed to exercise, I do like being able to listen to some of my favorite music while working out. This includes mainly dance and pop music; however, the Scottish band The Fratellis, a rocking garage band, I also love! I absolutely adore this band.

The lead singer Jon Fratelli (Jon Lawler) has a speech impediment, which lends itself to the uniqueness of their sound.

He is also married to a curvy Scottish burlesque dancer, which of course I love.

from the Sun (UK)

 

In fact, many of their videos include pin-ups and burlesque themes. Here’s a video sampling! Enjoy! (And I recommend you download some of their sexy rock songs for your workouts!)

Workout Music to Write Home About: Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”

Carly Rae Jepsen–a Canadian pop protegé of Justin Bieber–just came out with a new single, “Call Me Maybe.” I may be nearing my 30s, but even I can see that this song is not only catchy, but ADORABLE. Jepsen is pining for her boy-next-door in the video. Even better, she imagines herself on the cover of a romance cover with her beloved. Download this song for your next workout, or just watch the video for a laugh!