Just because...

David's Strange Birds has been out for over a week now -- what the hell are you waiting for? The song "Science" alone is worth the cost of the album. If this isn't the next single, I'll eat a plate of calamari:

i'm watching too much television
they tell me all the news is bad
i don't even care
i don't ask why
we used to want the same things
we never want the same things now...

A Modern Fairy Tale: Part Seven

A few years passed, and the Princess continued fighting for the environment, establishing her own foundation and assisting with charities. She also devoted her time to helping children in less fortunate circumstances, occasionally using the power of her angelic voice to raise money for these causes. By 1996, her desire to sing again paved the way for a breathtaking album sung in her mother tongue. This album, in keeping with her ecological vision and love of life, was called "Deep Breaths." Many of the songs were romantic, and showcased her rich, warm voice. She also sang about the world around her, and empowered women everywhere to find their wild strength and run like wolves. The record graced the top of the Swedish charts, and today remains her fans' most beloved album of all...

Definitive Moment in Film - Entry 3

A Modern Fairy Tale: Part Six

Before too long, the famous foursome were no more. The love had disappeared, and the melodies wouldn't come. So, the Princess reinvented herself, and continued to sing on her own, without her friends. But soon, she wanted to do something different. She began to worry about all the kingdoms and the trees, and the children of all the kingdoms who were suffering. She knew she had the power to do something about the world, so she put all her energies into that for a while, and became an environmentalist. During this time of change, the Princess married a handsome man, Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen. But alas, they did not live happily ever after, for more awful shadows lurked...

"No one is completely on your side..."

Laugh if you will, but there are those who think that Björn Ulvaeus is the greatest dramatic lyricist of the last century. The post-ABBA musicals Chess, Kristina and Mamma Mia! all firmly demonstrate that theory. Others, such as Attitude magazine see Ulvaeus as the "straight poet laureate of gay drama." Whatever side you're on, it's hard to ignore his lyrics. One of his strengths is the ability to capture the feelings women experience when falling out of love. I always knew he was a genius...

They passed me by, all of those great romances

You were, I felt, robbing me of my rightful chances

My picture clear, everything seemed so easy

And so I dealt you the blow

One of us had to go

Now it's different, I want you to know...

One of us is lonely

One of us is only

Waiting for a call

Sorry for herself, feeling stupid feeling small

Wishing she had never left at all...

Definitive Moment in Film - Entry 2

A Modern Fairy Tale: Part Five

The Princess, who thought her father had been killed during the last nasty war in her childhood kingdom, found him to be alive and well and living in Germany. They were united for the fist time in 1977, but it was hard to form a relationship as neither could speak the other's language well enough and they did live in separate kingdoms, after all. After this shock, The Princess went from strength to strength, giving the world the gift of her beautiful voice. She loved the fame, and she loved singing her songs, and seeing how happy they made everyone...

A Modern Fairy Tale: Part Four

She and the jolly man with a beard decided to put together a stage act, combining forces with an angelic blonde girl from the town of Jönköping, and her boyfriend, No Beard. What happened next is the stuff of fantasy, and yet it happened to the lovely Princess. The foursome became one of the most successful groups in the history of popular music. The princess and her blonde friend became idols to millions of people, and everyone loved them. But a dark shadow loomed...

Silentium Amoris

As oftentimes the too resplendent sun
Hurries the pallid and reluctant moon
Back to her sombre cave, ere she hath won
A single ballad from the nightingale,
So doth thy Beauty make my lips to fail,
And all my sweetest singing out of tune.

And as at dawn across the level mead
On wings impetuous some wind will come,
And with its too harsh kisses break the reed
Which was its only instrument of song,
So my too stormy passions work me wrong,
And for excess of Love my Love is dumb.

But surely unto Thee mine eyes did show
Why I am silent, and my lute unstrung;
Else it were better we should part, and go,
Thou to some lips of sweeter melody,
And I to nurse the barren memory
Of unkissed kisses, and songs never sung.
-Oscar Wilde

And in the beginning, God created...

A Modern Fairy Tale: Part Three

Before too long, the Princess fell in love and married a nice man from a neighbouring village. But her desire to sing for the people was too strong. She left her new prince and children behind to follow her musical dream in a rich man's world, missing her babes more than anyone ever imagined. But she found the adulation she sought soon after. She met Bearded Benny, a musician with "an endless flow of melodies" floating around him. He recognised her amazing voice as being something ethereal and beautiful beyond earthly expectations, and the radiant Princess fell in love again...

The Boys are back in town tonight!

A Modern Fairy Tale: Part Two

The princess missed her mother very much, but due to acute illness her mother had died soon after the princess's birth. Her father, a soldier, had returned to Germany, apparently unaware of his baby daughter's existence, so the little princess became an orphan. Raised by her loving grandmother in Torshälla near Eskilstuna, the princess blossomed into a beautiful young lady who possessed an incredible talent: she could sing circles around anyone in the kingdom. People would come from miles away to hear her sweet, seductive voice breathing life into ordinary songs...

A Modern Fairy Tale: Part One

Once upon a time in a remote castle somewhere in Switzerland there lived a fair princess. This princess had lived a remarkable life, and was adored by many people in many kingdoms, but her life had not been an easy one. She had narrowly escaped persecution after her birth in Björkåsen, Norway many years ago, but her doting grandmother somehow found the strength to save the little girl and take her to Sweden, where they both began a new life...

Definitive Moment in Film - Entry 1

In an attempt to determine the most transcendently beautiful "moment" in film history, there will be a weekly contribution from selected movies. Whether these films portray love between men, women, orang-utans or goats, they have one thing in common: they all move me to tears. Today's contender, a film described by the Los Angeles Times as "at once romantic, earthy and socially critical," is Latter Days:

Christian: But what if you're not? Huh? What if everything in my entire pathetic life, which I happen to love, has led me to this point? Right here, right now. What if you're the blinding light in the middle of the road that strikes me...like that guy, the guy in...
Elder Aaron Davis: The Bible?
Christian: Yeah.
Elder Aaron Davis: Paul?
Christian: Yeah. And what if everything has changed like that... and lions lay down with lambs and colours mix with whites. What if you're the one that I've been waiting for my whole life and I let you go?
Elder Aaron Davis: You have no idea what I'd be giving up.
Christian: Damn it! What is wrong with you? You want revelations engraved in gold and angels trumpeting down from heaven. But what if this is it instead? Me, telling you I love you, right here, in the snow? I think that is pretty miraculous. But if you don't... I'll go. I'll walk and you can pretend that this was just some coincidence. You can pretend there wasn't some reason that we met, and that you're sorry I ever walked into your life...

Usherette of the Day

David's new album is released. Lyrics for the Strange Birds cd are now online:

Your science is breaking my heart in two
and I know that we will soon be enemies
time will tell I'm watching too much television
they tell me all the news is bad
I don't even care

I don't ask why

we used to want the same things

we never want the same things now

come on wake up all of the stars are falling from the sky

these oceans open wide

and drag me under...

To baldly go where this man has been before!

Fabulous news, dear readers (who do I think I am, Jane Austen?). Yours truly, in keeping with his fandabidozi regeneration into a better, stronger, happier dude, has taken the plunge and gone with a more honest hair cut. For twenty years, I have channelled great magicians of the past by creating an illusion of puff candy out of nothing at all! Now those shackles of pompadour patheticness have been cast off forever. In short: I have finally accepted my baldness. And it's wonderful. No more 2.5 hours in front of the mirror trying to look like a human being; what a waste of time that all was. I will now devote my time to eating breakfast in the morning. This dramatic removal of what was left of the follicled fuzzbox appears to be the final step in the revamp of me. First, learning to love myself; second, accepting the peaceful life of a monk; third, realising how GLORIOUS it is to be free, and now this. My God, it's so liberating to let it all go. And, dear friends, this makes my role in the Universe much clearer: I'm bald, permanently single, hilarious, and blissfully happy...long may it continue! WAHOO! I love 2007.

The Exquisiteness of Edward

This may be the shortest film review in history. Just reacquainted myself with the film Edward Scissorhands after several years. One word and one word only: PULCHRITUDINOUS.

Usherette of the Day

Second to last Usherism before the album's release tomorrow:

Have your friends all changed?
All the people that you thought would be around,
As your light goes grey,
Are you losing all the hope you thought you'd found,
I think we're numb, I think we're numb...

And tell me do you feel like dying?
Tell me does it hurt just waking?
Tell me have you lost the reasons you ever wanted to fight?

Usherette of the Day

This is the long goodbye

try to keep smiling as these tears break from my eyes

this is the way I used to feel

guess I'll be trading down from something much more real

Caught in a terrible wind with a kick in your teeth

you blew me in anime eyes you've never been quite

sure what you're losing but you know you're losing

so I'll burn these bridges from the other side...

I can see that from your wounds you're open wide

It's coming clear now that I'm leaving
I forgot the lover that I left behind...

Another childhood hero falls...

Those who know me know what a longterm fan I am of The New Avengers. Yesterday, Gareth Hunt who played Mike Gambit, succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 65. I quote from the news page of The Ultimate Guide to the New Avengers site:

"... For a long time The New Avengers tended to be denigrated in comparison to its forebear, some "fans" bemoaning the addition of Gareth's character, Mike Gambit. However over the last few years the tide has well and truly turned and, notably in discussion forums, the show has not only picked up many new fans worldwide but even the "oldies" have seen that it had its own special qualities, one of which was Gareth/Gambit. He (and Jo, of course) brought wonderfully tongue-in-cheek characters to a show that they knew was the ultimate in escapism and not to be taken too seriously. Even if Gareth is only remembered by the public for this one series, it's a great legacy..."

Usherette of the Day

"There’s a whole bunch of different themes on Hallucinations, but I like to let people discover them for themselves," he remarks. "I think people take away different things from different songs... I don’t talk about the specific meanings because, although each line is specific to me and the subject I’m writing about, it doesn’t necessarily mean that someone else can’t interpret it in a different way and that their idea isn’t valid as well."...Usher says he just hopes that the music he makes has an effect of some kind on his listeners. “Some music affects people in a very strong way..."

Believe me, it does. Frida said much the same thing about the song "The Visitors" back in '82.

(taken from Usher Admits To Nothing, by Heather Adler. Source: The Gateway, Nov. 6, 2003)

It's all about the drama, honestly...

After three very long weeks of repeats and dvd viewing, the new episode of Supernatural, entitled "Roadkill" premieres tomorrow night on the CW Network. This time, our gallant ghostbusters tackle the spirit of a deranged farmer in the middle of nowhere. Only 6 more episodes until the season cliffhanger, "All Hell Breaks Loose," set to air (annoyingly) while I am sequestered on a hammock watching the sun come down over the North Shore of Oahu...

Usherette of the Day

The divine David Usher (only 6 more days until Strange Birds is released, at which point there will be a decrease in the frequency of the Usherisms) has recorded a haunting version of John Lennon's "Watching The Wheels" for Amnesty International. So today, the lyrical genius of Lennon is celebrated through the soulful voice of a modern rock star of poetic vision. And how fabulous that it all applies to me:

People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing
Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin
When I say that I'm o.k. well they look at me kind of strange
Surely you're not happy now you no longer play the game

People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away
Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me
When I tell them that I'm doing fine watching shadows on the wall
Don't you miss the big time boy you're no longer on the ball...

Usherette of the Day

I wish to dedicate this to Gavin Boutcher, the bestest friend a boy in primary school could have asked for...

So far so good
Stumble through life so complicated, it's nearly impossible
And I lost my way like I knew i would and keep it together somehow anyway
And I remember you and me
Climbing over backyard fences diving naked in the swimming pool
All those faces friends those memories fade so fast like every love song on the radio

Is it brilliant where you are
Where the lights are low
Is it brilliant where you are
Where the lights are...

Why no other woman will ever come close

I mean, seriously, not to discredit the Scandinavian beauty of "the blonde one," whom I love and adore to this day, but when I saw this photo for the first time recently, words of wisdom floated through my mind and bear repeating: "no woman ever looked more beautiful than you do right now, and no woman ever will..."

Usherette of the Day

For those who are tired of reading about David Usher, hearing about David Usher and seeing photos of David Usher: too bad! It's my blog: I can do whatever I please. That's the ultimate beauty of freedom. For the record, his poetic scribblings, as previously announced on here, are being incorporated into my blog every day until March 20th, when the brand new Strange Birds album is released. Until then, enjoy the view (God knows I do), and the poetic vision of the man:

My thoughts are floating as reality explodes
I'm whispering to each of you my friends
And every moment seems to freeze frame through the room
All the colours are electrified
But I can't see now I can't see now...

Is there laughter in Heaven?

British telly legend John Inman has died at the age of 71. I honestly don't think I would have survived the loneliness of immigration to this country had it not been for the brilliance of AYBS. Mrs Slocombe, Miss Brahms and in particular Mr. Humphries were characters who became a part of the British fabric. We'll miss you, John. Thanks for making us laugh all those years.

Usherette of the Day

"Hard when you realise that you'll never have what you try to find..."

Usherette of the Day

As I begin to lose my grip
On these realities you're sending
Taste your mind and taste your sex
I'm naked underneath your cover
Covers lie and we will bend and borrow
With the coming sign
The tide will take the sea will rise and time will rape

Black black heart why would you offer more
Why would you make it easier on me to satisfy
I'm on fire I'm rotting to the core
I'm eating all your kings and queens
All your sex and your diamonds...

007's SOS

Former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, has just been confirmed to play the role of Sam opposite Meryl Streep in the movie version of Mamma Mia!. This should be interesting: I've never liked him as an actor, and he's my least favourite Bond of all, but the prospect of seeing him duet with Streep on S.O.S. is something even I'm looking forward to. The film is being directed by Phyllida Lloyd and is being executively produced by Tom Hanks, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Judy Craymer. The movie Mamma Mia! is expected to open on July 18, 2008.

Usherette of the Day

Then you grow colder like a dream,
I can't believe the practical things,
They're always out of reach,
And I know you're not really here,
These visions fly so quickly on the edge,
They're starting to take hold

But high above me I can see the surface now,
The picture perfect life is fading out of view,
And high above me I can feel the world,
But I don't need it, I don't need it...

"Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond..."

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.
(John Keats, 1795-1821)

Usherette of the Day

The poison's in my head
And I can't feel my legs
I'm not feeling anything...

I'm standing at the top looking down
Thought I'd be so free
Float in outerspace, take a breath
Don't you breathe too deep
Stepping off the top, feel the wind
Underneath my feet...

Usherette of the Day

I lost my way, I lost it all, I lost my way...

There's no one innocent here
Bodies glisten and they shine
Like the stars we're born to die
Like these roses we all fade

I'm counting the cars on the freeway below,
Counting the lights and the end of it all,
Counting the cars on the freeway below
Lost in the music
In the music...

(available March 20th, 2007)

The Love You Leave Behind

Not only is this the title of my new hardcover book of selected poems (partly inspired by the majesty of The Bridges of Madison County), but it also sums up words left to us by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and they bear repeating over and over again:

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know that even only life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

Usherette of the Day

Borrowed from a dream
That I used to know
All my friends were there
We watched the world explode
Took another drink to find my way
Just hope that you'll be there...

And if I could remember
If I could find a place a time the space
to see another way home
And if I could forget you
Maybe there's no other way out...