This is fun. From Urlesque:

That’s why I fear listening to Europe’s 80s monster-rock hit, ‘The Final Countdown.’ It’s literally impossible to get it out of your head once you hear it

I love pop concerts, mashing orchestras with pop music. Headbanging cello players. Awesome.

My favorite couple guitar riffs: Slash in November Rain and ‘unknown’ on the long version of The Carpenters Goodbye to Love. (The only long version I could find.)

Nothing like a hugely successful Broadway play, that sells out for three weeks in Nashville, which I didn’t really care for, to make me seem soooo out of it.

Wicked wasn’t.

I didn’t know much about the play before we saw it Saturday, except that it is the prequel to the Wizard of Oz. I heard on one of the Nashville Tee Vee stations that the performances had sold out for three solid weeks. (Even the Saturday afternoon performances, right in the heart of college football season.)

I was shocked. We’ve been season ticket holders for three years, and on Saturday afternoons, the section (Loge R if you must know) is always pretty sparse of patrons.

Walking in Saturday to a packed house was amazing. I was prepared to be blown away by Wicked.

I was.

Once.

At the close of the first act. About a five minute scene with fantastic lighting, outstanding special effects and powerful singing.

BTW: the actor who played Elphaba, one of the leads, for the touring show of Wicked was the same as for the Broadway play. She sure was no slouch in the singing and acting department.

Here’s the deal: it was too much opera for me.

Now, everything I learned from about opera, comes from watching Amadeus a couple dozen times.

Wicked reminded me of Don Giovanni (the guy in the Darth Vader outfit breaks down the brick wall and eventually the flying monkeys take over.)

There were some nice laugh lines throughout Wicked to break the heaviness. But those scenes reminded me of Legally Blonde. (Perky little blonde, in this case Glinda,  tosses off cute little laugh lines.)

Wicked is a combination of Legally Blonde and Don Giovanni.

Give credit to the playwright, Winnie Holzman. She did an excellent job of devising a script to explain how the wicked witch became wicked, why there was a Tin Man and flying monkeys, and more.  She even does a fun job with Glinda’s name change.

The Nashville critic said

A strong book by Winnie Holzman, beautiful music and lyrics by the great Stephen Schwartz and assured direction by Joe Mantello are mixed with such ingredients as Eugene Lee’s terrific sets, Chic Silber’s astounding special effects and Susan Hilferty’s brilliant costumes. Stir in some top-notch actors, and it’s an intoxicating brew…

I’m sure Evans is righter than me. I used to know Evans Donnell and Evans never lied to me before.

He bs’d me a  lot, but never lied.

The “Today” show has hired Jenna Bush Hager to work for them.

The twinster daughter of ex-President Bush (love how that sounds) will work on just about what ever she wants. Kind of like Luke Russert.

NBC: home of the ordinary Xers with extraordinary connections.

Jenna Bush will work out of the Washington bureau, jumped at the chance to drag down a nice salary and work in Tee Vee.

Here is the ringing endorsement of her qualifications by her new boss:

“I think she can handle it,”

Is this a dream job for Jenna Bush Hager? Hardly, she said:

“It wasn’t something I’d always dreamed to do,” “But I think one of the most important things in life is to be open-minded and to be open-minded for change.”

Jenna Bush-Hager won’t have to give up her part time teaching job. Did I mention she will be covering education?

Sound familar? It’s the same deal offered to Luke Russert, the kid of St. Tim Russert. He was supposed to offer his worldly insights on the political scene.

NBC put Jenna Bush through a rigorous audition. She walked in, stood and read from a prompter and was offered the job.

When she came here for a handful of appearances, she knocked it out of the park.” She “just sort of popped to us as a natural presence, comfortable” on the air.

I guess that’s about the same qualifications as most females of her age group that have network Tee Vee jobs. Except she is missing the beauty queen title that most hotties of the news have.

NBC: Home of the Hotties or the Unnervous.  Tee Vee news marches on.

Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Home Alone.

Here is a great montage of his movies that will put a smile on your face and maybe even laugh out loud as you recall the movie…

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is still our all time sick-day movie. No matter when you doze off or wake up or are drugged out, it’s the perfect fever-induced fun movie.

Or Breakfast Club.

Yo! Waistoid, you aren’t going to blaze up in here!