Saturday, April 26, 2014

6 Things I'm Loving Right Now (Part 1)

1. Röyksopp & Robyn For those who think "The Girl and the Robot" might be the best thing either of them ever did (like me), May 26 can't get here quickly enough. That's when the Scandinavian smash-up will release the EP Do It Again. Hopefully, they will -- again and again and again -- because judging from the 1:37 snippet of "Monument" that's currently available on YouTube, five songs won't be nearly enough.


2. Chic Gamine Four girls and a guy who sound like an avant-garde barbershop quartet with a jazzy soul (the ladies sing, the boy bangs the drums) and who collectively offer another reason to hail Canada. I haven't bought anything on iTunes in years, but I went straight to the store to make a 99-cent purchase after hearing their song "Pale Chic" playing in the background during AJ Quartermaine's funeral on the April 23 episode of General Hospital. As far as I know, you can't find it anywhere else.


3. Lagare Cape Vintage Although everyone I know seems to prefer it, red red wine (both the song and the liquid) has never been my thing, for a number of reasons: 1) It's too bitter. 2) It's too thick and heavy. 3) It gets me tipsy too quickly. 4) It turns my lips an odd shade of dark red that renders them less kissable. 5) When it spills -- and it always does -- it leaves a stain. I'd never bought a bottle of it that wasn't for someone else, until Wednesday at Beyerskloof winery in Stellenbosch when I purchased the Lagare Cape Vintage for 90 rand (about $9). I've never particularly cared for chocolate either, but the Lagare, the eighth and final selection during the Beyerskloof tasting, was like the wine equivalent of chocolate, which, ironically, made me love it. I'm even considering taking the sommelier's suggestion and pouring it over a scoop of ice cream, which, also ironically, I've never had much use for either.

4. Hot in Cleveland 's fifth season This is the closest we're likely ever to get to another Golden Girls. But while I sometimes had to wonder if older women like Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia would actually be friends in real life, the ties that bind on TV Land's Ohio-based sitcom knot so effortlessly (and with a paucity of the sentimental sap that made Golden Girls episodes like the one in the homeless shelter borderline unbearable --  note the absence of a hokey theme song, too), I would have a hard time believing that the actresses who play Melanie, Joy, Victoria and Elka (Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and original Golden Girl Betty White, respectively) aren't friends in real life.

5. AT 40 Chart Store Now I can revisit the radio show that most defined my youth, thanks to the website that sells high-quality downloads of old '70s and '80s three-hour episodes of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 for $1.19. If you're of a certain age, nothing will make you feel young again like hearing Casey Kasem say "Van Halen is the name of the group. They're newcomers. It's their first hit. They're at No. 38 with "You Really Got Me" (on the March 11, 1978 show, which was the first one I downloaded). I dropped 36 years right then and there!

6. 45 Now that I've settled comfortably into my current decade, the thought up moving up another year no longer fills me with dread. Look how good my soon to be new age looks on Jennifer Aniston! We'll see how I feel when I wake up in Namibia (where I'll be spending my birthday week) on May 7.

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