Wind AJ Up: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I’ve been stocking up on things to include here since I missed writing up a January edition, so pardon this for being a little lengthy.

YouTube

I know this kind of goes without saying, but YouTube ROCKS. YouTube has been the place I turn to in recent times when my butt needs saving. When I forgot to set my DVR to record the very first episode of Supernatural when TNT started rerunning the series, I was able to find the complete episode on YouTube when every other television site out there failed me. And just last week, when I forgot to set the DVR to record that week’s Supernatural episodes because of the craziness that was the blackout, I was able to find the episode I missed on YouTube yet again. In addition to fueling my addiction to Supernatural (I am obsessed, I won’t lie—and the CW just renewed it for a sixth season WOO!!!), YouTube has been assisting in my exposure to wonderful new music artists, particularly this wonderful new group of British soul/pop artists like Paloma Faith and VV Brown. I don’t know how they do it because I do not have a YouTube account, but they have started to develop as keen a sense of personal recommendations for me as Amazon has over the years. I adore you, YouTube. Please, never change.

Celine Dion



As I mentioned before whilst I was on my winter vacay and spouting nonstop apologies for being unexpectantly MIA, I recently accidentally rekindled my decades-long love of Celine Dion. I completely idolized this woman when I was 8 years old probably until I reached high school (and even then, let’s be real, I still idolized her…just underneath all of my angstyness). I would listen to her albums on my Walkman every single night before I went to bed and lip-sync in bed. I had her Falling Into You concert recorded on a VHS tape and watched it so many times that I memorized every white leather outfit, every dance move, and every ornamentation on her notes. I dropped everything whenever her episode of VH1 Behind the Music came on. And I never, ever, EVER got tired of “My Heart Will Go On.” Not ever! Somewhere along the line, I think during her A New Day Has Come era, I lost track of Celine. Sure, I knew most of her singles on the radio, but I stopped buying her albums and stopped checking up on her schedule to see if she was making an television appearances or performing at awards shows. Rediscovering Celine, especially super, super old school Celine, was the highlight of my winter vacation. Honestly, I laugh at the thought of my 8-year-old self singing along to “(If There Was) Any Other Way” and “Water From the Moon.” And I laugh at the cheesy 90s synth that is her first two or three English-language albums. But I fucking LOVE Celine. And I’m so glad to have her back in my life. Especially at such a good time since she is on the verge of returning to the spotlight what with her upcoming documentary Celine: Through the Eyes of the World, her plans to return to Las Vegas for a 3-year stint at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, and her announcement that she has begun work on not one but TWO brand new albums—one in English and one in French. It’s a good time to be a Celine Dion fan.

Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes

This item is going to show exactly how long I’ve been saving up items for this post. I did go and see Sherlock Holmes in theaters the day it opened just as I’d been planning for the entirety of 2009. And it was fucking MARVELOUS! I honestly couldn’t stop myself from talking about this movie, and, though it should go without saying, all I had to say about it was good things. VERY good things. Immediately upon leaving the theater, I gushed to anyone who would listen (also known as anyone in my cell phone contacts who wouldn’t hate me for texting them on Christmas about a Guy Ritchie movie) about how wonderful the film was, how visually stunning the effects were, how Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law make for the best big screen bromance since Brad Pitt and George Clooney did the last Ocean’s remake, and how utterly devastated I will be if there are not more RDJ Sherlock films. Luckily, Warner Brothers was way ahead of me. They’d already started asking about a sequel script back in September of 2009 (that’s right—before that bitch was even in THEATAHS!). Guy, RDJ, and Jude are all set to return (actually Ritchie and RDJ have both abandoned* other projects in order to work on the Sherlock sequel) and, reportedly, pre-production is set to begin at the end of next month! For those of you who missed Sherlock in theaters during the busy holiday/Avatar season, don’t worry! The film will be released to DVD on March 30th. Save it to your Netflix queue stat!

*Note: Guy Ritchie stepped down from directing a film adaptation of the DC Comics “anti-hero” Lobo and RDJ turned down the lead role in another comic book adaptation, Cowboys and Aliens.

She & Him



I shouldn’t say that I have no idea how this happened, but it is an odd progression that led me to purchase and therefore “get into” the indie folk/pop band She & Him. So, She & Him consists of two members: a she (Zooey Deschanel, sister to Bones star Emily Deschanel) and a him (singer-songwriter M. Ward). Now, many, many moons ago Zooey Deschanel said something that really irked me (see this old WTF post involving Zooey getting bitchtastic about the constant comments regarding the similarities between her and Katy Perry). Because I didn’t know Zooey and had no real attachment to anything she was in, I developed a negative impression of her. Because I still didn’t know her or become attached to anything she was in, this negative impression existed until this season’s holiday episode of Bones. Zooey guest starred as her in-real-life sister’s quirky cousin who spoke only in Benjamin Franklin adages. Any negative impression I had had of her instantly melted away. Soon after that, I ended up watching Zooey’s 2008 film Yes Man and loved it. And soon after THAT, I happened upon an article about Zooey’s band She & Him and how excited the world is for their second record, which will actually be out next month (March 23, 2010 to be precise). I was instantly intrigued and excited to hear their music because of the descriptions M. Ward gives for Zooey’s songwriting talent. I’d heard their single “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” back when it was brand new, but I hadn’t heard anything else. I listened to a couple of songs via my trusty friend YouTube and within minutes I found myself clicking “Buy MP3 Album with 1-Click” on the She & Him Volume One Amazon product page. I have been listening to that record nonstop ever since (so, for about two and a half weeks now!). It’s a wonderful mix of 60s folk pop and alt-country style. It is one of those records that evokes summertime and driving down rural divided highways with the windows down. It makes me feel warm. Favorite tracks of mine include (but are in no way limited to) “Sentimental Heart,” “This is Not a Test,” and “I Was Made for You.” Oh, and if you have any question, any question at all about Zooey’s musical talent, please check out their cover of “I Put a Spell on You” (see the video above). This was their contribution to a recent Starbucks love-themed compilation, and it is beautifully chilling. Just trust me.

Honorable Mentions:

- The CW ordering a remake of La Femme Nikita. This is so funny because I recently decided that I need to watch La Femme Nikita and added it to my Netflix queue for near-future renting. Now, I have even more motivation!

- New Kelly Clarkson Album in 2010. Because I can’t get enough of her powerhouse vocals, and anything she releases that will get her one step closer to completing her contract and being free to make the music she truly wants to make, well, I can’t argue with that.

- New Music from Trent Reznor in 2010. I don’t know if it will be NIN, a random side project or both, and his cryptic messages aren’t really helpful. But the fact that he will be making music this year makes me smile.

- British Soul Pop. I am getting into so many new artists right now. Be prepared for next month's edition of Wind AJ Up. I sense it will be out of control.