Plantariums & Machines

Firstly, I apologize for not posting a blog earlier than this, I have been pretty busy with Christmas and my moving plans etc, you know how life gets in the way, well it gets in the way a lot with me!

Anyway, I want to tell you about a band I recently discovered that you simply MUST go and download, and the wonderful thing about this band is that they're not really a band at all, its just one woman, and she calls herself 'Florence and the Machine'...

She had a song off the 'Jennifers Body' soundtrack (as did my girl Little Boots) called 'Kiss With A Fist' and its one of those songs that just makes you feel good about crappy relationships, you know the ones?

Anyway, her album is called 'Lungs' and it has some gems on it, such as 'Howl', 'Drumming Song' and 'Dog Days Are Over' so go take a listen...

And now moving onto some new Fame music...

Last night, I was relaxing with the Dormouse and Alice and the Dormouse mentioned how her parents are in New York right now and they're going to check out a new Planetarium thats opening and it gave me inspiration for a new song...

It's aptly titled 'Planetarium' and come up with your own ideas about what exactly the song means to you....

Enjoy!

Planetarium

Staring into the kaleidoscope of stars,

Lay down, enjoy the journey to mars,

Relax, soak in the space aquarium,

Come join me, in my planetarium,

Focus your telescopic lenses,

Let go of your earthly senses,

Let your body lift and rise,

Watch it with your eager eyes,

Fly above the falcon,

Toward the cheshire grin,

Fly above the clouds,

Release the breath your breathing,

Science and fiction fuse and form,

A strawberry story, a thunderstorm,

Step into the christmas shower,

Become a wolf of a learned power,

Into the atmosphere,

The mind and body tomb,

Let saturns rings surround,

Sounds echo in a vacuum,

Let them in,

Release them up,

Catch them all,

When they fall,

Let them in,

Release them up,

Catch it all,

When the sun falls...

Written by

F. Fame

(c) 2009/2010

I want to hear some music...

Last night Freddie Fame and I went to see Jewel at the Florida Theatre in downtown Jacksonville. We're both broke twentysomethings, so we weren't even planning on going, but then the power of Twitter intervened and I won two tickets from Jewel from herself (who is gracious enough to give away tickets to fans with low funds for each show).

Here's a little, short history of Jewel in my life (trust me, it runs so much deeper than I can write here). "Pieces of You," her debut album which became a staple of the '90s with songs like "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "You Were Meant For Me," was the first CD I ever owned. My parents got it for me, along with a portable CD player (yeah, remember those beasts?) for Christmas one year when I was in elementary school. I can't remember the exact year, but it was pretty close to around the time the album came out. Since then Jewel has released album after album, and I've collected them all. I like to think that my relationship with Jewel is like my relationship with my cousins-- there since the beginning, and even though I don't see her very often, it's absolutely amazing when I do.

Okay, so back to the concert. I'd seen Jewel once before, towards the end of high school, on her solo acoustic tour to promote her album 0304 (which was not an acoustic album by any stretch of the imagination, but she still completely rocked it). Her opener for this tour was Ryan Cabrera (remember him?) but this was before he was on MTV so we were quite shocked when, a few months later, he popped up and was dating Ashlee Simpson. I left that concert totally in awe of Jewel and her voice and her complete honesty, just her and guitar. I loved every second of it. So when I heard she was coming to Jacksonville and I didn't have the money to go, I was bummed (I am, after all, a college graduate who can't seem to find a job). But then I won tickets, texted Freddie Fame to tell him we were going, and got really, really excited.

Here's the thing about Jewel. Sure, she was pretty massive in the '90s, because, honestly, what girl doesn't know every word to "You Were Meant for Me"? And yes, her voice is absolutely amazing (to get the full effect of her voice, you really have to see her live...recording studios cannot even begin to capture it in its totality). But it's more about her honesty. When she sings, you know, without a doubt, that she means every word. And girl's been through some shit. She grew up in Alaska without running water or other things we take for granted, and pretty much everyone knows she lived in a van for a while. So she's earned every ounce of success. And when she sang a song about how she was the culmination of her family's sacrifice, it honestly almost made me cry (a first for a concert, by the way!) because I feel like I owe it to my parents and my grandparents and the rest of my family to be as absolutely successful as I can make myself, no matter what I'm doing. If all my dreams come true, it will be because of them. Jewel made me realize this last night.

So Jewel, if you ever read this, thank you so much for everything you've done for me over the years without even knowing it.

Peace & Love,
the Dormouse

PS- Freddie Fame and I also now have an obsession with the girl who opened for Jewel. Her name is Meiko and she's pretty rad.

The White Queen

I have been very inspired for quite some time, to write a track titled 'The White Queen' although as to what the song would contain, I had no idea...

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, an idea hit me in the face, and this was what I came up with...

It is copyrighted and it will be featured on my future album which is as yet untitled...

Enjoy

Freddie

THE WHITE QUEEN

Where do the lines, start and end?

Where is the end of the line?

Where is the wall, to stand and defend?

Where is the door through mine?

I’ve heard many stories before,

Of men who have lost their lives,

Fighting to get inside the door,

The door to the end of the line,

But no one knows the way,

The mystery remains,

The only one who knows the truth,

Is wearing a dress, blood stained,

Go, seek out, the white queen,

She knows all you need to know,

Where can I find her?

She’s hidden 10 miles under snow,

She cannot get out,

She doesn’t go out,

She sits, and stares and thinks,

She fears the outside,

But her guards do abide,

She knows the end of the line…

The distance seems to far,

The clouds drop from the sky,

To hide the path in stars,

Walking aimlessly to live or die,

Don’t trip, or you might fall,

The ground is harder than it looks,

The weather makes your skin crawl,

The breeze hits harder than math books,

The path is undefined,

The shadows are outlined,

The only one who knows the truth,

Is wearing a clock that’s running out of time

This mountain seems to high to climb,

Reaching the tops, the only way to get inside,

The cave looks deep from way up here,

The queen looks dead, I ran out of time

Now I guess I’ll never know,

Where the line ends,

Where do I go,

I guess I’ll start over again…

(c) Freddie Fame

Written by F.Fame

Swedish Fish

As groups usually go, we have quite a creative one, even If I do say so myself...

We have visual artists, musicians, writers, bartenders and even a philosopher or two (It's a shame only alcohol brings out the philosopher though)

The Dormouse is by far the literary genius, but I however am a literary genius in a whole different way... I am a lyricist, two very different things wouldn't you agree?

So, while the Dormouse is giving you accounts of our lives in story format, I will be giving you accounts of our lives, and what random events inspire me, in one of the only ways I know how... song form.... enjoy!

This song was inspired by, just as the title suggest 'Swedish Fish' and it was written while smoking hookah with the Dormouse and Alice...

'SWEDISH FISH'

Not sure why this melody,

Is stuck in my head,

The sweet taste of sugar,

On my tongue, hidden in red,

Lips left unparted,

Hearts collided,

Swimming upstream,

For a taste of adventure,

The bitter sense of competition,

One will win, One will lose,

The journey, just begun,

The melody, paid my dues,

What are you saying?

It's not a language I'm familiar with,

What game are you playing?

Which one will win this kiss?

Push through, swim harder,

What are you, polish?

Which one will get here first?

You silly little swedish fish!

Sequins and Smoke

Freddie Fame

Go back to your wives

Small towns aren't exactly known for being forward-thinking, and drunk people aren't known for keeping their cool. Put the two together and you get Palatka, FL on a Saturday night.

Things started out normally, with people playing beer pong and sitting around the fire. The Dormouse and Freddie Fame were the newcomers, but people quickly warmed up to us and Freddie Fame epically lost a game of beer pong to a team of girls. There were Jell-o shots that didn't have the proper mixture and were way strong. So things were going swimmingly.

Until this huge white duelly pulled up, parked where there wasn't a parking space, and a group of middle-aged men pile out like clowns. Right behind them were three cars full of emo drama kids. These were the weird emo kids who think they're awesome but but really just inspire a lot of jokes from everyone else.

This was the beginning of the end.

The middle aged men (because crashing a collge kids' house party at that age is so super cool) were talking shit and being loud and one of them even stuck a finger in the cake icing. So they were politely asked to leave. As they were leaving, some drunk guy made a comment that they need to go home to their wives. This brought on the onslaught of profanity and threats from the middle-aged guys. The emo kids all leave like the wimps they are (because everyone knows they wouldn't be able to handle their own in a fight). So one of the old farts proclaims he's a doctor (we later found out he was only a dentist) and that we better hope he doesn't see us again because he'll piss in our mouths. A classic threat, and I'll find another doctor, thank you. So after unsuccessfully goading us into a fight, they pile back into the bubba truck and drive off.

Okay, seriously, let's think about this. At what point did the lives of these men go so terribly wrong that they have to crash college kids' parties and start shit with everyone? It's the common consensus of Freddie Fame and I that our lives will never be that bad.

Peace and love,
the Dormouse

"Trouble is you gotta have yourself an alternate plan"

Looking for a job is like repeatedly banging your head against the wall hoping to break through to the other side. It always seems like there has to be a better way, and each time it hurts a little more, and you hope that you're getting closer to breaking through but you can never really be sure. And you're not even sure if what's on the other side is even worth it. I feel like my college degree is doing me no good. Every employer wants experience. Is four years of college not experience enough? How, exactly, is one supposed to get experience if never given the chance? Our economy is in the hole. I understand this. I get it. But I didn't spend four years in college to work in retail or fast food (not that there's anything wrong with that- I spent almost a year and a half in fast food). It's tough and it's annoying and hopefully will all be worth it in the end. If not, I'll continue to sit in my pajamas plotting my next move.

"And generally my generation
Wouldn't be caught dead working for the man
And generally I agree with them
Trouble is you gotta have yourself an alternate plan"
-Ani DiFranco

With peace and love,
the Dormouse

"Twilit," Stella and a flame thrower

Freddie Fame is looking at me from across the porch, the hookah smoke clouding his face momentarily. People are milling around the parking lot but I don't know them and they don't know me. This might be best for all parties involved. The Red Queen chokes on the awesomeness. Freddie Fame wants two different colored eyes- blue and green. We were discussing who would play us in a movie about our lives (Johnny Depp for Freddie Fame, Janeane Garofalo for The Dormouse and Sacha Baron Cohen's baby mama for the Red Queen) but now the topic has somehow gotten to lighting cigarettes with flame throwers. Beer is really nothing but preference. The Red Queen is getting into Stella lately, since the Brits came and went. Freddie Fame has a mystery text message, and, being the sleuth that he is, he's determined to figure out who is cussing him out anonymously (like a coward, according to the Red Queen). We're reading way too much into Lady Gaga and "Twilight."

The three of us are rewriting "Twilight" into "Twilit," and yes, it will be the ghetto version. We need an ebonics dictionary but haven't taken the time to Google it yet. All we know is the line "Say it, out loud, say it" will remain intact (because sometimes things are so bad they're genius). The two opposing forces will battle for Bella's affection through slam poetry. But enough about that. Giving too much away will make seeing the movie pointless (or someone will steal our ideas).