Boney Mouse

1. StyJuke ran today, some of the weakest entries I've submitted, two were cut. I was sort of partial to my lazy and kinda dumb Blue October dis. Mercifully cut the OK Go blurb where I talked about the treadmills for three sentences. I do think standards have been lowered since Jamiroquai, though. The song's pretty good! Major ambivalence for Estonian teenpop(ish) group Vanilla Ninja, though I think I overrated by a point...but really, a [0]? Am I missing something in finding this song enjoyable? Someone else mentioned Bratz...weird, I referred to them in the first draft of my blurb. Not only do I remember their "hilarious" single, I even voted for it (against my better judgment) on my P&J ballot. Mentally replace with BSB or H-Duff. Or replace Killers with "Beat of My Heart" and/or "Wake Up" and then sneak on BSB at 10 or something. Anyone know if this poll will still exist in a few months?

2. We've named our mouse Rasputin because he cannot be poisoned, crushed, or otherwise annihilated. Occasionally the thought of killing this mouse makes me anxious and guilty...is it because we've named it? Is it because I've anthropomorphized it in my mind, sticking its tongue out nyah nyah while it poops on our stove? It shits where we eat! Mutual ignorance breached. Paradox: Emily thinks I'm heartless for wanting to kill it and spineless for not being able to finish the job.

3. Lil' Chris (intro video here, single video here). This kid could have been a great contender in the Indie Teenpop Awards (The Lizzie Courtney Hanleys) but he had to get himself on a major label and not flop before the ceremony. I'm informed by Mr. Kogan that there was actually another lead singer in the UK reality TV show from whence Lil' Chris came. Gene Simmons picked an understudy, sort of, a singer named Ellie whose band can be found at Myspace, The Upraw. She took over when Chris left but had to step down when he returned. As far as the ITAs go, Ellie's not teenpop enough and Lil' Chris isn't indie enough! Jeez, England doesn't understand how to handle its indie OR its teenpop. (Y'know, listening to The Upraw, I'm getting slight shades of Skye in the vocals; maybe this should count?) Lil' Chris is the more interesting singer, Ellie the "better" singer, even though in both cases I'm sure a computer extracted the vocal performances from their throats like Ursula in The Little Mermaid. What do these kids know about HARD WORK anyway? Back in my day before this Youtube nonsense, we had to use GOOGLE to find all these songs, and WE LIKED IT!

4. Um...I think I just bought a new, sealed copy of Toy-Box's Fantastic from Half.com for four dollars. I feel like this must be too good to be true. Maybe it's karmic balance for losing my health insurance. [EDIT: shipped already? That's weird. I think I might be in the middle of a rip-off...] [EDIT 2 9/15: Ha! Got it today, falsely advertised (duh, catch) w/o cover and a little scratched but it's all there + bonus "Tarzan & Jane" and "Best Friend" vids and something called the TOY-BOX SPACE TRAP GAME! Er, still no health insurance.]

5. Tommy2 has the track listing to the upcoming Hannah Montana OST:

1. The Best Of Both Worlds
2. Who Said
3. Just Like You
4. Pumpin’ Up The Party
5. If We Were A Movie
6. I Got Nerve
7. The Other Side Of Me
8. This Is The Life
9. Pop Princess - The Click Five
10. She’s No You - Jesse McCartney
11. Find Yourself In You - Everlife
12. Shining Star - B5
13. I Learned From You - Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus

Nothing unexpected. I didn't think they'd tack on recycled factory product so shamelessly, but whatever...just can't believe in all this time they couldn't even muster 10 original tracks. I hope all of Hannah's young fans aren't jaded by this experience. Coping with anticlimax is an important part of growing up.