"Hold Me Closer"

Britney & Elton

T.G.I.F! Honestly I can't think of a better week to kick off this weekend than with the official audio to Hold Me Closer by Elton John and one Ms. Britney Spears.

FYI it's Britney's first new music since 2016 and her first since being free of her conservatorship.

Well it's good and kudos to Sir Elton for understanding the assignment -

Hit it at the video below Minions!!!

Michael's Musings

Feeling Madonna, Looking Like Nina Hagen
Michael Shinafelt

This has been an interesting week with many things to ponder and new and exciting challenges. Ones that bring you into inner space and outer space. Some things that used to seem intimidating now seem like a welcome stranger, other things that were comforting now seem useless.

And all I really wanted to do was Vogue, damn it!

When I saw Garcelle's of RHOBH son had been trolled on the Internet I had to see what the 411 was. Sadly it was worse than I thought it would be.

I love Barbie Ferreira on Euphoria, she was off the hook the first season. She also had a storyline. Where as season two was more like a cameo. Sad, but not surprised she is dropping out of the show before season three.

You are the aesthetic 

I try to be nonchalant, but under the surface I'm chalant AF!!!

The last face you see before you wake up in a Motel 6 ice-filled bathtub with one of your kidneys missing...Go!

If you write songs about sewing machines does that make you a Singer, songwriter?

Current Mood: Better late than than never

History is not for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from it. Including your own.

Woman Crush of the Week - Blake Lively today's her Birthday after all. HBD Blake!

Put a squirrel in your butt, that's all

Congratulations to those of you who got student loan forgiveness

Remember prudes are people too!

So I got an air fryer, now what?!

Let's collectively get into the groove, yeah that's the ticket

Join Me Here -

https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/MShinafelt   

Hump Day & Chill

Here we are Minions a scant 68 days away from Halloween and an even lesser 51 days from the conclusion of the current Halloween trilogy, Halloween Ends.

Honestly I can't decide which one I am more excited for, thus I declare it a tie. Thus let's Hump Day & Chill to my favorite time of the year.

"Yes" in case you didn't know I am a huge horror fan and of all the days of Spooky Season leading up to Halloween.

Also the buzz about Halloween Ends is that takes an entirely different direction than any other Halloween movie ever. Which will hit or miss, fingers crossed it's the former.

So let's give a big Hump Day & Chill to everything Halloween and then some!

Halloween on Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

The Smithereens

In the fall of 1993 while they were in between contracts with Capitol and RCA, The Smithereens ventured into Crystal Sound Studios NYC to write and record a new album for their own label. The result of those one month marathon recording sessions is this album, unheard by the outside world until now and appropriately titled The Lost Album.  The Smithereens’ take no prisoners sound, reflecting their Garden State roots, has resonated with fans worldwide over the course of 17 albums and 2500+ live shows. They've also inspired generations of musicians, including Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who cited The Smithereens as a major influence. Founded in New Jersey in 1980, The Smithereens have been creating electrifying, original rock’n’roll for 41 years. Jim Babjak (guitar) Dennis Diken (drums) and Mike Mesaros (bass) grew up together in Carteret and lead singer, the late Pat DiNizio, hailed from Scotch Plains. As The Smithereens’ fame escalated, they were in heavy rotation on MTV and appeared on The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien, and Saturday Night Live. They’ve since performed on stages coast to coast from the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles to the Meadowlands Arena in NJ to Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, and internationally from Europe to Australia. Tour mates have included Tom Petty, Squeeze, The Pretenders, Lou Reed, and Ramones, among others.

 

In bassist Mike Mesaros’ “own write” – 
The Lost Album has previously existed only as a sentimental “scrapbook” for Dennis, Pat, Jim and me. Mine was tucked away in a dusty shoebox with other cassettes—forsaken raw nuggets of outtakes, demos, rough mixes and silly chatter. Now, the inevitable turning of the clock and the tragic demise of friend and brother Pat has buffed and polished this collection of songs into emotional gold.  The Lost Album remains only 80 percent finished and rough mixed. The feeling and style, however, are all there, outweighing any overdub or mix considerations. It is something new, yet vintage, emerging from its warm analog tomb into a cold digital world.

And so The Lost Album lives. Listen and float with us in between labels purgatory. Pat D. Is in fine fettle and we are young, together and tight. Cigarette smoke fills the studio like a mainline from the NJ Turnpike. It’s good and loud. Even playbacks. Beer is swilled and laughs are had with Den’s impersonations ruling the roost. It’s our traditional and comfortable atmosphere for makin’ us a record.

‘Round midnight, we exit Crystal Sound Studio A and jaywalk over to Studio B — O’Flynn’s Saloon. In due time a cab is hailed and we head downtown to our village incubator, Kenny’s Castaways. We affectionately reckon with our uncle and mentor, Pat Kenny and invite the beloved man to a session. (He came). We’re jazzed about this project because, for the first time, we are producing ourselves and mum’s the word to the outside world. Somehow, it evokes the early days when we were our own best kept secret and a fan club of 4.

The next day our singer is AWOL. After Kenny’s we had followed the clarion call to Freddy’s, an extinct Little Italy speakeasy (Bud in cans or Smirnoff shots) run by our pal Sal where Pat was the jukebox Sinatra. By day it was a paper/tobacco stand/ soda fountain. Sal’s mama always had a big pot of sauce gurgling awaiting her cloud-like meatballs. The aroma permeated lower Manhattan to 6th Avenue.

As we three Carteret hangovers await the Scotch Plains boy’s arrival we are soothed by our ace engineer, pocket psychologist, and studio owner Larry Buxbaum. He supports us and believes in our project like an older brother with a bemused grin. Love and miss you Larry. Thanks.

The Lost Album showcases some of DiNizio and Babjak’s best writing and never better group empathy and collaboration. At this point we were really listening to each other and this was key in our individual styles meshing so well. A real band.  We could be mean, sweet, joyful, or brooding. As need be. We still were in our prime — young, battle-scarred vets who were fluent in the lingua franca of rock ‘n roll but still not far removed from Jimmy’s garage and Pat’s basement. (We still aren’t.)

Out of a shoebox it came. New and vintage. Come back with us. Let’s Get Outa This World.

Tour dates are as follows:

10/14              WALL STREET THEATER            NORWALK, CT

11/2                CITY WINERY                                  CHICAGO, IL

11/3                POTAWATOMI HOTEL                  MILWAUKEE, WI

11/4                LUDLOW GARAGE                         CINCINNATI, OH

11/5                KNUCKLEHEADS                           KANSAS CITY, MO

**wih Marshall Crenshaw on lead vocals

 

12/3                CARTERET                                      CARTERET, NJ

**with Marshall Crenshaw and Robin Wilson 

 

3/3/23             80s CRUISE 

**with Robin Wilson

 

Website

Facebook

Twitter

You Tube

Spotify

 

Before & After

Hair Apparent
Halle Berry 

It's just another Manic Monday Minions (say that three times fast) - and I thought we would honor it with a photo of Halle Berry's hair style with a before and after shot.

"Yes" it's because I am feeling light today, just as light as Halle with blonde streaks in the before photo.

But soon I am will be feeling like a Purple People Eater, much like Halle in her after and current photo.

There you have it peeps Halle Berry's Hair.

Now go out there and get em' Minions and have a groovy Monday!

Halle on IG -

https://www.instagram.com/halleberry/?hl=en    

Cosmic Sounds

 Meanwhile at the Mt. Wilson Observatory in Los Angeles...

				Cosmic Sounds with Composer CM von Hausswolff and Pasadena's Fulcrum Art + Science Festival CM von Hausswolff will score a special telescope viewing on Fri. Sep. 23. He will also conduct 12 musicians using the frequencies of the ocean as part of Fulcrum Art's “Deep Ocean/Deep Space.” Art + Science Festival, which takes place Sep. 23-25 (the festival starts on the 15) Tickets Coming Soon

Rain Rain Go Away

16 year old viral teen sensation Havanna Winter, is a musical artist, actress, and influencer. In 2020 she gained worldwide attention after going viral on TikTok and currently has a fanbase of over 6 million followers across her social media platforms. Havanna was born in Oslo, Norway, but spent her childhood summers in Spain. With Spanish summers and Viking winters running through her veins, she made the transatlantic move to Los Angeles, California at the age of 9. With a burgeoning music career on the horizon, Havanna has signed with Stevie Van Zandt's new imprint Wonderwall Records. Van Zandt says "Wonderwall Records is our new imprint that focuses more on the Pop side of things and we're looking forward to Havanna being the first release." The plan is to release 3 singles this year with an album to come next year, all guided by Executive Producer Maya K (Bebe Rexha, Anita, J Balvin). Maya K says, "I am very excited to work with such a talented artist like Havanna. It’s really inspiring to be able to work with an artist who has such a clear vision of who she is and what she wants." A video for the first single “rain rain go away” written by Rhyan Besco (Prettymuch, Shaylen) and co-produced by Truls Dyrseth and William Van Zandt, is now streaming at: https://youtu.be/YZ8HrUxlbNA. Of the video, Winter says, "We went for a The Lost Boys vibe. It's one of my favorite movies and biggest sources of inspiration, so the fact that it looks a bit raw only adds to the eighties vibe we were going for!" The clip was produced by the music video's cinematographer Michael Donovan and creative director Anette Winter, with editing by Alexander Zarate from Scope. Inspired by filmmakers Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Tim Burton, as well as films like "The Lost Boys” "Pulp Fiction" "Dazed and Confused,” Havanna’s musical vision is to creatively deliver a cinematic experience and sound with every song release. Cultivating elements of her retro interests has allowed Havanna to bring new life to them in the digital world.

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@havannawinter (3.2 million followers) Insta: www.instagram.com/havannawinter (1.4 million followers) FB: www.facebook.com/havannawinter (398k followers) Twitter: https://twitter.com/HavannaWinter (19.6k followers) Youtube (34.2k subscribrs) Triller https://triller.co/@havannawinter (1.3 million followers)