The Last Song

After Jason's disappointing encounter with teenage vampires, I can't recommend that he rush out to see Miley Cyrus in The Last Song, but we're just back from the movie and Rex and the girls and I had a terrific time... including burgers at Fuddruckers afterwards. I guess we're just suckers for a Nicholas Sparks tearjerker.

Music Monday: "When I Look At You" -- Miley Cyrus in The Last Song

It's Spring Break for London and Maddie this week... Rex and I will be working hard from home every day on six different client projects, not to mention studying hard for the Series 79 exam that we'll be taking in mid-April. However, we're also planning to play hard, enjoying the 80 degree weather that's coming later in the week and taking the girls to see Miley Cyrus in The Last Song, based on the Nicholas Sparks page-turner that I started over the weekend and can't seem to put down.

We saw Miley as a mentor on American Idol Tuesday night, then singing "When I Look At You" on Wednesday night, and found the performance a bit boring...good thing Simon wasn't judging her! We'll wait and see how she fares as an actress in The Last Song, since we've heard a rumor she's done with music after releasing a new album in June. In the meantime, enjoy the video and let us know what you think:




Everybody needs inspiration,
Everybody needs a song
A beautiful melody
When the nights so long

Cause there is no guarantee
That this life is easy...

Yea when my world is falling apart
When there's no light to break up the dark
That's when I, I...
I look at you

When the waves
Are flooding the shore and I can't
Find my way home anymore
That's when I, I...
I look at you

When I look At You I see forgiveness
I see the truth
You love me for who I am
Like the stars Hold the moon
Right there where they belong
And I Know I'm Not Alone.

Yea when my world is falling apart
When there's no light to break up the dark
That's when I, I...
I look at you

When the waves
Are flooding the shore and I can't
Find my way home anymore
That's when I, I...
I look at you

You appear just like a dream to me
Just like Kaleidoscope colors that
Cover Me, All I need every
Breath that I breathe don't you know
You're beautiful...

Yea Yea Yea

When the waves
Are flooding the shore and I can't
Find my way home anymore
That's when I, I...
I look at you
I look at you

Yea Yea Oh OH OH

And you appear Just like a dream
To me.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.


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Music Monday: Party in the U.S.A. by Miley Cyrus

Or should I say, pole dancing in the U.S.A.? We're back from Saturday night's Miley Cyrus concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and I have to confess that Grammy was more right than I was about the content of the performance. Even though Miley never once donned her blonde wig or sang their Hannah Montana favorites, London and Maddie and their 8-year-old girlfriends had a great time, but the grown-ups spent quite a bit of time whispering "Don't tell Grammy" and "what happens in Newark stays in Newark" as Miley changed from one pair of leather boy shorts into the next. As Miley gyrated on the stage in her panties and grabbed at her crotch during the new "sexed up version" of Girls' Night Out, I asked my friend Susan if moms and dads ever took their kids to see Madonna (even as a teenager, I was never a fan), and she reminded me that back in the day, our parents didn't take us to concerts, and certainly not when we were eight years old. My first concert was Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes at Somerset County College when I was twelve years old... my friend's older brother (the nice one, not the hot one) took a bunch of us, and the venue was about three miles away from home. Next week's Music Monday may take us back with Bob Seger' "Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets."

London and Maddie both told me that they enjoyed this concert more than the "Best of Both Worlds" tour two years ago, but I'm sure many of Miley's younger fans were disappointed that she has turned her back on the Hannah Montana alter ego and the songs that brought her fame. As more than one parent has lamented online (here's a link to a well-written review of her Portland, Oregon show), "I wish we'd have known she was going to transition this quickly in this manner BEFORE I bought the tickets months ago." Because the Wonder World tour used paperless ticketing (show up with your photo ID and the credit card used to purchase the seats) at all venues, disappointed parents don't have the option of reselling them....even though the new Miley has developed a following among plenty of teenage boys who didn't have any interest in the Disney show their baby sisters have been watching for the past three years.

Highlights for the kids were Miley riding a motorcycle through the air while singing a cover of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." The hands down favorite for kids and adults in our group was "Party in the U.S.A." where we all got up and were movin' our hips like yeah, just like in this week's Music Monday video below:



I hopped off the plane at LAX
with a dream and my cardigan
welcome to the land of fame excess, (whoa)
am I gonna fit in?

Jumped in the cab,
Here I am for the first time
Look to the right and I see the Hollywood sign
This is all so crazy
Everybody seems so famous

My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kinda homesick
Too much pressure and I'm nervous,
That's when the taxi man turned on the radio
and a Jay Z song was on
and the Jay Z song was on
and the Jay Z song was on

CHORUS:
So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflies fly away
Noddin’ my head like yeah
Moving my hips like yeah,
And I got my hands up,
They’re playin' my song
I know I'm gonna be ok
Yeah, It's a party in the USA
Yeah, It's a party in the USA

Get to the club in my taxi cab
Everybody's lookin at me now
Like “who's that chick, that's rockin’ kicks?
She gotta be from out of town”

So hard with my girls not around me
It's definitely not a Nashville party
'Cause all I see are stilletos
I guess I never got the memo

My tummy's turnin and I'm feelin' kinda homesick
Too much pressure and I'm nervous
That's when the D.J. dropped my favorite tune
and a Britney song was on
and the Britney song was on
and the Britney song was on

CHORUS:
So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflies fly away
Noddin’ my head like yeah
Moving my hips like yeah,
And I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know I'm gonna be ok
Yeah, It's a party in the USA
Yeah, It's a party in the USA

Feel like hoppin' on a flight (on a flight)
Back to my hometown tonight (town tonight)
Something stops me everytime (everytime)
The DJ plays my song and I feel alright!

CHORUS:
So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflies fly away
Noddin’ my head like yeah (Oh, nodding my head)
Moving my hips like yeah, (Ooh Yeah)
And I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know I'm gonna be ok (gonna be okay)
Yeah (huh huh), It's a party in the USA (Yeah)
Yeah, It's a party in the USA

So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflies fly away (flying away)
Noddin’ my head like yeah (nodding my head like yeah)
Moving my hips like yeah, (moving my hips like yeah)
And I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know I'm gonna be ok (I'm gonna be okay)
Yeah (Yeah), It's a party in the USA
Yeah (hahaha), It's a party in the USA (Party in the USA!)

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Big Weekend: Miley Cyrus at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ

Back in the Spring, Rex and I were lucky enough to score two sets of four tickets to take London and Maddie and friends to see Miley Cyrus on Saturday, November 7th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. We firmed up plans to include a mother-daughter pair of friends for Maddie and me, and a father-daughter pair of friends for Londona and Rex. We'll start off with an early Portuguese dinner, probably at Adega Grill in Newark, where we went the night we saw Movin' Out at NJPAC. Now, as we head into a four-day weekend thanks to the NJ state teachers' convention, the big night is almost here, and the girls are very excited.

Now, I know there are those who frown upon Miley and her Hannah Montana alter ego... in fact, Grammy continues to talk about the upcoming concert in a way that suggests that Rex and I have made plans to take our daughters to a strip show in Vegas. However, all four of us really enjoy her music (with Rex and me shedding a few Disney tears during the Hannah Montana Movie), and I believe with sufficient "parental guidance," our girls are smart enough to understand the difference between a "normal teenage girl" and trashy behavior that points us towards the next Britney Spears.

Last time I mentioned the concert here, however, more than one of my loyal Roxiticus Desperate Housewives readers reminded me that Miley's baby sister (who is about London's age... 8 or 9 years old) has been stirring up scandal with her online video "show" and scantily clad appearances on Hollywood red carpets. Don't worry, though... London and Maddie's girl band, the Butter Bites, "kept it country" for their Bay Head Halloween concert and trick or treating outfits.

Pssst.... Don't Tell London and Maddie

I know it's only Halloween, but I'm doing a little bit of online Christmas shopping. I have one of those 10% Target Rewards certificates that expires next week, and I wanted to get a jump on shopping at a discount (unfortunately, I have learned through a call to their less-than-helpful customer service that Target doesn't really mean it when they claim "free shipping on your $50+ order"...unless you're buying "specially marked items"...their message seemed to be "go shop in the store... who cares whether you'd rather spend the time with your kids?").

Just until the end of today (Halloween), Amazon is running a special offer where you buy $80 of video games (including either of the two Disney Sing It bundles) and get a $40 promotional credit for your next Wii, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 video game purchase.

London and Maddie are hoping Santa will leave a Wii under their tree, so I've been looking into games they might enjoy. Since they love to practice singing and dance moves with their Butter Bites band, I want to find singing, dancing and musical activities. I saw a clip on the Disney Channel promoting their Sing It games, so I tracked down the song lists for two of the games.

The "original" Disney Sing It features the following favorites:
Aly and AJ – Potential Breakup Song
Aly and AJ – Chemicals React
Aly and AJ – Like Whoa
Camp Rock – Here I Am
Camp Rock – Hasta La Vista
Camp Rock – Play My Music
Camp Rock – Gotta Find You
Camp Rock – This Is Me
Camp Rock – Start The Party
Camp Rock – We Rock
High School Musical 2 – You Are The Music In Me
High School Musical 2 – What Time Is It?
High School Musical 2 – Fabulous
High School Musical 2 – Bet On It
High School Musical – Start Of Something New
High School Musical – Get’cha Head In The Game
High School Musical – Breaking Free
The Cheetah Girls 2 – The Party’s Just Begun
The Cheetah Girls 2 – Dance With Me
The Cheetah Girls 3 – One World
Everlife – Real Wild Child
Everlife – Find Yourself In You
Jordan Pruitt – Outside Looking In
Jordan Pruitt – Jump To The Rhythm
Jesse McCartney – She’s No You
Jump In – Push It To The Limit
Vanessa Hudgens – Say OK
Billy Ray Cyrus – Ready Set Don’t Go
Hannah Montana – Rock Star
Hannah Montana – Nobody’s Perfect
Hannah Montana – Life’s What You Make It
Hannah Montana – Best Of Both Worlds
Miley Cyrus – Start All Over
Miley Cyrus – See You Again
Miley Cyrus – G.N.O. (Girl’s Night Out)

Sing It Pop Hits continues the fun with:
Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
Colbie Caillat - Realize
Coldplay - Violet Hill
Demi Lovato - Don't Forget
Demi Lovato - Get Back
Demi Lovato - La La Land
Duffy - Mercy
Duffy - Warwick Avenue
Hannah Montana - Let's Do This
Hannah Montana - Let's Get Crazy
Jem - It's Amazing
Jesse McCartney - How Do You Sleep?
Jesse McCartney - It's Over
Jonas Brothers - Burnin' Up
Jonas Brothers - Hold On
Jonas Brothers - Love Bug
Jonas Brothers - SOS
Jonas Brothers - When You Look Me In The Eyes
Miley Cyrus - 7 Things
Miley Cyrus - Fly On The Wall
Miley Cyrus - Hoedown Throwdown
Miley Cyrus - The Climb
Mitchell Musso - The In Crowd
One Republic - Apologize
Steve Rushton - Emergency
Taylor Swift - Change
Taylor Swift - I'm Only Me When I'm With You
Vanessa Hudgens - Sneakernight
Love and Theft - Dont Wake Me Up
Hatching Pete - Let It Go

Just until the end of today (Halloween), Amazon is running a special offer where you buy $80 of video games (including either of the two Disney Sing It bundles) and get a $40 promotional credit for your next Wii, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 video game purchase. Let's get shopping!

Not for today, but once I get a better understanding of all the musical options out there (and when I get my $40 promotional code from Amazon for the games I bought today), my friend Susan and I are intrigued (for our daughters or ourselves??) with Guitar Hero World Tour. There's a "Complete Band Game" bundle that appears to come with a microphone, guitar, and drum set, so the whole Butter Bites band could play at the same time. Have any of you tried it?

The other game I've heard of that I think my little Butter Bites would enjoy is Dance Dance Revolution, but there are several options to choose from, including bundles with different songs and multiple dance mats...it starts to get confusing to make sure we have enough remotes, mats and...nunchuks...what kind of crazy word is that??!!

My loyal Roxiticus Desperate Housewives readers know that I haven't had a lot of time to spend in the blogosphere lately, but if Santa delivers the Wii and we get all the pieces hooked up properly, I will commit to explaining to all of you just what you need to get started having family fun.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together...

Back in the Spring, Rex and I were lucky enough to score two sets of four tickets to take London and Maddie and friends to see Miley Cyrus on Saturday, November 7th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Today, I've wrapped up our plans to include a mother-daughter pair of friends for Maddie and me, and a father-daughter pair of friends for London and Rex.

Now, I know there are those who frown upon Miley and her Hannah Montana alter ego... in fact, at our recent family reunion I heard Grammy whispering about the upcoming concert in a way that suggested that Rex and I had made plans to take our daughters to a strip show in Vegas. However, all four of us really enjoy her music (with Rex and me shedding a few Disney tears during the Hannah Montana Movie), and I believe with sufficient "parental guidance," our girls are smart enough to understand the difference between a "normal teenage girl" and trashy behavior that points us towards the next Britney Spears.

Welcome, SocialSpark Visitors!

So my loyal readers know that Bree blew off her good friend Mary Alice and the other Roxiticus Desperate Housewives, who were headed in to Morristown, New Jersey, for a night of Sex in the City...I bet you're wondering what I'm doing instead. If you're young and single, perhaps living in London or Paris or Milan or New York City (or where is it in Malaysia that my blogosphere buddy Mariuca lives?), it probably doesn't sound like much fun.

But here goes: Rex and I are sharing a Marcha Malbec Nuevo 2005 on the deck, waiting for the Roxiticus Sunset, listening to Rex Smith and Uncle Kracker on the iPod, making new friends and giving "props" on SocialSpark, and watching my girls play on the lawn and practice their Hannah Montana and High School Musical performance for our upcoming Roxiticus Sunset Party.

And you should know that I'm not totally antisocial...we're having a play date plus dinner (spicy black bean soup) at Lynette's house tomorrow night, and Mary Alice will be there with her kids, too...

Miley Cyrus: "I'm Going to Britneyland"

So here's the Roxiticus Desperate Housewives celebrity scandal of the day: Miley Cyrus, better known by my two little girls and the rest of America for her role as Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel (and related pop songs), posed in a revealing photo shoot with Vanity Fair. The 15-year-old star expressed regret, hinting that Vanity Fair had exploited her. Of course, not only did she and her parents sign off on the photos to be published...it's not too late! They could give Vanity Fair their money back and pull the photos, replace them with a nice sweater set and a skirt down to her ankles. Or not.

It seems like Disney is getting nervous about yet another one of their previously wholesome teen stars going the scantily clad hot pix route. As Hannah Montana might say, Disney wants the Best of Both Worlds...they (and stockholders like me) have been happy to see the big bucks generated by her good looks since they launched her TV show when she was thirteen (13), and no one at Disney complained when those same hot looks sold out concerts around the country. I took my little girls to see Hannah/Miley at the Prudential Center just after Christmas. It was a great show, and I had hopes that she'd "stay wholesome," but I'm afraid she's goin' to Britneyland.

Maybe it is time for teen stars like Miley Cyrus to try The Sedona Method as a way of grounding themselves. The Secret works with A New Earth to bridge the gap between getting what we want through the Law of Attraction while not creating greater attachment to the ego. Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana, Amy Winehouse, Lindsay Lohan, Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears, as well as my loyal Roxiticus Desperate Housewives readers....you can all get a free DVD and CD that will help you to understand why The Sedona Method is at the leading edge of the peaceful revolution in consciousness that is sweeping the planet.