Chapter 231: Aphrodite

Okay, so today marks a very momentous occasion. Something HUGE has happened – something that is going to become the focal point for this entire blog tonight. Since this monumental occasion is going to be such a focus in tonight’s blog, I wanted to take a moment beforehand to discuss a few other things that went on today. Sure, all of these things have been completely dwarfed by this major event that took place today but they still bear mentioning. First of all, I actually woke up on time today, which is a plus. I dicked around online for a while before heading into the bathroom to do my hair and makeup for the day, and I emerged from the bathroom about 30 minutes later feeling pretty damn hot. I did want to mention the fact that I have kind of been considering trying to do my very first You Tube makeup tutorial. On Tuesday, when I was off from work, I stumbled upon the premiere of Kelly Rowland’s video for her new international dance single, “Commander,” which I have been in love with for months. The video is pretty basic stuff but one thing that really stood out to me about this video was her makeup. There was this one scene in particular where she was wearing this really gorgeous look with a shimmery peach/bronze color on her eyelids, with bright silver on the inner corners and a very thin, dark black line all the way across the crease in her eye. It was kind of an unusual look but I loved the look of it and decided that I would like to try it out. I kind of thought about it and decided that it would be a good look to do for my first makeup tutorial. So, I decided to try wearing the look today to see how well I could recreate what she had going on in the video. I must say, I felt like it came out really well and definitely intend to try to put together a tutorial of this look sometime in the near future. I like it a lot. I just haven’t quite figured out the logistics of filming myself doing makeup yet. I haven’t had the time to really sit down and sort out how it would all work out just yet but I definitely intend to give it a shot over the weekend or something. Work was a bore today. The highlight of the early part of my day was finishing the first book in the “Gossip Girl” series and moving on to the second. I really like these books, actually. I love that they are actually kind of like individual episodes of the television show. Seriously, the entire first book was the pilot episode of the television show. The characters, while being similar, are a lot different from their television counterparts, which kind of gives you a different perspective on the characters you have come to know on the series. It is a good thing. I also received notification in my email yesterday that the next DVD in my Netflix queue had been shipped to me and should be arriving today. This film, entitled “Starrbooty,” was a star vehicle for RuPaul, which she co-wrote, produced and starred in. It was really… something. I actually really enjoyed it. It was hilarious and completely over the top. The acting was awful but it was kind of intentionally so. “Starrbooty” is the story of FBI/Supermodel Starrbooty, who has to go undercover as a prostitute in order to save her adopted niece, Corniesha, from her kidnappers, who run a prostitution ring. It really comes across as less of a full-length, cohesive film than as just a series of silly vignettes starring RuPaul and a group of random men doing full-frontal nudity. It also co-starred Candis Cayne, the gorgeous transgendered actress from ABC’s “Dirty Sexy Money,” etc. It was hilarious. My Mother didn’t think quite so much of it. Her direct quote after the movie ended was, “That was lame!” I don’t know… I enjoyed it. I do feel like there were a lot of scenes added into this film solely for the purpose of promoting RuPaul’s music. Hell, she was writer and executive producer, why not promote your other projects while you can?

Anyway, like I said, there was a monumental event that took place today that has really been the highlight of this day. It is something I have been waiting a very long time for yet wasn’t expecting to have happened quite so soon. I knew it was coming, I’ve been looking forward to it and keeping an eye out, but I didn’t realize the time would come quite so quickly. What happened? Kylie Minogue’s eleventh studio album, “Aphrodite,” has LEAKED. Oh my God, I don’t know how to explain my feelings on this having happened. I still haven’t even gotten to full absorb the Scissor Sisters’ “Night Work” leaking and here I am with the new Kylie already. I have been feeling pretty down recently, though, and when I received the text from my dear friend Richie that the album had leaked, it felt like exactly what I needed right now in my life. So, as soon as I got home from work the very first thing I did was rush to the computer to download the album. Unfortunately, I got stuck at work late and my Mom wasn’t able to bring me home on her break. My sister’s girlfriend was still there but she had to go to some big upper management dinner thing and wasn’t able to bring me home, either. Fortunately, she called my sister for me, since I wasn’t able to get through to her, and had her come pick me up. I didn’t get home until 6:50pm. At lunch today, my Mom asked me to make dinner tonight and I was determined to get it done before she came home. That meant that I needed to have it started earlier than I usually do. The album took a little time to download and by the time it finished, I was already behind on getting dinner started. I thought about taking my iPod speakers into the kitchen and listening while I cooked but I didn’t want to do it that way. I wanted my first time listening to the album in full to be a time when I could full focus on listening to it and nothing else. So, now that I have done that, let’s discuss it in detail.

The album opens with the lead single from the album, “All The Lovers,” which is by far my favorite song of the summer. It is gorgeous. This song, for those who have yet to hear it, is dance to its core. The beautiful thing about this song, in terms of the instrumentation, is its simplicity. It starts out in a slow/mid-tempo range and builds up to this big, joyous chorus. My favorite part of the entire song is the break between the repeat of the first verse and the final chorus, where the music takes a particularly upbeat turn and just kind of goes crazy for a minute. The best word to describe “All The Lovers” is definitely joyous. It’s lyrics are simple but say everything they need to, with a simple chorus of “All the lovers that have gone before they don’t compare to you, don’t be frightened, just give me a little bit more, they don’t compare, all the lovers.” It is simple, yet beautiful. It brings a smile to my face every time I hear it, which has been a LOT over the past couple of months. The second song on the album is called “Get Outta My Way,” and I adore this song, as well. This song also starts a trend that I see throughout much of the album – something in the instrumentation and the melody of this song reminds me a LOT of something from Kylie’s earliest works with Stock/Aitken/Waterman. It’s still dance music but the song doesn’t feel like it was constructed as a dance song but as a straight up pop song. It is a very nice change from the past few albums Kylie has done. It almost has an 80s feel to it, even. I just adore this song. This is a pretty simple song, too, as is generally the tradition with pop music. It is basically a song about a woman trying to get what she needs from a man and letting him know that if he isn’t going to give it to her she is going to go out and get it from somebody else. Think “Single Ladies” if it weren’t kind of moronic. The third track is one of my favorites, as well. It is called “Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)” and it also kind of has the feel of Kylie’s early pop work, although it is a bit more dance than “Get Outta My Way.” It is simply a song celebrating the joy of feeling love. I can’t wait to see what this song would be like in the live setting because I have all kinds of concepts in my head about the type of crowd interaction she could do with a performance of this song. I don’t know how else to explain it but it is also a very joyous song but the word I would probably use to describe this one more would be fun. It is a lot of fun. The fourth track gets a little darker, in terms of tone and the sound of the music. The album up to this point would definitely be defined more as light but this song is definitely darker. It is called “Closer,” and it is a song about wanting to get closer to the person you love. It is similar, in lyrical theme, to my favorite song on the new Scissor Sisters record, “Skin Tight.” I am listening to the album straight through now for the second time in a row and just based on these two listens, this would probably be my least favorite song on the record. I love it, as an individual Kylie song and think it would have worked great on the “Body Language” album but it just doesn’t seem to fit the general vibe of this record as much as it could. Still, like I said, I do really like this song. The fifth song on the album is called “Everything Is Beautiful.” I love this song. Once again, it has much less of a dance vibe and much more of a straight forward pop sound. The chorus of this one is really sweet. “If I lie with you long enough I can see the things I’m dreaming of, Let’s go through the ritual until everything is beautiful.” It is a beautiful sentiment and one of those songs that you listen to and feel like, “I want that.” The sixth song on the record is the title track, “Aphrodite,” which starts with this really fun, catchy repeat of the line, “Can you feel me on your stereo?” letting you know right off the bat that this song is going to be pure fun. The chorus of this song further proves that with the line, “I feel so big and mighty, I’m a golden girl, I’m an Aphrodite, alright, alright.” It is essentially one of those songs that most female pop artists have done at one point or another, celebrating your own greatness. In the case of this song, using the term “I’m an Aphrodite” really takes that sentiment to another level. It’s like saying, “I am a Goddess.” I believe every women and many men, myself included, feel like they have a little bit of Goddess in them, so why not celebrate it? The seventh song on the record is called “Illusion,” and it also has a slightly darker sound than much of the rest of the album. The chorus is really simple but says so much with just two lines, “I’m surrounded by confusion & I’m lost in this illusion.” It is basically a song about being in a relationship that you have to question the sincerity of, which is a concept that I can definitely relate to. The eighth song on the record is another favorite of mine, called “Better Than Today.” This is another of those really joyous sounding tracks. My favorite lines from this song are in the chorus when she asks, “What’s the point of living if you don’t take a chance?” and “What’s the point of living if you don’t want to dance?” This song is all about doing what you can to make sure that your tomorrow is better than today. It is a really positive message to spread and I love the fact that Kylie, after everything she has been through with surviving breast cancer and such, has made it a point to include songs like this on her past two albums. Yes, this song is kind of like the “X” track “No More Rain.” It is a joyful celebration of life, which I am very grateful for at this point in my life. It is good to hear a song like this to remind you that life is a gift. The ninth track on the album is my very favorite, based on my two listens so far. As I predicted, based on the 30-second clips of the songs that leaked a couple weeks ago, this song is just ridiculously fun and puts a huge smile on my face listening to it. This song also has a slightly darker sound than the rest of the record, although it definitely has a light sound to it, as well. I don’t know how to explain that exactly, but the instrumentation includes really heavy bass with a lot of airier, more lighthearted sounds scattered over it. This is also the only song on the record that includes a co-writing credit to Jake Shears from Scissor Sisters, as well as being produced by Calvin Harris, who I love. It is a gorgeous mix of Kylie’s sound with a whole lot of Calvin Harris’ stamp all over it. I was really happy with the fact that it didn’t sound similar to her previous works with Scissor Sisters, like “I Believe In You” and “White Diamond,” which are two of my favorite Kylie song but that have a very similar sound to one another. This one doesn’t sound a thing like those and I love that about it. The tenth track on the album is one that I wasn’t too sure about, based on the title, but am really impressed with. It is called “Cupid Boy,” and kind of adds a little more to the Greek mythology theme to the record. One thing that I love about this song is how it changes tempo and general vibe several times throughout it’s four and a half minutes. My favorite part is this little breakdown that comes before each chorus that says, “Why don’t you thrill me like you did before? Why don’t you give me a little bit more? Why don’t you call me, start hitting me up?” This is a song about finding love and trying to hang on to it. This song also has a lot of little synthesized vocal effects throughout it, which I am normally not a fan of but which I appreciate in this case as they are simply added to enhance the effect of the song. It all comes together beautifully. I also love the fact that this song both begins and ends with a very soft, pretty basic bass guitar riff. It adds a really cool effect. The eleventh song on the album is another favorite of mine called “Looking For An Angel.” It is a very joyful, ethereal sounding song about, just as the title states, looking for an angel. This is the song on the album that I think most falls into that same light, airy, pretty dance category that “All The Lovers” would fall into. I absolutely love it. The twelfth and final track on the album is probably my second favorite, after “Too Much.” It is called “Can’t Beat The Feeling.” This was the other song that appealed to me the most from the 30-second samples, as well as the megamix that leaked a while back. This is perhaps the most joyful song on the record. It also has that pure pop sound, reminiscent of the early Kylie works, and just makes you immediately want to get up and dance. Lyrically, it is just a song about being happy with the person you are with. It is a song about being in love. The chorus says it all, “I can’t beat the feeling that I get when I’m with you, My heart plays a rhythm in my head, I can’t help but move.” It is so true – you can’t help but move when you hear this song. I just imagine being on a dance floor with this song playing and grinning from ear to ear. That is the type of song it is. When I hear it I can’t help but want to dance to it and really try to feel the feelings that she describes in the song. I absolutely adore this song. I absolutely adore this entire album. It is completely gorgeous and, based on first impressions, seems like the best album that Kylie has put out in years. I have loved every single one of Kylie’s albums and this one is no exception. There is just something about it that places it leaps and bounds above most of her other records. It is infectiously joyful and you can’t help but smile and feel a little more spirited and alive while listening to it. This is absolutely the record of the summer. I am in love. Between this and the Scissor Sisters, I think I’ve got the soundtrack to my summer in hand. You should, too. The album is out July 6 and I HIGHLY recommend everybody go out and pick it up then!

Speaking of which, this does pretty much mark the end of the albums that I have been looking forward to this summer. There isn’t a whole lot else coming out this summer. The only other album I can think of that I am really looking forward to is the sophomore album from Katy Perry, called “Teenage Dream.” As much as it is getting totally played out right now, I still absolutely love the song “California Gurls” and can’t wait to hear what else she has in store for this new record. Sheryl Crow also has a new record coming out in July, which should be pretty great, as all of her records are. There are a few albums set to come out in the early part of fall, namely September, that I am really excited about, including the second album from Selena Gomez & The Scene, as well as the self-titled third album from Kelly Rowland, which will include much more of her newfound and completely brilliant dance/techno sound with David Guetta producing. Music will never get TOO boring, of course, because regardless of what my favorite artists are doing, there are constantly new artists emerging and some really great stuff has come from that. So I am looking forward to it. For now, though, it is 12:30am and I have to be up in 5.5 hours, so I must get to bed. Goodnight.