you don’t choose love

love chooses you

Happily ever after. I’m not one to be satisfied with that as the ending of a book or a fairytale. I am the hopeless romantic for whom sequels were created. My curiosity beckons me to know more.

And now for the Phantom and Christine we do know more of their story. On March 19, 2010, Love Never Dies the sequel to the lauded Phantom of the Opera opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London. It has been playing on my ipod ever since. The story is brooding as expected. The Phantom secretly lures Christine to America to sing in his Coney Island Wonderland. The new setting allows Andrew Loyd Weber to explore new musical territory. The reunion of the lovers is hopeful, yet heart wrenching at best. I won’t spoil it for you.

The musical has had mixed reviews. Die hard Phantom “Phans” may be disappointed. A few Weber songs from other musicals get a makeover with new lyrics, but I find them just as endearing. I love a good musical and if there is at least one or two songs worth listening to over and over, I say it’s worth the watch/ listen. My three favorites are “Til I Hear You Sing”, “Beneath a Moonless Sky”, and the title song “Love Never Dies”

The musical will debut at the Neil Simon Theater on Broadway in New York City in Mid November. Some changes and updates from the current production are expected. In addition to the tree at Rockefeller Plaza, this will be another NYC must see on your holiday excursion. The entire soundtrack is available to purchase on iTunes if you- like me – can’t wait to see how it ends. For now, here is an excerpt sung by Ramin Karimloo. Even though they aren’t dressed in full Phantom regalia it will make you scream BRAVO and possibly shed a tear. (fair warning).

Modern vintage is a style I am finding myself drawn to again and again – in clothing, in design, and music. Last fall, I stumbled across Katie Herzig’s work. When first I heard her, I thought to myself – if the nouveau- vintage retailer Anthropologie had a song – this would be the voice to sing it. Katie presents her old vibrato sound with a new vibe.  Her lyrics are melancholy poetry. Longing. Insightful. Her website bio describes it best: “This music is at once playful and impassioned–challenging and comfortable—intimate and epic… which is exactly what listeners have come to expect of Katie Herzig.”

She released Live in Studio: Acoustic Trio in October 2009 and I have been smitten ever since. I honestly listen to this entire album start to finish (with many repeats during play) I get lost in the truthful saga of – “Middle”, the honesty of ” I Hurt Too”, the romance of “Wish You Well”, and the pure seduction of “Sumatra”. Her whimsy is found in her modern spin to the children’s tune “Say, Say oh playmate” in her song “Forevermore”.  Download  “Dance in a Straight line” – the instrumentation is incredibly intriguing with a sense of nostalgia hearkening back to dances held in the old high school gym. Take a high tech listen on her mySpace page and then go old school by actually buying the song  and supporting this incredibly talented artist.

Below is another fave that makes me swoon.

Cheers, Y’all!

KATIE HERZIG & MATTHEW PERRYMAN JONES “WHERE THE ROAD MEETS THE SUN” (LIVE) from SITUATION OPERATION on Vimeo.

Sophisticated. Glamorous. Well-traveled. These are words that describe how I feel whenever I hear a Pink Martini tune.

Pink Martini is a 12 member group (sometimes more if accompanied by a string section or full orchestra) who has been bringing it’s vintage hollywood chic to the soundwaves since the late nineties. I recently discovered them and can’t get enough. It may be the perfect soundtrack for my peripatetic attention span.

The Toronto Star says their sound is “the type of delight that sometimes involves dressing up and carousing” – Did some one say dress up? Count me in!

Thomas Lauderdale the band’s leader describes their music as“ …a rollicking around-the-world musical adventure … if the United Nations had a house band in 1962, hopefully we’d be that band.”

I describe it as the kind of music that makes my work go faster. I’m more productive and happier when I have these tunes playing in the background. I samba from my desk to the kitchen. I merengue when I mop. ( ok, I don’t mop, but if I did I would listen to this to make it far more enjoyable). It’s perfect background music for cocktails and dinner with friends of all ages. And it makes me want to put on a tight waisted, full skirted knee length dress, Miss Cha Cha Louboutins and saunter the night away in a posh mid century nightclub. It spans classes, countries, ages. Slow ballads to fast tempo dances. My favorites include: the encouraging “My Little Tomato”, the hopeful “Over the Valley”, the romantic longing of “La Soledad”, the Italian lullaby Ninna Nonna, and the inspiring, “Lets Never Stop Falling in Love”

Once you take a listen to the group, you will fall in love and never stop listening.

Salud, Y’all!