Glee - Night of Neglect

So, I was really excited for the return of Glee last night.  As always, it was hilarious and entertaining and also had some incredibly sweet moments.  There are many reasons why I really liked last night's show.

Firstly: Gwyneth Paltrow's final episode was fantastic.  Her characterization of the allegedly hermaphroditic Nazi Sympathizer Wallace Simpson, (the woman who for whom King Edward IV to abdicate the British Throne) was brilliant.  And, as much as I like Gwyneth Paltrow, I was SUPER GLAD that she only sang one song during this show.  I love when awesome guest stars come on the show, but their musical/singing talent should NEVER steal the spotlight from the existing cast.  (And sometimes it does, as in the case of "Sexy" when Gwyneth sang lead in 3 songs).

Secondly: Thank You, Ryan Murphy, for not giving Rachel the episode-ending solo.  I love Lea Michele's voice.  She's a fantastically gifted performer, but hearing her week in and week out gets tiring.  This week Mercedes brought the house down with her Aretha tribute, and it was amazing.  Like that time she sang socks off "And I Am Telling You" in the first half of Season One.  As Oliver Twist would say, "Please, sir, I want some more."

Thirdly: Blaine was in an episode and didn't have a solo.  Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'm a little tired of him being front and center all the time.  I love the character and Darren Criss is undoubtedly talented, but the powers that be have sort of turned him into the female version of Rachel.  And I agree with Kurt's statement in the "Original Song" episode stating that it's become a little like "Blaine and the Pips."

Fourthly: CHARICE!  Sunshine Corazon is back, and she KILLED "All By Myself."  Such an amazing talent.  I have missed her since her appearance in "Audition," singing "Telephone" with Lea Michele and then belting out "Listen" for her audition.  So glad she's back.

Fifthly: The Brainiacs, and the fact that Brittany was the biggest contributor during the competition.  "Feline Aids."  I mean, seriously, it's awesome.  And then the final question of the championship competition being "Hermaphrodite Nazi Sympathizers" was brilliant.  Love it.

Sixthly: Welcome Back WEMMA.  I don't know anyone who isn't a Will/Emma fan.  As much as I enjoy seeing John Stamos on my TV screen, I've been itching for more Will and Emma interaction.  The way he sweetly cleaned off her grape was beautiful.  So sweet.

Lastly: Santana has a heart!  Of all the people in the glee club, or in the school for that matter, to stand up to Karofsky and defend Kurt and Blaine, Santana might just be the last person I'd expect.  Of course, I understand that she sympathizes with Klaine because she's "realized" she's gay...and there's some kind of kindred spirit business there, but really, it's so out of her character to protect people.  She's usually the one doing the bullying.  It was nice to see the compassionate side of her character shine through.

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All that being said, there are also a few bones I have to pick with Glee this season.

Firstly: Where was Terri?  I missed her a lot - she's so good at stirring up trouble.  I realize that the actress has had some personal issues she's had to take care of, which is probably why her screen time has been diminished this year, which is why her return this episode was so exciting to me.  Last night's episode was supposed to be her big return, but she was virtually non-existent.  NOT COOL.  Hopefully, they were just setting up for something huge in the next couple of episodes.  I've missed her CRAZY. 

Secondly: Why is Mr. Schuester incapable of coming up with good ideas on his own.  All of his fundraising ideas are so dumb!  He's an intelligent guy.  He's no idiot.  But for some reason it's as if he has zero common sense.  Last season all his good ideas came from Emma; this season it's been Holly.  And let's not forget how he's mooched concepts from Sue (Power of Madonna) anyone?  I love Mr. Schue, but that part of his characterization is just plain annoying.

Thirdly: in a night of neglected artists/singers, why isn't Quinn performing?  SEriously, she hasn't had a solo since last season's Funk when she sang "It's A Man's World."  She's had some duets, "Lucky" and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," and she's shared vocals with several people in "Time Warp" and "Marry You," but the girl hasn't sung a solo IN A YEAR!  Sorry, but that's unacceptable.  I mean, even Mike Chang has sung this year, and it was basically a solo...so, we're due for a Quinn song.  Until we get it, I will feel totally ripped off.

Fourthly: I LOVE Jenna Ushkowitz's character of Tina on the show, and I think she's a really fantastic singer.  Some of my favorite songs are songs she has lead vocals on, "Dog Days Are Over," "Proud Mary," and "True Colors."  So, my bone to pick is that the last two times she's had an opportunity to sing, she's dissolved into tears.  First with "My Funny Valentine" and then last night.  On top of that, we've never had a legit "Tina" storyline.  She took the forefront in "Theatricality" last year when she sang lead for "Bad Romance," and there was that little sidestory of her and Artie's romance, but beyond that, zilch. As a fan of the character and the actress, I feel decidedly dissatisfied and wish like crazy that the writers would give Jenna some really good material, instead of just using her as a backdrop one-line, one-note character.  She deserves better. 

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Anyway, I really did like last night's episode.  I'm just a little disappointed that some of those folks aren't better utilized.

Swiss Family Awesome

Even as an adult I wouldn't mind living here...

Especially if Francis was there to protect me

Now tell me that wouldn't be awesome!

Four Perfect Songs

The Swell Season - In These Arms




Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Carries On




Iron and Wine - Such Great Heights








The Avett Brothers - January Wedding

Thanks for making my day better.

Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace

Oh, baby, that's what I like!!!

And it's been in my head all day.

Why Ms. Bailey will ALWAYS be my favorite teacher

Yesterday I was sitting out on the back porch I share with my duplex neighbors, eating dinner and shooting the breeze, and we got to talking about family, and how some families favor heavily while other families almost don't look alike at all.  And so, I went inside to grab a photo album and show them exactly how much I look like my dad.  I didn't find the picture I was looking for, which bummed me out a little, but I figured it was in with my stuff somewhere.  So, last night, I pulled out all my scrap books and pictures, looking for a couple of particular pictures.  I never found them, but came across something fantastic instead.

It's a letter from my Junior High teacher, Mrs. Bailey.  I was in an advanced program throughout elementary and Junior High that my school called the VANTAGE program.  Basically, there was a teacher each year who was trained to cultivate the growth of students who had tested "advanced" or "gifted and talented" in some IQ and standardized testing.  They put all of us in the same class and this teacher gave us more advanced reading, more difficult schoolwork, etc, to stimulate us in order to keep us from being bored out of our minds in class.

In Junior High, that class was expanded to include about fifteen kids, and from 6th - 8th grade, we had Mrs. Bailey for two class periods each day.  In sixth grade she taught us reading and world history, making it fun.  We made fairytale hats and went on an archaeological dig.  In seventh grade she taught reading and language arts.  We read Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, I believe, and composed our own poetry.  In eighth grade she taught us geography and language arts, tackling O Henry and Shakespeare again, A Midsummer Night's Dream, invented our own countries, establishing the government and writing legislation for it, as well as creating maps of said country.  (Amanda C. and I created Whopperland, and everything in our country was named after a candy or snack of some sort from Candy Corn Creek to Blue Razz Barrier Reef to M&M Mountains).  And we also did Model UN, the fantastic GTV, and tons of other things I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Although, I'll never forget Aundrea's Limmerick about Kermit the Frog:

Kermit the frog ate a fly
Then he used drugs to get high
Then he did choke
From the weed in his throat
Now to Kermit we say "Goodbye."

I fell in love with the English language, with composition and grammar, enjoyed the heck out of history, and got to read fantastic authors like Poe, Shakespeare, O Henry, Ray Bradbury (just to name a few) in Mrs. Bailey's class.  But the main reason Mrs. Bailey will always be my favorite teacher is because she loved us like her own kids...and she invested in us and cheered us on and challenged us to be BETTER.  She made us think, forced us out of the typical educational boxes, taught us more than statistics and facts and rules.  She fostered in us an ability and a drive to be creative, to be truthful about who we are, to be unapologetic about who we are, and to strive to be great.  I have never had another teacher do that for me, not in high school and not in college.  Nor have I ever had another teacher care for me and my fellow classmates in the same way Mrs. Bailey cared for us.  The proof of that is in this letter that she wrote us as we left her in 8th grade and went on to high school:
 

 So, Mrs. B, in case we haven't said it before -- or even if we have, it bears repeating -- thank you so much for pushing us when we needed to be pushed, challenging us when we needed to be challenged, and loving us even when we were getting on your last nerve.  We love you always, and we are truly better people for knowing you and being taught by you.

Glee Celebration Playlist



Glee has done some AMAZING covers, and some not so great covers of songs.  I don't have all of the music from the show, but I do have most of them (166 to be exact).  If I listened to them all back to back non stop, it would take 9.4 hours to get through the list.  Anyway...while I really like almost all of the songs, there are a few tracks that just stand out as being wildly better than the rest.  My current 15 favorite songs covered by the Glee Cast...in no particular order...and the lead vocals are going to by actor name, not character name.

1.  Dog Days Are Over -- lead vocals by Jenna Ushkowitz and Amber Riley (orig. Florence and the Machine)
2.  Don't Rain on My Parade -- lead vocals by Lea Michele (orig. Barbra Streisand from Funny Girl)
3.  Sweet Caroline -- lead vocals by Mark Salling (orig. Neil Diamond)
4. And I Am Telling You -- lead vocals by Amber Riley (orig. Broadway play Dreamgirls)
5.  Jessie's Girl -- lead vocals by Cory Monteith (orig. Rick Springfield)
6.  Lucky -- lead vocals by Chord Overstreet and Dianna Agron (orig. Jason Mraz & Colbie Callait)
7.  Valerie -- lead vocals by Naya Rivera (orig. Amy Winehouse)
8.  Over the Rainbow -- lead vocals by Matt Morrison (orig. Judy Garland in Wizard of Oz)
9.  Blackbird -- lead vocals by Chris Colfer (orig. The Beatles)
10. Fat Bottomed Girls -- lead vocals by Mark Salling (orig. Queen)
11.  True Colors -- lead vocals by Jenna Ushkowitz (orig. Cyndi Lauper)
12.  Proud Mary -- lead vocals by Kevin McHale, Amber Riley, and Jenna Ushkowitz (orig. Ike and Tina Turner)
13.  On My Own -- lead vocals by Lea Michele (orig. Broadway play Les Miserables)
14.  Dream a Little Dream -- lead vocals by Kevin McHale (orig. The Mamas and the Papas)
15.  Hello -- lead vocals by Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele (orig. Lionel Richie)