Useful romantic tool

On another board I post to, someone who has English as a second language was teasing the girls on the board that they were so fetching they didn't need any love spells. I think he meant to type "charm philtres" but it came out "charm filters". I thought to myself, "I need one of those! I probably wouldn't have made some of the dumb romantic moves I've made over the years if I only had a charm filter!!!"

Grammy Talk

Had an acquaintace say she thought it was some kind of political correctness that Outkast won instead of White Stripes for Album of the year. In response, I said:

I really think the White Stripes and Elephant are overrated. I listened to the album again a few days ago, and while I like several of the songs, some of them are *really* irritating. I haven't listened to Speakerboxxx, but judging from the two break-out hits, those guys put out some catchy, catchy tunes. As does Beyonce.

I think it's like the recent debates in literature. Some people are so caught up in being high-minded artistes with their 10-page descriptions of their toilet and starting each chapter with 2 quotes from some obscure romantic poet, that they forget that readers WANT A GOOD STORY! (separate rant which I will not subject you to).

I don't care how arty you are or what your prog-rock roots are-- people want good voices and catchy tunes. While the White Stripes certainly have some songs that can get stuck in your head, I dont' think you could accuse either Jack or Meg of having a melodious voice (Meg's makes me shudder on that "cold, cold rain" song).

I agree with an article I saw at salon.com (that came out well before the grammys) that said hard rock was lacking this last year, and R&B and hip-hop artists were really doing the innovative work. THAT's why I think there were so many African-American winners, not because of some kind of political correctness on the part of Grammy voters.

I was happy Missy Elliott took home a grammy, too. I love her!

As for Evanescence, they get on my nerves. I can stand one or two songs, but not the whole album all at one time. That lead singer has a beautiful voice, but I don't like the way she uses it-- she's always using it in a crying-moaning way. I suppose that's their whole goth-rock schtick, but I guess I'm not taken with their schtick (dionysus1999 likes them).