Author: debbiehoran

My Favorite Oscar Moments

Posted on by debbiehoran

Watching the 87th Oscars was special for me this year.  There were so many moments that made my heart sing.

The award I was most excited about? That’s an easy one, Best Actress Julianne Moore in Still Alice.  Her performance was stunning and heartbreaking.  The movie was very true to the book by Lisa Genova, which is one of the best books I have ever read.  I have loved everything that Lisa has written.  She is a very talented author who folds her extensive science background into rich, compelling, human stories.  Still Alice was the first book I ever read by her, and Left Neglected was the one that had the most personal meaning for me. And now I am looking forward to Inside The O’Briens, which will be coming out this spring.   As a bookseller, she is always my go to author when someone is looking for multi-layered stories.  I have met Lisa a couple of times while vacationing on Cape Cod and she has always been warm, gracious, and down to earth.

Continue reading “My Favorite Oscar Moments” →

Carly Simon at the Oscars

Posted on by debbiehoran

Two weeks in a row I sacrificed my sleep to watch award shows.  Last weekend, SNL40.  This weekend, the Oscars.  I needed to know what went down so the next day I could be one of the cool kids. I already gave you my take on SNL40 (see post Miley Cyrus, Seriously?) last weekend and then was ready this weekend to catch some Oscar buzz.

One of the things I was wondering about was how the songs were selected. You know, the ones that played presenters on and offstage.  With over 80 years of film music to choose from, I thought it was interesting that they seemed to pinpoint obscure love songs from movie soundtracks from the 70’s and 80’s. Almost every song had personal memories for me.   But no one can top Carly Simon at the Oscars.

There were two Carly Simon songs, Nobody Does It Better from The Spy Who Loved Me, and Let The River Run from Working Girl.  I didn’t care so much about the Bond song (Pierce Brosnan is the only Bond I really like) but it was cool that it was played.  Working Girl is another movie on my guilty pleasure list.  Poor girl with a heart of gold makes good AND gets the guy.  It doesn’t get better than that in Hollywood.   Let The River Run is one of the most musically rich songs I know!  For me it is full of hope and longing and perseverance.  I crank it up and dance every time I hear it.

Continue reading “Carly Simon at the Oscars” →

Miley Cyrus? Serious?

Posted on by debbiehoran

I checked out the 40th anniversary special for Saturday Night Live last night.  I found it to be the same as all of my experiences watching SNL each and every other episode.  There were some great skits, characters, and performances, as well as some I could do without.  I am sure that others had encountered this as well week after week.

It was great to see two of my favorite Pauls there representing the early SNL years, Paul McCartney and Paul Simon.  When they burst into I’ve Just Seen a Face, I sang along with a huge smile (they should’ve seen MY face!) and was completely entertained. Paul McCartney later performed one of my all-time faves, Maybe I’m Amazed, and then Paul Simon did a hauntingly beautiful version of Still Crazy After All These Years.I was transported to another time and place with each of these songs, listening fondly and remembering.

It didn’t seem scripted and it seemed to embody much of what SNL tried to achieve during the last 40 years. With all those years of music to choose from, I was expecting some more great clips and performances from hoards of other musicians. Imagine my dismay when at the end of the special I had not been treated to other time altering performances, but instead watched Miley Cyrus performing a Paul Simon tune, and Kanye performing, well, I am not sure.

Continue reading “Miley Cyrus? Serious?” →

Rock This Boat!

Posted on by debbiehoran

I am not one for reality shows and have never tuned into Survivor or The Bachelor, but today when I  was channelsurfing I found a reality show called “Rock This Boat.” This show (which I found on Pop, the recently renamed TV Guide channel) is about 3000 New Kids on the Block superfans on a cruise with the band.  Grown ass women acting like raving lunatics for a band they swooned over 20+ years ago.  What a train wreck.

Embed from Getty Images

The tears that have already been shed on the first four episodes don’t compare to the woman crying in episode 5.  In an effort to try and obtain some VIP party passes, she gets the idea to flash her breasts to one of the Kids with the party question written in sharpie marker.  The Kid looks and then just turns and walks away.

Continue reading “Rock This Boat!” →

Shazam!

Posted on by debbiehoran

The great thing about life is that you are always learning something new.  Especially when I spend time with the cool kids.  I was out to dinner with a couple of my nephews tonight and, wanting to impress them, I was trying to name songs and artists playing on the sound system there.

Embed from Getty Images

A song came up that the adults just couldn’t place, and these kids whipped their cell phones out and held them up in the air like they were holding bic lighters at a concert. Then they looked at their respective screens and told me that “Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo” was sung by Rick Derringer (I never would have guessed that – I had absolutely no idea).  That’s right folks, there’s an app for that!!  Actually, there are probably more than I can count, but one is all I need.  I was really impressed.

A few weeks ago I started watching ‘Freaks and Geeks’ on Netflix.  The underrated TV series from Judd Apatow takes place around the time I was in high school and I am finding it strangely comforting, like an old pair of Chuck Taylors. Imagine my pride when the song in a party scene was ‘Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo!’

Now kids today can learn even more classic songs than the ones they have mastered on Guitar Hero or seen performed in mashups on Glee.  And hey – maybe I can learn enough new old stuff to beat my sister in Trivia Crack!!

Three Chords and the Truth

Posted on by debbiehoran

For my birthday, my band friends got me a guitar which I have been learning how to play for about 6 months now.  The ‘music’ that I make is very slow and stilted.   One of my very talented musician friends, John, shows me some really great things, but I have a hard time remembering some of them once I get home and practice.

Embed from Getty Images

I look at my written notes and try to recreate the chord or sound that we are working on.  It always sounds different, a bit off.  Inevitably, I go back to play the same song I started with, using the chords C, G, and D.  I strum around awhile with that and it has helped me to feel more comfortable with the instrument.  It is a slow process but at least I am trying.

Now I am also taking lessons from a second talented musician friend of mine (I have lots of those!),  Jeff.  I tried to show him my three chords and make a joke about how all I need to be a good musician is ‘three chords and the truth’ (actually I think they say that is what you need to be a good country musician, but you get the drift.)  He showed me how to make those three chords a new way from how I learned the first time, shaking my confidence a bit.

In the interest of full disclosure, I started guitar lessons so I can go visit these guys and drink with their wives.  Now I have the guitar and I need to earn my keep, so to speak.

Now I am beginning to realize that there are just no absolutes.  Just like life.  My truth is that I will keep trying to coax music out of this beautiful guitar (it won’t be “For Baby For Bobbie” forever) and continue to spend time with my friends, willing to learn whatever I can take into my brain and then let it flow out of my fingers.

All it takes is three chords and the truth (and more chords, and bar chords, and variations, and riffs, etc.)