Last Christmas

I'll admit it, the Christmas season last year was really hard for me. For one it was hard for me to get presents for anyone and I wouldn't have been able to if it hadn't been for Santa Dad dropping a shopping fund into my bank account. Things at home were strained. Things elsewhere were... odd*.

Last Christmas seems like it was a thousand years ago. On another planet even. It's hard to even imagine myself in the situation and I was right there in it, you know? Anyway enough vague musings.. let's get down to the point.

I was watching "Glee" last week (really I'm ashamed, I have a campy side and I can't deny it. It's how my friend Megan and I have stayed friends for YEARS.) and the Glee kids did one of my favorite Christmas songs, (well one of a few of them... shoot me) and I giggled a little. "Last Christmas," by Wham! is one of my favorites ever.

Oh George, that hair!

Why do I love this song? I'm actually a big George Michael fan... Don't even start me... and because it's perfect. Duh. So perfect it's been covered a million times. And I love most of the covers too! Let's investigate shall we...

Before you watch this one, know that this isn't the real band in the video and the audio quality is so much more "HISSY" than I wanted, but I'm at home so I can't clean it and re-upload. Please survive.



I love Jimmy Eat World. I blame Jennifer for it to be honest. She was always playing Jimmy Eat World at our old house. But I love love love this version of this song and when I make CD Christmas cards, it's ALWAYS on it.

Look there's even a trance remix of it. Let's get a glow stick and freak out on E by the tree! Where's my pacifier?

Speaking of dance music, I just found this version today and I'm not gonna lie, I like it. Cascada (Little Miss Natalie Horler sings "Evacuate the Dancefloor") was one of my favorites when I was over at Wild and I enjoy her take on this song:

Nothing sadder than a beautiful girl in a beanie singing about her ex boyfriend effing her over at Christmas right? Even to a dance beat. Actually she looks like my friend Lauren over at KLUC. I imagine if Lauren went to Germany she might get mobbed.

Finally here is the Glee cast version of it.

So yeah.. that's one of my favorite Christmas songs... I'll share a couple of my other favorites before the holiday for sure.

I don't really know what this Christmas is going to be like. What I do know is I'm getting on a train on December 23rd to go home. That drive is straight up murder. The weather here makes it seems like Christmas but other than putting up my tree, I haven't "gotten the spirit" yet. I have "Love Actually," sitting on my hard drive so I may have to hit that up tonight.. :)

(*Definition of odd: knowing something is going on but choosing to ignore it, HARDCORE because you feel like you're hallucinating? I mean one of those "Did I just imagine that ish?" kind of feelings. And being bound and determined to ignore anything going on in your own head because, yeah.)

Things about me you may not know

I'm a pretty sensitive kid. You wouldn't know it because I'm always joking and I laugh a lot. I like making other people laugh. I like to make other people feel like the best person they can be. I live for that kind of a thing. Hell if you think about it, it's kind of what I do for a living. I think the world would be a better place if everyone went around thinking how they could make other people feel good about themselves.

But for all the smiling and joking, I'm really a sensitive kid. I cry pretty easily when I'm alone. How emo, I know, feelings are lame. But it's true. I cry at talking animal movies, any movie where someone dies, I cry at books, I cry at sad songs. I am just this massive ball of emotional retardedness.

Someone asked me recently why I always say "It's fine, don't worry about it." I think it's because I'm telling myself that. Because being so far away from my support system, falling apart every time something hurts my feelings, it's not an option. Because if someone yells at me at work or I misread someone's intentions in my life, I can't just run over to Teresa's house or go to the Black Sheep and tell Nicole about it over some veggie chilli. Hell I can't even go to the radio station and unload on Jojo (which I'm sure he's relieved about, ha ha) or make Tristan go to McCarthy's with me so he can tell me to sack up, rub some dirt on it and walk it off.

On the same level I can't just get in the car and drive two hours and be at my parents house either. Or Jackie's house. Or well... anyone. I'm six hours away at least from everyone who knows me best. So being sad, having a fit, needing something, these aren't options. It has to be okay. I can not worry about it.

Like on Thursday we had this huge event. And some stuff went wrong. And I couldn't freak out. I had no option but to say it was fine, walk it off and put a big smiley face on for the television camera and for my people. So yeah I guess I say "It's fine, don't worry about it," a lot. It's sort of like my mantra any more.

And it is.. it's fine. Moving up here was the scariest thing I have ever done. I don't think anyone understands how good, at least emotionally I had it at my last job. I was safe. I was with friends, hell those people are my family. It was fun and I had very little to account for. (Although Jo would probably tell you I kept trying to get more to do and probably over worked myself for what I was making, but hey you do that for the things/people you love) But with the love and support of my family and friends I made this jump to the moon and I'm here now trying to make my way. Trying. Most of the time it's going well.

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween. No joke. I like black cats and most scary movies and fall weather and all that stuff. But what I love most is the music... ahhh yes, it's true, I was a goth kid at an embarrassingly late age. It served me well once a year for four years though, when I was the co-creator/co-host/music director for a specialty show. On Halloween weekend, I brought out the best of the "spooky" best and I am beyond proud to say it is a tradition that has been continued in my absence. My friend Tristan emailed me the playlist for this weekend's show this morning and I was so proud. If you're near a computer on Saturday night at 11, punch up www.newrock1073.com and listen to the Punk Ass Bitches show. Definitely one of the best things I was ever a part of.

Anyway since this music is what I do best, let's explore some of the songs I used to throw on the Halloween edition of the show:

The Virgin Prunes- "Baby Turns Blue"

You might not know this, but this band is loosely connected to U2.

I owe my friend Johnny Davies full credit for introducing me to this great band. Their stuff was at one point very hard to find but I think it's back out in circulation...



Christian Death-"Romeo's Distress"

You have to understand Christian Death is kind of offensive. But I love this band. Don't care. One of the stranger things I think I've ever seen was the Rozz Williams exhibit at the Museum of Death. Seriously they had the door he hung himself from and his ashes there. The Museum of Death is creepy. Anyway I have Jeremy Cross, the renowned artist to thank for bringing this band into my life. The album "Only Theatre of Pain" is amazing.



Bauhaus- "In the Flat Field"
Doesn't seem like the obvious choice, I mean that's "Bela Lugosi's Dead," but I've danced to this gem a few times in the goth clubs of LA and I love it. It's just as creepy. Peter Murphy is one of my all time favorite artists and I've seen his solo show a handful of times. This song is begging to be featured in a scary movie.



45 Grave - "Riboflavin"

Sure it's silly. So is the "Monster Mash" but you like that too. 45 Grave is another one of those Death Punk bands that never got their due. Dinah Cancer once gave me a Halloween pumpkin full of skull and spider rings. She's so cool. Anyway they did have one minute of fame if you can call it that:



"Party was featured in "The Return of the Living Dead," which I need to get on DVD.



Misfits - "London Dungeon"

Yeah there are more obvious choices for the Misfits, but damn if this song isn't great too. I mean you're hard pressed to find a Misfits song that's not about skulls or dead shit or whatever, so forgive the fact I skipped "Skulls."

And now I'm just going to blow out a handful of songs from my favorite cover band of all time, The Electric Hellfire Club, who seems to cover all my favorite goth/industrial/darkwave bands... Yes I just said darkwave, eat it.





They do one of Type O Negative "Black No. 1" but I can't find it on the Youtubes.

While we're on creepy covers, how about this one from Coil? "Tainted Love." Man I like it better than the Marilyn Manson cover.




The Sisters of Mercy- "Marian"
This is just another of those "creepy" bands I really really like and love to drag out on a rainy night to listen to. It's definitely not out of place on a Halloween party soundtrack...

I could keep doing this all night. Maybe I'll throw some more at you before Halloween night...

stuff i like/want

Yes please

I took this running on the Bob Jones trail. I miss running on the Bob Jones trail. Yes I've kept the weight off that I lost doing it, but if it wasn't for this trail in the final months of my SLO life, I would've gone crazy.

I miss going dancing. I miss fresh new mixes every day. I miss having DJ's in my life. SEND ME YOUR MIXES, I WILL PIMP YOUR STUFF HERE ON THE BLOG!

This is Hello Kitty wearing headphones. On an iPhone case. WHY ISN'T THIS IN MY LIFE?

Jeremy (my ex, not the one I work with) and I used to go to countless art galleries. I fell in love with Shag. It's kitchy but I don't give a... Anyway this has always been one of my favorites but honestly anything with his cats is. Shag makes cats look great.


This is a square plate. I would like a new dinner set of square plates. I used to love my dishes SO FREAKIN MUCH but it's odd when someone breaks/loses/molds up to the point of not being able to be washed, your precious plates, they loose their luster. I am due for a new pattern. I want them square because I'm a freak.

So much want... I want a new bed set for my new bed so bad that I can TASTE IT. It tastes like Egyptian Cotton.


MMM sushi. Been so long since I've been....
Not real sushi, this ish stores data.

the rah rah rah heard round the world

"Bad Romance" just turned one. One song... Seriously changed my life. Ask anyone.

365 days later...

This is me on the last day of being 30 years old. Tomorrow I turn 31, if I like it or not. Oddly enough although I dreaded my 30th birthday like I was going to the gallows, being 30 ended up being kind of a roller coaster ride of sorts...

365 days ago I wasn't working. I didn't think I'd ever work again to be honest, I was ready to get a job (shudder) outside of radio and just do what I had to do. I wasn't particularly happy with my weight, my situation in life and I just sort of felt like... well like being 30 was going to just suck.

Then about a month into it, my friend Teresa called me. She'd been working at some radio group in town and they had an opening. And I applied and through some miracle of miracles I got that job and went to work with a bunch of people I've come to think of as my family. I made new friends, I became closer with friends I already had (hello Teresa is my SISTER these days, yo) I tried new things and started running, for my health, not because a big damn bear was chasing me.

And then another job came along. And it was like job Christmas, this was the job I'd been waiting for my whole life and suddenly there it was. Waiting for me to come take it and take a big scary leap. Which I did, because hey, what's life but a series of big scary leaps, one right after the next? So off I went.

So here I am. 30 for just a few more hours. It's a trip to think about how much has changed in just one year and to think how many people became so important to me in that short time and really touched my life. I just feel blessed. And oddly enough calm about turning 31. I have a feeling everything is just getting started for me...

big hands I know you're the one

So there's some big assed hands sticking out of the ground in Chico.

This is apparently the skinny on those:

Our Hands: Municipal Center Building, East Plaza. Large hands made of cement and terrazzo with images of Chico embedded in them. (Donna Billick 2000)

More here

times like these

You are currently reading the blog of one very very tired DJ.

I had my first day on the air here in Chico today and while there were some hiccups and a few technical boo boo's I made it through and even got some nice comments from some listeners. So I guess I live to fight another day.

I posted about starting my job at WiLD awhile back and how weird it was. I mean previous to walking into that building, I had never worked anywhere less than seven years. Seriously, I was at both of my previous clusters for seven years a piece and when I walked into the building out on Buckley a year ago, I wondered if that was where I was going to spend the next seven years of my life.

As it turns out it wasn't, even though some of the friendships I built there, I can't imagine my life without them now... So here I am less than a year later, starting all over again. Life's a trip that way.

I still miss everyone back home terribly. Like more than you could imagine and more than I will ever admit, lest you Central Coasters get swelled heads. But today was probably the first day since I've been here that I felt in control of the things I'm supposed to be in control of and I wonder if being on the air was the missing piece since I got here. Probably, I'm a freakin' ham. Since I don't know anyone here yet, might as well talk to the microphone, right?

Next I just really want my house unpacked and set up. I want the epic amount of laundry I have to wash to be cleaned. I want my cable and internet on (although presently I'd settle for having my television plugged in and the dvd player set up!) and I want a bed. I'll get all the other pesky things... friends, a social life, a hang out, a favorite sushi joint... it will all come in time.

Or if I remain as exhausted as I am today, that stuff won't matter anyway, so either way, it's a win-win situation. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a hard earned glass of wine waiting for me at my house, along side of 98089787 boxes I still need to unpack.


This song has been in my head since I quit my last job.

got my smile got my orange crush

Well in this case Cherry Crush.

I was at the Food For Less yesterday and noticed that there are two liter bottles of Crush on the market. You might remember this soda from the 80's.



When I was a kid, my grandpa used to take me to this place in a town called Pumpkin Center. It was a feed store. Yes a feed store, we had cows, wanna fight about it?

Anyway this feed store was in my little kids mind enormous and had all kinds of weird stuff in it, that I couldn't find a use for. I mean I was six or something. I have no idea why we were at the feed store. I just know my grandpa seemed to know everyone, much like when we'd go to the "junk sale" on Sundays. And at the end of the feed store outing, I'd get to get a soda out of the soda machine that sold glass bottles. Seriously, these things existed in the world.



My favorite was always Cherry Crush, followed by Orange and in extreme emergencies, Grape, but usually if it was left between Grape and Coke, I'd just get the Coke. I'd pop the top on the little bottle opener and then it'd be off to the pick up truck to take whatever contraption or food we'd bought back to my grandparents house, sometimes even listening to 8-track tapes.

I bought a two liter of this Cherry Crush yesterday, and it's really sweet and not in a glass bottle but if I close my eyes really tight and take a sip, I smell hay and I smell home.

my newest musical find

It's no secret, I listen to A LOT of music. Since dropping in and joining the 95.3 The Beach / WiLD 1061 family I've had my ears exposed to tons of new stuff I probably wouldn't have listened to before.

My most recent find came through a friend posting a remix of La Roux "Bulletproof" by a group called Hyper Crush. So I started going through youtube and these guys are a lot of fun if you like dance music, which as it turns out my Top 40 roots never left me, and I do like dance music, a lot.

So enjoy these if you're in the mood to shake it a little....

La Roux "Bulletproof (Hyper Crush remix)"



Hyper Crush - "Sex and Drugs" (not safe for work, so you know, 18+ blah blah blah)

all six of you should know this

So if you caught my show or follow me on twitter, you know that yesterday was my good friend / boss's birthday.

I had promised not to embarrass Jojo yesterday, but today I can. (ha ha!)

I have never been so blessed to work for someone in all of my radio career. I consider this kid (who is always going to be older than me) family and always will.

Thank you for everything, and Happy Birthday, brat.

late to the party

I realize I'm late to the party on this, but this song is currently one of my favorite songs out there. I was just reminded in the hallway between our two stations. I don't know if it's Adam's performance or the words or what, but this is the perfect storm of pop.



Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know

It's that time of the year again

Here we are, twenty seven days out from my favorite holiday of the year, St. Patrick's Day. Part of the reason I love it so much is my family's heritage is mostly Irish. The other of course is the music. So without further ado I will now begin my annual countdown to St Patrick's Day in Youtube video form.

27: The Tossers - "Siobhan"



Enjoy

further proving I am dork

A friend of mine recommended that I check out www.sanriotown.com because I could get my very own @hellokitty.com email address.

If you've known me for five minutes, you know I was rushing towards the computer to look it up for myself. And it's true, you totally can. So now you can email me at djstephaniebell@hellokitty.com

I'm a dork. Sorry.

Project 365

January 11: Just noticing how many commercials that I worked on were running in a commercial break on the Beach one afternoon. Hi, I'm on the radio, ALOT.


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advertising campaign failure, SLO style.

So the other day I was driving to the radio station and happened to be on Broad Street and drove by the Taco Bell there and saw a poster in the window for their new Drive Thru Diet line of burritos and tacos. Basically the concept being this is "healthier" fast food for you to eat, which I get, gotta compete with Subway and everyone else who is doing a "healthier," menu, etc.

Now being in radio, I subsist on cheap food and any time one of the people who have a value menu want to add healthier faire to it, I'm all about it, but the thing that's driving me insane about this ad campaign is WE DON'T HAVE DRIVE THRU'S IN SAN LUIS OBISPO. It's truly absurd seeing something advertising drive thru anything on the side of a building that doesn't have a drive thru.

I seethed about this inwardly for a few days and forgot about it. I mean really, who let's stuff like that bother them? It's Taco Bell's problem not mine. I was sure I would in fact be the only person that noticed or cared about this drive thru thing. Then I got on Twitter today and found that Jojo and Danny P had been talking about it too and I then felt less absurd for having thought about this situation for more than three seconds.

It is pretty strange to think about the things that bother a person in life. Some people can't handle bad typing or nails on a chalk board or whatever. Bad advertising bugs me. It's official, I'm a nerd.

Ask and you shall receive..

So lately I haven't had a lot to say here, and have just been posting pictures. I figured this could get boring for you, so I did what all the other cool kids are doing now and signed up for a formspring.me account. You can access it here. Or by going to the little box on the sidebar to the right.

While I am pretty sure I'll only answer "appropriate" questions, if you ask, I may surprise you, so ask me whatever you've always wanted to know. If I get some good ones, I'll post them here.

life has no meaning

It turns out my BFF Hello Kitty is lending her image to the horrendous Snuggie.

I have no words to describe my abject disappointment on this subject.

scenes from the radio world

Jojo and Donelle reading a commercial for me in the production studio

T-Rawk, Donelle and I at Marti's in SLO after work. I do believe we are the Fly Girls, except for Donelle, who is a boy

I don't know what he said, but I can guess, I'm sure.

I love that I love the people I work with. It makes going to work extra fun.

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