Pretty Picture...

I'm so behind the times....so much has happened and I'm late to the party, as usual. So, in playing catch up with the boys, here's a picture from their L'Uomo photo shoot from last fall. I love the contrast of Tom's red shoes with the blue clothing and the fantastically ornate mirror and table. It's a well composted photo...and it's just plain hot as well!

VOTE!!!

Vote for Tokio Hotel!!!

The voting is over for this and sadly Tokio Hotel lost to Paramore. Maybe next year....


Get to MTV now and vote for Tokio Hotel in MTV's March Madness. They're up against Paramore and it's neck and neck at the moment. Make your vote count! Go Tokio Hotel!!

Because I Can...

My koi fish tattoo...upper left arm. I love my fish, I love the colors, the design and my fantastic tattoo artist Lenny at Steve's Tattoo in Madison, Wisconsin. 

 

Love this video...

Found this video on YouTube...I love Hey Du and the montage of photos is great...Enjoy!!!

Review of the Tokio Hotel 2 CD/DVD set

It's hard to imagine that a band whose members are as young as Tokio Hotel can actually have enough material to put out a "best of" CD/DVD, but they do. In fact, they even have unreleased songs and new tracks on the double English/German CD set; "Madchen Aus Dem All" (2003) and "Hurricanes and Suns" (2009). And those makes a nice addition, giving us a whopping 18 songs on each CD. As with past double CDs, one CD is in English, one in German. 

Many of the songs are from the Humanoid CD and tour, along with standard favorites like "Rette Mich" and "Ubers Ende Der Welt" and of course the iconic "Scream." As with all of Tokio Hotel's music, the songs mesh very well together, considering how the band has evolved over the arc of their musical development and there's at last 6 years' worth of music on these CDs. Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

And with all of that comes a DVD with 18 videos and 6 making of... videos. All in all, a nice package for the price. I also think it would be a nice CD for someone not familiar with Tokio Hotel. It gives a balanced look at their work over the years and it's always fun to watch the older videos when they were even younger. Being able to look...and listen...back over their work puts the band in context with where they are now, shows us how they've evolved and are still evolving, both stylistically and as individuals. We get the range of Bill's voice as he matures and the growing sophistication of their music and lyrics in more recent tracks from Humanoid.

And the videos gives us the panorama of Bill's ever-changing hair styles and wardrobe, along with a look back at Tom's dreds. As much as I appreciate the current fashion-forward person Bill's becoming, I still miss the Volcom t-shirts and ripped jeans. 


Tokio Hotel Best of... 2 CD/DVD set

A year gone...

It's been a long year...and it's over. Finally.


Starting new with the newly purchased "Best Of" CD/DVD set that arrived yesterday. Am currently listening to the German version CD. Nice that not all the songs are on both, it's a mix between the English and German. I'm not saying that quite right...lol. I'm out of practice describing things.

Lost Job, Interesting Dream...

The last temp job let me go unexpectedly and I can't say I'm not unhappy or terribly disappointed, but surprised by the reasons (mostly mad because I was misunderstood)...but that's not important. The interesting thing is this:

The call came on Saturday morning (I have a dedicated recruiter that keeps strange office hours, apparently just to tell me bad news) and earlier, after I let the dog out at 4:00 a.m. and had gone back to sleep, I had this dream (before the phone call, which I find really interesting):

I was sitting in an almost empty movie theatre with my boyfriend. He was blonde, blue-eyed, conventional looking; just what a boyfriend was expected to look like, I guess. (I was also about 20, just for a point of reference.) I was holding his hand, and I went to put my arm around him, and he shook me off and got up. He walked down the row of seats, looked back and shook his head at me, and walked out the exit. I got the feeling he wasn't coming back.

I'm unhappy that he's leaving, not because I particularly liked HIM, but because I really felt I needed him somehow, but he wasn't exactly what I needed. He was the expected boyfriend I was supposed to have, but I didn't FEEL like he was right.

(My dreams also are like movies; they have scenes, so the next scene is from the far back of the theatre, from over the shoulder of a guy sitting way in the back to my left, who has been watching all this happen.)

The guy in the back, who looks suspiciously like Bill, with big hair, sunglasses, and all the silver chains, starts working his way up towards where I'm sitting. He walks down the row he's in, down the aisle, down the row behind me, steps OVER the seat a few seats down and sits in a seat one away from me. He never looks at me until I look over at him. He looks at me over the top of his glasses, glances at the empty seat between us and says "Is this seat taken?" I shake my head no and he moves over. And puts his arm around my shoulder.

So is Bill supposed to be my boyfriend? No, not really (would be nice, be that's not the meaning of this dream.)

I'm thinking this is more along the lines of the job that left me, the job that was conventional, looked like all the other jobs I've had and been so-so about, the expected job I'm supposed to have at my age. And that I'm not totally surprised that it left. I went through the motions...was automatic...ha, knew that would come into play there somehow!!! ...and it left me!!! (Okay, Bill et al are brilliant. That song was my New Year's resolution; to be less automatic and more conscious in my actions.)

And the Bill that shows up could be the job that I'm not expecting, the last thing I'd expect and that may actually take some time to work it's way up from the back of the theatre. And when it asks, to say yes, and embrace it.

Lisbon, Portugal...

I think I would like to go to a concert in Europe and I wanted to go to Paris in April...but I think now I would like to also go to Lisbon and visit Elsa...whom I have never met but who is my devoted follower on this blog. I think we would have a fantastic time at the concert, meet and greet the band and hang out together. How fun would that be !!!

(waving at Elsa, across the ocean, 6 hours ahead of me in time and sometimes in a different day...and sometimes speaking a different language...but always united in our love of Tokio Hotel)

Ohhh!!! Jewelry...

The lovely Tokio Hotel bracelet, BK star charm and Designers Against AIDS buttons arrived today. And they are fantastic. It's hard to judge quality online, but these are nice and hefty, not hefty like large, but substantial and good quality...and not cheaply made. The bracelet is kind of an odd size though: if I hook the hook in the round circle like it's meant to, I can slide the bracelet off my hand, but I don't like it if I hook it in one of the links, cuz it distorts the bracelet. Maybe it's a guy's bracelet? huh...

And then there is the lovely star with BK against the black background. Lovely...

The buttons are the best...two with Bill with new hair, one with the middle hair, and one with the DAA logo. Oh, yes, and there's Tom and Gustav and Georg as well!! But after the hair brushing dream, it's nice to see all that lovely hair as hair! They're really good quality, with a little safety catch thing on the back, which I like, since I plan on pinning them on my purse and would hate to have them fall off. But I do believe they will stay put.

New Year, Rough Start

New years are always rough for me...it's never a new fresh start, but a crashing end to the past year. It takes me the month of January to recover it seems.

This time it's been medical and financial...but as always, I come out of it. Sometimes worse for wear, but at least I'm still here.

Interestingly enough, with new meds for the migraines comes really interesting new dreams...seems all medications for migraines carry the side effects of vivid dreams. I have those anyway, but these seem more so. Who would have thought that combing out Bill's faux hawk would have been like combing out one of those Koosh balls from the '80's? Although it was black, not multi-colored orange.

Not sure the reason I was combing out Bill's hair in the first place, but I was apparently in charge of that, he was apparently content to sit on the floor (sitting still on the floor no less; it must have been a dream!!) in front of me as other people came in and out of this very ornate hotel room, and I tried very gently to comb out his hair.

Except...it kept springing back up...and not like hair full of hairspray, but like the wiggly Koosh ball stuff!! Was totally panicky that I was going to get in trouble, but also secretly happy I wasn't making any headway (oh...sorry, bad pun) and that I had to sit there longer and longer and keep combing (actually, it was a brush, not a comb).

I do remember he was sitting on my feet, which had gone to sleep at some point, but be damned if I was going to say anything or move. LOL...I think IRL the dog was sleeping on my feet and they had gone numb (she weighs 80 lbs.)

So, the good side effect of new drugs...funny Tokio Hotel dreams. And there was actually no end to the dream...it just faded away. For all I know, I'm still sitting in a very ornate hotel room in Europe, on a very elegant striped silk sofa, Bill is still sitting on the floor in front of me, apparently still sitting still, I'm still brushing this head full of non-hair ... hair ... for all eternity :) Things could be worse.

But I think I'd miss not having any music from them after a while. Eventually I'd have to let him get up.

Which was actually a convo Alex and I had: where do characters in your dreams (or characters in stories that aren't finished yet; I have lots of those) go and do when you're awake? Do they go off and have lives of their own, or do they patiently wait for you to come back? Do dream Bill and I eventually grow tired of hair combing and step out for a drink and dinner? Do we ever wonder why his hair isn't real and do I ever recover the feeling in my feet? We may never know...

Off Topic...Hot Topic

Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest...and these are the best thing at the moment.

Socks from Hot Topic. They are knee socks. Warm without being bulky, soft and comfy and they keep my legs and feet warm. The new job seems to be saving money by turning off the heat. I don't mind a cool room, but this place is actually chilly. But my new socks are fantastic.

SO, if you're looking for socks, get thee to a Hot Topic store. Plus they sell Tokio Hotel CD's and DVD's ... so I guess this isn't really that off topic after all :)

(And get a HT+1 card...frequent buyer card...friend with benefits card...something like that. You save lots of money and get points too. Always a good thing.)

Phantomrider/Geisterfahrer

This has got to be my new favorite song...the German version. I like the English and I've listened to it enough to know it by heart, but I found the German version to listen to online at work.

Whomever the girl is singing, she has the most amazing pure sound to her voice. I did a quick search and apparently she's uncredited, which is fine. I really don't need to know her name to love the combination of Bill's voice and hers.

I literally stopped working the first time I heard it...

Something I rarely do...

Is tell someone what to do...I have lots of opinions and am more than willing to share them, but rarely feel the need to out and out tell someone they need to make changes.

And I really dislike capitalizing on what I feel is some media sensationalism and bad press as well...that's not my motive.

Bill looks too thin and I think he needs to gain a little weight. I have an old...old...photo for a screen saver and compared that to the most recent pics from the movie premiere. I know he's tall and keeps growing; I know he's always been thin; I know he eats at some point... but I think he's too thin.

Possibly an irrational fear, possibly just another phase of being an obsessed fan, but I worry...which I do really well...and know the rigors of tour life can be taxing. And health, along with family, are something that cannot always be replaced, but are sometimes taken for granted, especially by the young. We are not immortal; the music may be, but the human body is not.

So I worry, and feel the need to say this. Cathartic for me to put it out into the big vast internet...to fall on whomever ears it lands.

And I say this too because I want to be listening to Tokio Hotel with Bill singing for a very, very long time....I want to watch them grow and change and evolve and keep making music. And if you're not healthy, you can't do that.

Lazy Girl....

Sometimes I get so lazy and unfocused and it drives me nuts. There is so much I want to do, to accomplish, but I get stuck doing mindless, stupid, time-wasting things.

Or, I have the ambition, but I'm in the wrong place (example: I'm at work, writing a blog post. Supposed to be "working" not writing in the blog. But then I dream about work. Ugh...)

Need a swift kick in the backside, or a long to-do list, or some poking and prodding from somewhere...self-motivation seems to be lacking these days.

But at least I have good music to listen to :) There's always that...a bright side to any day.

Oh, found the German version of Phamtomrider online...that will probably get an entire love-fest post of its own. Amazing...

Anniversary

Sometime this month is the year anniversary of first discovering Tokio Hotel...or rather finding a picture of Bill and wondering who the heck that was, what did he look like without the make-up and big hair (which I discovered was just as nice as he looks with) and why did they spell Tokio that way. So I found their site, listened to Scream and Monsoon and fell in love with the music. And then started listening to the music...and went through some profound changes because of it.

It's been a year...can I say that one band, four guys (no longer boys) from Germany who play something labeled alternately "glam rock" (hate that term), "alternative rock" (okay) or "emo" (not accurate either, imo) is the reason I'm not who I was a year ago? Quite possibly yes.

I've made changes based on observations of what was and wasn't authentic, positive and fulfilling in my life. I've become more outspoken, more self-sufficient and generally more positive. Can I say happier? Yes, I think I can.

All because of music? Hell yes. Music has a huge impact on the human brain. Music can be used for all kinds of therapy. I've learned to use Tokio Hotel to take my mind off of my chronic pain; migraines or arthritis, both of which have decreased over the past year. Months have gone by without an arthritis flare and the ones I have had were relatively short lived. Migraines are better controlled with less addictive drugs. No more House in this house.

I write now...I write reviews of Tokio Hotel music, for the pure pleasure of writing about them and having other fans read and enjoy what I've written. I've earned money writing on various sites; articles and fiction and have more in the works. I have a budding new business in the works as well...I am self-sufficient and I can take care of myself. I still have a brick and mortar business to go to, but I've learned to enjoy myself there, even working for someone else. I am a more authentic version of me and even though I'm stuck in a building, in a cubicle, at a desk, I am making that job my own.

On the fun side: a new (first) tattoo, hair color and soon to be new ear piercing.

I am a better version of myself; still me, but a better me, the me I'm supposed to be. Not an automatic version; I'm trying to live each moment, even if it's one of the more mundane moments. That doesn't mean I don't have doubts and sadness and bleak moments. I do...but they are in perspective, I can handle them. I'm not perfect, and not expecting to be. But I'm learning to be the me I have the potential to be.

All because of a chance photo of some kid from Germany with big hair and eyeliner. How cool is that?