gemfyre: (Weapon of Choice)
2014-09-04 07:42 pm
Entry tags:

We're six jerks in a jeep - BEEP BEEP

My Nan and Pop would be proud.

I remember when I was a teenager staying with them and playing my music loudly and it was stuff like Bon Jovi and Trixter and a bit later silverchair and Nirvana and of course they complained about the noise.

The last few days I've been listening to (and singing) a bunch of Andrews Sisters songs. A lot of these songs are old standards, so I'm familiar with them, but now I know the words to them, some I didn't even know HAD words previously. I never thought something like Chatanooga Choo-Choo could conceivably become a favourite song of the moment.

It's amusing reading the comments on the YouTube vids of their songs - so many people going on about "How horrible and obscene" modern music is and how "OMG Candyman (by Christina Aguileira) is so disgusting and sexual, and stuff like Andrews Sisters isn't." Have these people ever listened closely to Hold Tight? That song is hella dirty, they ain't singing about fish & chips there. Really, nothing has truly changed, I'm quite happy to be bopping along to Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy one day and the next headbanging to Counting Bodies Like Sheep.

So yeah, Swing, which is my thing right now. Finished my second round of beginner classes and I'm starting to really get the nitty gritty of some steps down, which is great, it's all just practice and repetition - and bonus exercise! Intermediate class was learning a move called the Hacksaw, which involves frantic kicks and looks really nifty, and the Suzie Q, which is a low down shuffling move which is absolute HELL on my knees. Despite having the scary name, I'd rather do the Hacksaw.

The knees really freakin' hurt this morning, they are considerably better now but still not 100%. By mid tomorrow they should be okay.

And achievement unlocked - doing the Charleston to Sing Sing Sing. Happy BJ.
gemfyre: (BJ tongue)
2014-08-31 12:02 am
Entry tags:

Hi Livejournal, I'm learning to Swing Dance!

I also wanna try to use poor old LJ more often (how often have I said that?)

- I need to learn how to be led. Hopefully it's something that just comes with practice and time.
- Wow, I thought a toenail was poking into another toe, but it seems I have managed to break a toenail and part of it has come off and it was bleeding and I had no idea.
- I have NO idea where the guys at SDA get their energy. Some of them were going the whole night, and not slowing down. I wonder if I will get anywhere near those energy levels if I keep this up.
- Stucky feels intensifying.
- Where can I learn Balboa? It's like someone shoved all the fancy moves in Quickstep into a dance and removed the stuff that moves you around the floor at a rapid pace.
- Jive is so ingrained in my head that I keep slipping into it while doing Lindy Hop - annoying.
- Sing Sing Sing actually has lyrics.
- Need more Andrews Sisters.
- I think I need to learn Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen and sing it at karaoke.

yeah, it's now midnight, waiting for sleep wave to hit.