Written in the Scars of Our Hearts

Just Give Me a Reason is an awesome song that I love and have been obsessed with for a while.

Pink and Nate Ruess wrote it together. I love Pink and I love Fun. so loving this song is a no-brainer.

Ohhhhh, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to 'splain and 'splain everything I love about it.

On wikipedia it says that Pink and Nate Ruess (heretofore called Fun.) were initially just having a writing session and they wrote this song.

Wha? HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? How do these things get set up? I love this pairing. But I don't think they're buds. They run in different circles. Does Pink just say, get me Fun.? How's it work in the biz? Where did it take place? Did they write this song in a day? Did they drink Diet Coke? Did they sit at desks or on comfortable couches?

FOR SURE Fun. sat criss-cross apple sauce for all or part of the writing session. I just know it.

This song turned out to be conversational, which is part of what makes it so great. Some of my favorite songs ever are conversational (You're the One That I Want, Don't Go Breakin' My Heart, You Don't Bring Me Flowers). They're clever. They're dramatic. And fun. And, Fun.

So Pink asked Fun. to sing it with her. It's catchy and pretty and the lyrics are good and interesting. They depict a couple with problems trying to hang in there. Totally relatable. (Zing! I like to keep Christian on his toes!)

Pink sings first and you're totally on her side. It's kind of a nice surprise to hear the husband chime in. (All couples who sing together are married, just like all dogs are boys and all cats are girls.) Now here's where it gets interesting. Because Fun. says some typical guy things. Like, "where is this coming from?" and "It's all in your mind." With Pink being so powerful and sympathetic and, incidentally, married to kind of a tough-guy who is probably (just playing the odds) maybe a bit of a macho Men are from Mars sort of fellow, on the page I think these lyrics are good but it gets super special when Fun. sings them.

Why? Because Nate Ruess does not sound like a typical macho guy.  He's tiny and slight. He sings so earnestly. When they sing this song, it's hard to distinguish which person is singing. The woman voice and the man voice blend and it's hard to tell who is accusing whom of what. That is what I find interesting. Pink and Fun.'s voices both span 2 octaves in this song.  It's quite remarkable.

Watch this live version. Are those tears in Nate's eyes? I love this pairing. It's kind of gender-bending in a cool, awesome, interesting way. Are they aware of this? I mean, Pink is kind of tough and Fun. is kind of sensitive. They're great. I basically have a mix of both their haircuts. I'd marry either one of them. (Zing! I like to keep Christian on his toes.) I'm not saying Pink is not feminine and Fun. is not masculine. You get what I'm saying.

For the record, I think Pink sounds amazing in this live version and so does Fun. She's wearing an ear piece and he's not. Whatever that means. When he pleads, "I'll fix it for us," to me it is a play on how women typically complain that they just want to talk about their problems and men typically don't want to listen but want to jump in with ways to fix their problems. But when Nate Ruess sings it I think, Bless his heart. He really will try hard to fix it for us!

I didn't post the official video because it's kind of not safe for work/kids on your lap while you read blogs. If it makes you feel better you should know that Pink's racy love scenes in the video are with her real-life husband. But Fun. is there too. He's just there to belt out the lyrics.

And by the way, I'm not just making unfair assumptions about Pink's macho husband. She basically told me all about him in the album this song is from, The Truth About Love. She actually spells out the word r-o-m-a-n-c-e for him in one song. She says she hates him in lots of songs. Their relationship seems volatile—but a lot more interesting than any of Taylor Swift's! Best wishes to Pink—Split, reconciled, and still together with Carey Hart, her husband, baby daddy, and motorcycle racer. I hope he's as much of a sweetheart to her as Fun. seems to be.

Kudos to my daughter, Maggie, for introducing me to this song. Her musical tastes tend more towards mainstream and the indie-music-lovers in our family sometimes look down our (I mean their) noses at things "everyone" likes. But Maggie has great taste and HELLO everyone should like this song, because it rules.

My obsession runs deep. I actually wrote a spoof of this song for Lisa and Chris Clark to sing to each other. It's based on the conflict couples have over watching their shows together when one person seems less committed. Lisa Clark is my muse and when I picture her and Chris in bed together (admit it, we all picture this) I picture him snoring under his CPAP and her very engaged with the remote. I was hoping Pretty Darn Funny might pick it up as a viral video and Chris and Lisa could reprise their roles as Daryl and Gracie, but I'm open to a Kickstarter. I feel that Chris and Lisa would be in, no matter what.

If you are wondering why this post is so long, this is how a conversation with me would go if I were completely in charge, we had unlimited time, and no one interrupted me. Isn't it wonderful? OK. I'll post the song parody. But you have to read the lyrics while listening to the actual song. Here's a playlist with the song along with some other fantastic duets that I love. Don't skim this post. You won't know what's going on. 

"Just Give Me a Season” sung to “Just Give Me a Reason” by Pink and Nate Ruess of fun. 

Gracie watching TV in bed while Daryl sleeps next to her. Gracie sings to the TV, then to Daryl, then he wakes up and they sing to each other.

Gracie: Dear DVR

You were a thief

You stole my heart

And I’m your willing victim

I let you see the parts of me

That weren't all that pretty [stuffs face with food in bed]

And with every episode you fixed them

[To sleeping Daryl] Now you've been going fast to sleep [“snore snore,” from Daryl]

You’re too tired to watch with me [“snore snore,” from Daryl]

I’m afraid you've had enough

Of our shows, our shows

Can’t you watch this season

Just a little of it’s left

I’ll delete it if you don’t care

Please watch so we can get caught up again
It’s dvr

This dvr is ours. It's our heart

You’re not tired just spent

And I’ll just have to watch again

[Daryl wakes up]

Daryl: I'm sorry I don't understand

Where all of this is coming from

I think our shows are fine

Gracie: Oh, our shows are fine (regards the Tivo menu)

[Daryl] You thought I fell asleep again

My dear, I’m just resting my eyes

And it's all in your mind

Gracie: Yeah but this is happening (indicates TV screen which says “storage full”)

[Daryl] Project Runway’s almost done (“boop boop,” sound of dvr while Gracie looks sideways at TV and pauses it.)

Downton Abbey ended bad (“sob, sob”)

Call the Midwife’s our new show

Because of Chum—my

Oh Chum—my

Please do not delete it

1 more episode’s enough

I promise I’m not tired, just spent

And I want to watch again
I never stopped

This DVR is ours it's our heart

You’re not tired just spent

And we can learn to watch again

Gracie: DVR might bust

Daryl: I'll fix it for us (holds up ROKU box)

Gracie: It’s collecting dust

Daryl: But our tuner’s enough
Gracie: You fell asleep

Daryl: You watched without me

Gracie: Maybe nothing is as bad as it seems

Daryl: I'll take naps

We will not delete it

We will try to stay awake

Just 1 season We’re not tired just spent

And we can stay awake this time
It's DVR

And it is ours it's our heart

And we're not tired just spent

And we can learn to watch again

We will save a season

1 more episode’s enough

We promise we’re not tired just spent

And we can watch this show again

This DVR

This little dvr fills our hearts

Oh we're not tired just spent

And we can learn to watch again

Oh we can learn to watch again (Gracie is distracted by the TV)

Oh Lady Mary will learn to love again! 

Oh. Oh.

(Daryl drifts off to sleep)

Gracie: You’re not tired just spent

And I can watch it all again

Isn't it romantic? I know you can picture it.  I admit that it is autobiographical. So anyway. You see that when I say "obsessed" I'm not exaggerating. Happy listening. It's a great song. If you read this whole post I want to give you a dollar.

Book Report: The Age of Miracles

I am stingy with 5s on Good Reads. I only give 5s if there is something really wonderful, insightful, clever, or life-changing about a book.

I gave Karen Thompson Walker's The Age of Miracles a 5. First of all, I was in the mood for this book. After trying to choke down *Brady Udall's Lonely Polygamist (and failing because I hate the way he writes about women which is a problem that multiplies exponentially when your topic is polygamy) for last month's book club, this story really hit the spot. I loved it.

It's not a crazily fantastic story. But when I got to the end of it, I felt like it was real. The story is about a girl named Julia and her family as they deal with the slowing of the rotation of the earth. Days start lasting longer. They have to start sleeping when the sun is out and going to school in the dark. Some people go off the "fake" clock time and try to stretch their circadian rhythm out to match the cycle of the earth. It's pretty interesting and new, in terms of apocalyptic-type stuff. No zombies.

But it is mostly about Julia's coming of age. The book almost feels slow, but  not in a boring way. Nothing huge happens (except the slowing of the earth) but the book is still compelling. It's good writing, too. At least, it's to my taste.

The reason I gave it a 5, though, is for about 3-4 scenes that I thought were so poignant I can never forget them. I want to prepare you for spoilers. They are coming. Please get ready. I'm going to briefly describe these small little scenes in the book that make it recommendable and worth reading—That's how I think of a Good Reads 5.

One scene is where Julia buys a bra. I remember when I got my first bra very vividly and kind of shamefully. It's not my mom's fault or anyone's fault, I was just super self-conscious. My friend Rachel had all these mean older sisters. One of them took us bra shopping.  In hindsight, she was pretty nice to take us bra shopping. She made us try the bras on out in the store on top of our clothes. I was horrified. In the book, Julia uses her own money to buy a bra from a drugstore. She picks a nice, tasteful one.  When she gets it home, though, she sees the bra more clearly and realizes that it is cheap, ugly, and embarrassing. She throws it in the garbage.

Another scene that just about kills me to think about involves Julia's grandpa. He is a quirky but loving sort of guy, like most grandfathers. I just want you to know that I'm going to talk about something that happens in the book and it might ruin the book for you so read the book first if you don't want it spoiled. OK. Here goes. Her grandpa goes missing for a while. They think he may have joined some of the people who are off clock-time. But then, after a few weeks, they find his body. It's in an old bomb shelter in his back yard that he was fixing up in case they needed to stay in it for the slowing of the earth. He fell off a ladder. He was stocking it up with board games for him, Julia's parents, and Julia. It's clear that he was just taking a load down before they were picking him up to go out to dinner for Julia's birthday because he's dressed up in a corduroy jacket with a birthday card for Julia in his pocket. This wrecks me, for some reason. It's the detail of him thinking they would want to play checkers in there and how he got dressed up in a corduroy jacket to go out to dinner with her. It's so sad, and really poignant and sweet.

Also, Julia finds out that her father (and, be forewarned because this is a spoiler too) is seeing another women. He's not honest. Julia knows but her mom doesn't. There's an accidental encounter with Julia and her dad at the women's house and it appears that he is going to leave with her and move away. He's really mad that Julia saw him, but he knows he can't be mad at her because he's being a big jerk. It's complicated and sad. That day is the day they find the grandfather's body. Julia's dad comes home. Her mother never knows, but their relationship improves. Julia never tells her mom about her dad's affair.

I like that even though this book has this kind of fantastical element about the earth slowing, it's very realistic and that even in the face of all these things happening and when life as we know it changes for good, it's still the story of this little family and the seemingly small choices (lies and decisions) that are at the heart of the story. I guess it's kind of sad. But I liked it. I think the age of "miracles" refers to these small acts of connection people have with each other, maybe even a family that endures, albeit imperfectly, through something hard. At least that is how I like to think of this book.

*A lot of people like The Lonely Polygamist. They are great people.  I'm just not one of them. I also like spaghettios, so you can't go by me.

Hey Guys

Hello there. How are you? Fine, I hope.

I've been so busy lately, which I hate. I hate saying that I'm busy because everyone says it and everyone is and it's really obnoxious.

I also hate actually being busy. I work so hard to maintain long stretches of down time to use for reading and blogging and that time has been encroached upon more and more lately. No one thinks reading a book is a good enough reason to not do something else. Sigh. So persecuted.

Newsflash: It's better in many ways to have big kids. But when you don't have babies anymore, all of the sudden you're fair game and it's hard to say no. Hard, but not impossible. Learn how now.

Incidentally, I have a new calling as a counselor in the Stake YW Presidency. (But then, you already guessed that from my Pinterest Boards.)

Still blogging away at Babble though. Here are April's posts:

Some of Media's Most Influential People Are Parents

Google Fiber Coming to Provo

Let Brian Eno Soothe You in the Hospital

Michelle Williams Focuses on One Thing at a Time

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell Team Up for New Album

How Did He Do It? Sherlock Pics Suggest Spoilers

Gloria Steinem Says to Lay Off Kim Kardashian's Body

Can you believe it? I wrote my first Kim Kardashian post for Babble! (Hopefully, the first of many.) I feel like my analysis of the Sherlock pics is my first true scoop. I'm proud. That should tide you over. But if it doesn't,

Meg Ryan and Daisy True

Call the Midwife is a Great Show

How to Get and Stay Creative

Jeremy Renner Becomes a Baby Daddy

If Only My Kids Would Follow Tim Gunn's Golden Rules

What Kids Learn From Super Heroes

Roger Berman: 10 Things I Love About You

Celebrities Who've Written Children's Books

I know you're too busy to read all of them. But I want you to treat yourself to at least a few.

Have an uneventful day!

I Could Kill You With My Bare Hands if I Was Free: Song For Zula

I am obsessed with a new song from Phosphorescent called Song for Zula. You have to listen to it.

I don't know who Zula is or what, exactly, this song is about but I am in love with it. From the 1st line which alludes to both Bette Midler's The Rose and Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire to the last horrible line—It's the most interesting thing ever. I want to write a paper about it.

It seems to be saying that love has the power to consume and trap, even to disfigure. This person never wants to be open to its grip again. Love, it's not pretty. I love the seething rage that seems to lie below the surface. The way the word "folks" is spit out with disdain, you think it's going to be a swear word. I'm always interested in hidden seething rage. I like it when something we behave condescendingly towards that seems weak or naive is actually totally self-aware and ready to pounce. I'm interested in the idea that we are constrained by love and disfigured by it.

This song sounds so beautiful and yet it is so devastating.

I like to imagine that at her spunkiest and most self-aware, this is my mom's song to my dad.

It is as romantic as it is hideous. Enjoy.



Matthew Houck is the man behind Phosphorescent. I'd love to find out his deal, if you know what I mean. He reminds me of Santino Rice from Project Runway, who I'm also pretty intrigued with.

And here are the lyrics:

Some say love is a burning thing
That it makes a fiery ring
Oh but I know love as a fading thing
Just as fickle as a feather in a stream
See, honey, I saw love. You see, it came to me
It put its face up to my face so I could see
Yeah then I saw love disfigure me
Into something I am not recognizing

See, the cage, it called. I said, “Come on in”
I will not open myself up this way again
Nor lay my face to the soil, nor my teeth to the sand
I will not lay like this for days now upon end
You will not see me fall, nor see me struggle to stand
To be acknowledge by some touch from his gnarled hands
You see, the cage, it called. I said, “Come on in”
I will not open myself up this way again

You see, the moon is bright in that treetop night
I see the shadows that we cast in the cold, clean light
My feet are gold. My heart is white
And we race out on the desert plains all night
See, honey, I am not some broken thing
I do not lay here in the dark waiting for thee
No my heart is gold. My feet are light
And I am racing out on the desert plains all night

So some say love is a burning thing
That it makes a fiery ring
Oh but I know love as a caging thing
Just a killer come to call from some awful dream
O and all you folks, you come to see
You just stand there in the glass looking at me
But my heart is wild. And my bones are steam
And I could kill you with my bare hands if I was free

Write me a paper about it and I will grade it.  Here are some resources.



I get very obsessed with things. The internet is my enabler. It can be yours, too.