Outside of the In-Crowd – Guilty pleasures

April 10, 2008 Outside of the In-Crowd No Comments

Courtney Enlow

I’ve always been confused by the concept of “The Guilty Pleasure.” It just seems wrong to me that we should feel shame for liking something. (Note: I’m far more confused by the concept of “Ironic Enjoyment,” but it’s a more hateful confusion and I could go on for days about it and would probably just end up yelling a lot and hurling insults and foaming at the mouth and that’s just no way to win the affections of my readers. So let’s just ignore that for the time being.)

There are a number of things that I love for which my friends give me a world of shit for enjoying. Namely the Backstreet Boys and the fact that I have seen them in concert not once, not twice, but three times. And I’ve made no secret of my intense and borderline creepy love for the films The Crush and Fear. I also love Britney Spears, fan-made “shipper vids” (if you don’t know what any of that means, congrats, you’re not a huge giant nerd), flossing (no, seriously, I really love it far more than is necessary or appropriate), the song “Broken” by Lindsay Haun (it’s from a pro-war made-for-TV movie starring Toby Keith), and the “Pure Moods”-esque period of 90s music which includes songs like “Return to Innocence” by Enigma and “In the House Of Stone and Light” by Martin Page. These are all things I love, and love proudly, knowing full well the derision I’ll receive from my peers. I feel no guilt for these things, but a rather sunshiney joy.

On the other end of the guilt spectrum, there is a small handful of things I actually hate myself for liking. Most of it can be found on VH1 Celeb-reality (damn you, Bret Michaels, with your flaxen hair and penchant for strippers). The rest generally consists of mostly celebrity gossip blogs and McDonalds hamburgers. These delights are a weakness, and I’ll never give them up (ooh, which reminds me, throw Rick Astley on the no-guilt-love pile). But I’ll own up and admit to my infatuation with these things. I don’t care if you know that I tune into VH1 every Sunday to watch the eyebrow-less Daisy kiss Bret with her fish lips, or that I scan Lainey Gossip ten times a day and obsess over Blind Items like my life depends on it, or that I can devour those goddamn hamburgers five at a time in under eight minutes. Now, of course, when I admit to these things, I can often be found yelling excitedly and making a devil horn gesture with my hand, which is the classic “I’m quite embarrassed and overcompensating” manner of expressing guilty love. But I’ll still admit it. I love nothing in secret (note: this is because I am one part honest and two parts annoying as all get out).

All that aside, here’s a question: what about the gray area of guilty pleasures? What about the things that about which I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel guilty? How am I supposed to ready myself for the coming Guilt War if I don’t realize something is shameful? Is it okay to admit that I love Jimmy Eat World, for example? Or that I’ve seen Foreigner in concert and loved it and would see absolutely them again, multiple times? And what about songs that were socially acceptable and okay to like before they appeared during a tender moment on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy? How about liking the Counting Crows? I mean “American Girls” is really good. Can I admit that “Let Love In” by the Goo Goo Dolls is the single most played song on my iPod and I’d honestly rather listen to that over anything by Neutral Milk Hotel?

…

Okay yeah fine, I’ll give you that one. Maybe. I don’t know. I mean I love Neutral Milk and all, but “Let Love In” is SUCH a good song. It’s a very tricky area.

I just don’t know, people. I mean, is it so wrong to love these things? Don’t we have a deep nostalgic love for the movies and TV shows of our childhood that upon later adult viewings aren’t as great as we remember? And don’t we all love the songs on our various “GIT CRUNK!!1!” mixes? (Note: Mine is not called that. Mine is called “Foux de fafa.”) Don’t we all watch some sort of painful reality TV show and love how much we hate it? What it comes down to is that we feel guilty for liking anything mainstream, and that’s never okay. Don’t let the man get you down! Own your love, people. Own it I say!

* takes a deep breath *

Look, what I’m trying to say here is that the new Backstreet Boys album is really good, okay?

Courtney Enlow is a writer living in Chicago and working as a corporate shill to pay the bills. You can contact her at courtney@hobotrashcan.com.

  

Chicken and Milk – Shut up or I’ll bite your ankle, fool!

April 10, 2008 Chicken and Milk No Comments 080410.jpg

(Click to enlarge.)

Jeremiah was raised in the deepest part of the darkest jungle. That’s why he smells like adventure. He currently lives in Elkins, WV with his wife, Becky, and son, Isaiah, who is epic and destined to rule the world one day. You can contact him at jeremiahwentz@hobotrashcan.com.

  

Getting to Know … Megan Hilty

April 3, 2008 Getting to Know No Comments
It’s fitting that Megan Hilty’s fairytale rise
to stardom would come via Wicked, a Broadway musical based on Gregory Maguire’s reimagining of the classic fairytale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The Seattle, Washington native always dreamed of one day performing on a Broadway stage. Hilty began singing at a young age by mimicking the voices she heard on her parent’s albums, prompting them to take her to a voice teacher, who was impressed with her range.

“Because I was mimicking those different voices that I was listening to, she thought that I had an abnormally large voice for a little person,” Hilty said.

Hilty was trained classically and eventually got involved in youth theater programs. She went to a performing arts high school, then to the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. A week before her college graduation, Hilty was cast in Wicked.

The casting director saw her in a showcase put on by her university and was so impressed that he originally wanted to cast Hilty in the national tour of Little Shop of Horrors. Before that came to fruition, the casting director called her back and told her they were looking to cast Kristin Chenoweth’s replacement in Wicked, so Hilty flew out to New York to audition. Because she was still in school, Hilty had missed the initial auditions and was called in to tryout during the final callback.

“I think I was kind of the wildcard,” Hilty said.

She didn’t have high expectations going in to the audition. Mostly, Hilty was just hoping to make them laugh and feel like they hadn’t wasted their time calling her in. She never expected to actually land the role.

“They had me see a show the night before,” Hilty recalled. “I remember sitting there afterwards going, ‘Nobody could do this after Kristin Chenoweth, let alone a no-name from nowhere.’ So I had absolutely no expectations.”

Jennifer Laura Thompson was cast as Chenoweth’s replacement, but Hilty was cast as Thompson’s standby. Ultimately, Thompson left the show and Hilty was officially given the role of Glinda. While she was excited to have the role, taking over for two accomplished Broadway actors at such a young age was quite a daunting task.

“Those are two of the funniest comedian singers on Broadway,” Hilty said.

It took Hilty a while to step out of their shadow and find her voice.

“It was really hard not to try and mimic them,” Hilty admitted. “That’s actually what I tried to do in the beginning, but it really didn’t work. I had to go back and approach it like any other script and try to forget about their performances and try to make it my own. Otherwise, it would never be funny or touching or real.”

Hilty has played the role of Glinda for four years now and has performed Wicked in five different cities – New York, Portland, Seattle, Toronto and Los Angeles. She is still currently performing in Wicked in Los Angeles, doing a show every night of the week expect Monday and two performances on Saturday and Sunday. Even after such a long time playing the role, she still feels like she is perfecting her performance.

“It took me a long time to feel comfortable with how I was doing it,” Hilty said. “I’d say that I’m still struggling with it, which is a good thing though because I think that’s what’s made me be able to do it for so long.”

Hilty will give her final performance as Glinda in Los Angeles on May 11th, but she hasn’t ruled out the possibility of one day returning to the role.

“It’s a rare occurrence that you get such a great female role, so I think it will be great to revisit someday,” Hilty said. “I think it’s one of those shows like Phantom of the Opera where it’s going to be there forever, so I think eventually maybe I’ll go back to it.”

Hilty plans on celebrating her final performance by treating herself to a glass of wine, something she doesn’t indulge in very often. “When you sing so much, you can’t really drink a lot of alcohol or anything because it dries out your vocal cords,” Hilty said.

While she will soon be leaving Wicked behind, she is reuniting with her Wicked castmate Shoshana Bean. The two enjoyed working with each other so much that they developed their own variety show called The Meg’An Sho Show. The show, which Hilty described as “Carol Burnett meets Ellen DeGeneres,” features interviews with special guests, interactions with the audience and musical performances by the duo. Their first show on March 31st was sold out and they have a second show scheduled on Cinco de Mayo.

Hilty has also signed on to play Doralee Rhodes in a musical adaptation of 9 to 5. Having already had to follow in the footsteps of Kristin Chenoweth didn’t make it an easier when Hilty originally signed on to play the role originally made famous by Dolly Parton.

“It was so daunting at first,” Hilty revealed.

Making the role even more daunting is that Parton herself is a large part of the production. The country music star wrote all of the music for the play and will be involved in the rehearsals. Luckily, Parton was able to put Hilty at ease about taking over the role and Hilty is excited to be able to discuss the role with Parton. She’s also looking forward to donning Parton’s trademark fashion.

“I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what my costumes are going to look like and my hair,” Hilty said.

While Hilty is worried that there are too many musicals out there today that are simply remakes or adaptations of films or novels, she is proud of the two big productions she is a part of.

“I’ve been really fortunate to be a part of two exceptionally great stories that translate beautifully to the stage,” Hilty said.

After 9 to 5, Hilty is unsure which direction she would like to see her career head. “It’s funny because Broadway was always the goal,” Hilty said. “I never dreamed that I would be here so quickly.”

She hopes to be able to do focus more on television and film roles in the future. Hilty has already worked on both the large and small screen – playing Glinda on an episode of Ugly Betty, as well as guest spots on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and The Closer and she was the singing voice of Snow White in Shrek the Third.

She would also like to put out an album in the future and hopes to develop her own shoe line.

“I love shoes. I know it’s crazy that a girl would love shoes,” Hilty said. “I don’t think you have to sacrifice comfort for style.”

Hilty believes that you can have a four-inch heel and still walk comfortably all day. She said that developing a shoe was hard work, but enjoys the challenge. Perhaps she will one day develop her own comfortable pair of ruby red slippers.

While her career may be off to a fairytale start, the ambitious actress hopes that people see that there is more to her than her portrayal of the dumb blonde Glinda. She is recognized quite often in LA for her role as Glinda and fans sometime have trouble separating the actress from the part. While she thoroughly enjoys interacting with fans of the musical, she hopes that she isn’t pigeon-holed as a dumb blonde.

“I’ve got a lot more to me than people think,” Hilty said.

And with her fairytale success story still in its early chapters, she’s got plenty of time to prove it.

Written by Joel Murphy, April 2008. For more information on Megan Hilty, visit her official fan page.

  

Note to Self – And the shaft goes to …

April 3, 2008 Note to Self No Comments

Brian Murphy

Last month I wrote a column in hopes of letting North America in on what the rest of the world already knows, that Alexander Ovechkin is the best player in the National Hockey League. My point was that while ESPN and all of Pennsylvania continues to slurp “Cindy” Crosby, a goofy-looking Russian is single-handedly making hockey important again in our nation’s capital.

I bring this up because that column struck a nerve with more than a couple folks. While Caps fans gave me a nod and a smile, Penguins fans wrote in to call me a blind homer. Most everyone else chimed in repeating what the talking heads have been saying for a month, “That’s all well and good, but the Capitals probably aren’t going to make the playoffs anyway, and Ovechkin can’t be the league’s most valuable player if they miss the playoffs.”

Which leads me to ask a very pointed question – why the hell not?

According to NHL.com, the Hart Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association in all NHL cities at the end of the regular season.

That’s it. That’s all they have to say about what goes into selecting a league MVP. Does it say – the best player on the best team in the league? Nope. Does it say the best player on a team that makes the playoffs? Nope. All it says is the award goes to the guy judged to be most valuable to his team.

By all accounts, this is a three-player race for the NHL MVP – Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Martin Broduer of the New Jersey Devils. Any of the three would be worthy of the award, but I honestly don’t even think its close. Ovechkin means more to his team than any other player in the league. Period. End of discussion. Without him, the Caps are crossing their fingers and praying for the lottery gods to look fondly upon them in hopes of earning the first pick in the next NHL draft.

With him, the Capitals are the hottest team in the league down the stretch (winning nine of their last 10 games), while he leads the league in goals and points. On top of that, with 63 goals, Alexandre Ovechkin has tied Luc Robitaille for the most goals ever by a left wing in the history of the league (and unlike Barry Bonds, he got to 61 without an asterisk). Washington may or may not make the playoffs, but that shouldn’t matter when it’s time for the writers’ association to turn in their ballots.

And since we’re on the topic of league MVPs, let’s talk about the National Basketball Association. I keep hearing that Kobe Bryant is “hands down” the MVP this year. Taking nothing away from Bryant, I feel the need to ask why people are seemingly overlooking a fine point guard named Chris Paul, who is putting up video game-type numbers on the New Orleans Hornets.

In about 37 minutes a game, Paul is putting up 21.4 points (2nd in the NBA point guards), 11.4 assists (1st overall in the NBA) and 2.7 steals per game (also 1st overall in the NBA). Oh, by the way, the Hornets currently have the second-best record in the league at 52-22. I don’t care that people feel Kobe should have won an MVP award by now in his career – Paul has been phenomenal all year long, posting career highs in all the major categories while simultaneously bringing out the best from a team that isn’t nearly as talented as the Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics.

Awards shouldn’t turn political (i.e. – screwing over Paul now to make up for Bryant getting screwed over in the past), they should be about recognizing excellence on the court/ice/playing field. Let’s be honest, Eli Manning wasn’t the most valuable player in the Super Bowl. That award should have gone to Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora or my personal favorite, Justin Tuck.

Its common knowledge that quarterbacks get all of the fame and blame, but the real reason the New York Giants took home the hardware was because Tuck and the Giants aggressive defensive line made Tom Brady uncomfortable all night long. But Eli made one incredible play on the NFL’s biggest stage and the rest is history. Chalk it up to another example of the most valuable player rarely being the one taking home the trophy at the end of the year.

Brian Murphy is an award-winning sportswriter, and still doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. Contact him at murf@the5holes.com.

Similar Posts:

  

Chicken and Milk – Yeah, I’m single. How’d you guess?

April 3, 2008 Chicken and Milk No Comments 080403.jpg

(Click to enlarge.)

Jeremiah was raised in the deepest part of the darkest jungle. That’s why he smells like adventure. He currently lives in Elkins, WV with his wife, Becky, and son, Isaiah, who is epic and destined to rule the world one day. You can contact him at jeremiahwentz@hobotrashcan.com.

  

« Previous Entries Next Entries »