I'm Just Wild About Harry

If you read this, you already know I love Harry Connick, Jr.  I think he's talented, funny and handsome.  Simply put:  the total package.  Imagine my excitement when his new CD was released last week. 

Your Songs is a collection of standards - old and new - done in Harry's signature big band style. I made the mistake of reading a review of the CD first, which said:

"There's a little too much of a lounge lizard 

creeping into this collection of pop standards and 70s faves."  

I bought it anyway.  Fortunately, my memory is crap these days, and had forgotten all about the review by the time I got to listen to the CD.   It wasn't awful, but there was something not quite right, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.  What was it...?  And then the words LOUNGE LIZARD popped into my head.  I'm so sorry, Harry, but that's the God's honest truth.  I wanted to like it, I really did.  I wanted to like it because you sang the most understated, respectful version of the National Anthem on September 11:  

I wanted to like it, even after visiting your website a couple of weeks ago and found the O in Connick looked like this on the website banner:

I won't lie.  My bowels seized up a little when I saw that.  But I'll listen to the CD again. Did I mention I truly want to like it? Besides, I resigned myself long ago to the fact that if I discounted entertainers solely on the basis of their politics, I'd be stuck watching Chuck Norris and Kelsey Grammer in a remake of the Odd Couple at The Buck Creek Playhouse.  

New in Town

We went and saw New in Town with Harry Connick, Jr. and Renee Zellweger.  Well, we didn't go with them, they were in the movie. 

I loves me some HC, Jr.  I love his voice, insanely mad piano skills, sense of humor, hunkiness....sigh.  He is the total package.  I like Renee Zellweger as an actress, but there is something not right with her face. 

The movie is pretty formulatic:  fish out of water comes to town, nobody likes her, she changes, finds love, everybody likes her.  I'm not letting any cats out of any bags here.  You all knew that's what happens, right?   Lots of jokes about how Minnesotans talk funny and are square.   Everyone in the theatre seemed to be enjoying it from all the gut busting laughter I heard, which I kind of didn't get. It was cute, but this was Blazing Saddles kind of belly laughs.  Maybe I just wasn't feeling well watching Harry and Renee mack on each other. 

Blehhhh..... 

So, to erase that sight from my mind (and possibly yours), here is a little gift from me to you. My favoritist HC, Jr. song.  If you have to watch a commercial first, I apologize.  However, it's really short and I couldn't embed the You Tube version, so I had to go with Yahoo.  

My girls used to call this "The Bakery Song", because of the "Pass me some of that fried chicken!" line.

Please enjoy:

Here Comes The Big Parade @ Yahoo! Video