Ok, so that's not new news...but what has brought on this resurgence? My eBay habit, that's what! I troll eBay for not just Disney stuff, but particular items from my past, or items I've always wanted, one of them being the DVD of Mark's concert, Live At The Academy. I've had the YouTube clips all pasted together in "concert form" for years just to satiate my craving for this show, but it has never been good enough...I wanted the real thing! But it was a limited edition DVD released pretty much right before the reformation of Take That, and once TT became huge again, Mark's solo career was all but forgotten (yes, I'm partial, but his solo career made him the singer/songwriter he is today which is amazing and very underrated), so, the few times it did appear on eBay, it was someone's private issue and they were asking the cost of a small car for it, and I'd pretty much given up hope.
But anyway, low and behold, guess what I found on eBay last week en masse?
I jumped on it like my life depended on it and it arrived today! Now, I did half expect it to be some crappy dub, and I was OK with that (sad but true), but, it's absolutely perfect! They've released it, so it's real and official and even has additional content! My Markie obsession gene is totally salivating right now!
What makes this such wonderful news? Well, I'm a Mark Owen fan that lives in bum-fudge Arkansas. No one around me even knows who Take That is, let alone Mark...heck, for that matter, you'd be surprised how many people around here don't even know who Robbie Williams is, and considering he's one of the biggest stars in the world, that's just friggin sad! We tend to live in a bubble and don't experience anything outside of the music we are "given", i.e. radio airplay (which overall is pretty much terrible, IMO). The internet should have changed that for a lot of people, but it didn't, and that's even sadder. Some of my favorite bands I discovered due to the internet! (And don't even get me started on not being able to download music from iTunes UK...I tend to jump on a very giant soapbox about that - you should be able to download anything you want if you are willing to pay for it, it shouldn't be divided by countries...no wonder music is so segregated! Even Amazon UK won't let me download - I can (and unfortunately do) buy DVD's left and right, but alas, no music unless it's in CD form).
Growing up where I did, being a Duranie, listening to Depeche Mode, screaming from the mountain tops that Robert Smith was gorgeous (and I still think so, BTW), well, let's just say it's amazing I didn't get shot!! I was a "weirdo", and "outsider" plus add to that my mental issues and I was a downright freak of nature! But, considering the masses I was surrounded by, it didn't hurt my feelings at all and I needed to be left alone for my own sanity (my school years were very Breakfast Club and I was Ally Sheedy's character just without my Emilio). Every blue moon a new kid would move to town from another state and they typically shared my passion for Duran (one ended up being my best friend through most of high school until we had a nasty split another was from California and she was ostracized just for that reason...rednecks, ugh, but she only stayed two years, I think I miss her more than my the ex-best friend, she was the only person in school weirder than me and I worshiped her for it - so Carrie Vanemark, if you're out there - big shout out!).
But my "boy-band" fascination has also been a lifelong passion (or problem, if you ask my sister!). Name a boy-band and I guarantee that at one time or another I was into them, so Take That was a natural progression, especially given my Anglophilia (even Duran were considered a "boy band" to some, although why I'll never know). I do regret my New Kids phase though (especially since I was in my late teens, early twenties, but hey, in my defense, only Jordan and Joe are younger than me, Donnie was my crush and he is older than me, but I guess that still doesn't excuse the comforter set and walls completely covered in NK posters). Heck, I've even gone through a Jonas Brothers phase (but in my defense on that one...seeing them live caused that...but I was at a Miley Cyrus concert, so I guess it's a pretty shotty defense! Can I claim the Disney defense?).
I've done a
blog about Take That in detail, I think it was one of my first few blogs. But they are one of the only boy bands that have turned into a man-band. What they are today is a far cry from a boy-band of the past and that's why they are my favorite band (and yes, you can call them a band now since they play instruments). The Duranie in me will never go away, but the Take That force is uber strong and more in tune with the person I am today...it just fits me better and has for years now. And maybe since they've progressed into a man-band, maybe I've finally progressed out of the boy-band phase (although I still listen to the old stuff as well as the new)...maybe they grew me up (yeah...I doubt it too...but that's OK, I'm happy to be me...now...I wasn't allowed a childhood so I'm due one).
But back on topic, here are a few clips from Mark's show, which also happen to be some of my favorites of Mark's solo stuff (which is a far cry from TT, it's a lot more indie-so if you know Take That but not Mark's solo stuff, don't expect "Babe" here).
As an aside, congrats to Mark and Emma for the upcoming arrival of their third child (which means I also need to give a proper shout out to Gary and Dawn and Robbie and Ayda who are also expecting!). It's a virtual Take That baby bonanza!! Let's just hope Howard kept his in his pants! All he needs is another baby-mamma and the drama he seems to conjure with it!! I don't think about Jason much, but last I heard he broke up with Catherine Tate, but hey, considering they never confirmed they were dating in the first place, who knows....he's my "least favorite", so I don't keep up with him much.
Mark's again working on a new solo album during this Take That break, and since he's been under the influence of being back in TT in an entirely different capacity than before (again, see previous
blog if you don't know the history of TT) and I'm really anxious to see how it's changed him musically.
So, anyway, just wanted to tell my exciting news and I think I'll watch it again because I was typing this blog as it was running and I wasn't paying close attention (although I've seen it a million times). And, as per usual, I rambled on way too much (but hey, if we were talking in person, you wouldn't be able to get a word out of me. I don't blog for readers, I blog just to speak, whether or not people listen is irrelevant because they don't in real life either, so I'm used to it...I just want to be able to voice my opinions and share my loves and if someone else agrees or gets turned onto something new, yea me!). I'm an Asper attempting social interaction in the only way I can (or at least the most comfortable)...without actual human contact.
And since I did a bit of ranting as well, then I must do my usual....
Soapbox dismount.