Ariana & The Rose Signed Merch

Maybe you've seen Ariana DiLorenzo acting, talking about fashion or performing at Pride Parades with her synth-pop act Ariana & The Rose - or maybe you have not.

If you haven't, know that I've been sold on the group on the first two EPs Head vs Heart (2014) and Retrograde (2017), but it is my honest opinion that their brand of some of the smartest pop out there goes beyond the stratosphere on Constellations Phase 1, which was just released in July.

Like, holy fuck.

Today's pop scene is shock-full of emotional teens with tattoos across their faces, or wearing clothes that are so baggy they can fit in it with all their insecurities and the other feelings of anguish and angst that fill their songs.

Ariana doesn't need the artifices, because she's the real deal - and it doesn't come truer than on Constellations Phase 1.

I was lucky enough that she sent me signed memorabilia along with this release, in a terrific, hand-printed silky wrapping paper:

It included a postcard of my astrological zodiac sign:

With this amazing personalized message on the back:

There was also a poster-sized version of the album art:

In case you can't tell, it's also signed, in silver sharpie, top-right; here's a close-up:

I've been in music for over 20 years (I started out pretty young...), and care packages this thoughtfully put together are rare in this day and age, usually reserved for top-dollar contributors to Patreon-type sponsorship/benefactor sites.

That Ariana would go through this much trouble for me shows how much she values those who value her craft.

And, honestly, she's worth it. Check out the video for You Were Never My Boyfriend, directed by Scarlet Moreno:

Samantha Fox: 3 Autographed Posters

I received this cylinder in the mail nearly two years ago and have been waiting to make good use of it ever since:

Yes, that's direct mail from Samantha Fox, my favourite lead singer of the 1980s, my favourite pop music queen, my childhood crush obsession, the lone ''non-rock'' patch on my teenage jean jacket...

I contemplated having its contents laminated, but because they are of ''unusual'' (read: British) dimensions (12x16.5 inches), I would have had to do so on larger-than-the-poster canvasses; it took me a long time to find ideal-sized and affordable frames... until last Sunday.

And so:

Oh, yes, these are going on my wall.

She sells unsigned versions of these at 10 pounds apiece ($20 U.S.), and signed ones for 30 each ($60 U.S.). I got them for much, much less than that - because I'm a musician, proved to be a true fan, and did my best to attend every single one of her performances in my part of the world.

There are days where I regret some of the choices I've made in my life, like foregoing on a hockey career to pursue my education, or choosing the least faithful out of two possible ladies as a long-term companion, or leading a relatively unhealthy lifestyle without the trade-off of at least feeling like it was worth the damage done.

But there are days where I tell myself that every choice I've made has led me right here, and there is no way I could possibly want to trade that away. This is one of them:

There is a God - he just hasn't made me a photographer. BEST BLACK DRESS, EVER; ALL-TIME GREATEST USE OF WIND. I even noticed the shoes, and I'm neither gay nor a lady! Oh, and superb signature. I nominate this as the greatest piece of human history ever created.

There is also this sexy bustier shot, which I had a blown-up poster of (unsigned) earlier in my life:

And this one, showing a rather large tattoo I had never noticed on her before (let me reiterate that I've seen her perform live and state for the record that I've met her maybe 5 years ago when she came to town to play an outdoors show at out Gay Pride festival):

Another cool black dress, the likes of which could have been worn in a sexy, almost-goth fashionable wedding à la November Rain, the epic 1992 Guns N' Roses video. I volunteer to be the groom.