Yes, This IS Heaven

I love city living. My urban-chic existence comes to rest nightly in a hill-top apartment building where about 23 of us share a street number, as well as hallyways and a laundry room. A new gentleman recently moved into our address of distinction. He is all of 23, at the oldest, with the most adorable English accent and very earnest demeanor. Well, upon my return home from the gym this afternoon, something much like a wail stopped me in my tracks on the stairway up to my unit. It took a second to distinguish the sound, but soon I recognized it as singing emanating from my new neighbor's apartment. Loud, off-key singing of the most brilliant of tunes.

Yes, kids, it was the Belinda Carlisle classic, "Heaven Is A Place On Earth."

I am a gargantuan Go-Go's fan, but with the exception of one or two songs (including her cover of Freda Payne's "Band of Gold"), Belinda Carlisle's solo stuff is nothing more than over-produced pop diarrhea. I suppose it's not her fault; she just needed better songwriters and producers. And okay, if she was going to be a solo artiste, as opposed to one fifth of a band who started as scrappy punk rock chicks, she needed to actually learn to sing. But today I bow down and thank Belinda for that awful hit record because hearing a freshly-scrubbed English lad pour his soul into an early afternoon rendition he thought no one else would hear was absolutely priceless. At least it was worth the amount I pay in rent every month.

I soooooo want to be this guy's friend. I like to sing.

Another one of my neighbors is an actual musician, and according to a saxophonist I met last year, he may be one of the best young jazz pianists in the City. I hear him practicing on occasion, but as impressive as his playing is, compared to Mr. Belinda, he's a little... well, ordinary. No offense, Adam. In other news from my building, someone moved out a few weeks ago and left a fishbowl on top of the mail boxes. One inspired denizen wasn't going to settle for that; he turned the empty bowl into a home for a real, live fish, and he let us all participate in naming our community pet. I suggested Sid Fish-ous.

I am never moving.