the lounge

Peace Out...

2012-01-15T00:05:00.001-05:00

"Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." ~Samuel Ullman

Carla Bruni

2011-11-20T14:02:00.004-05:00

She was born on December 1967 in Turin, the youngest of three children in a family which had built its wealth on tyre manufacturing. When she was five concern over the kidnapping threat then prevalent in Italy led the family to move to France. Carla remained in the country until she went to boarding school in Switzerland, returning as a teen to study in Paris.

Aged 19, the aspiring catwalk queen gave up her studies in art and architecture to pursue a career as a full-time model. It was a life-changing decision. Signed by a top agency, she was soon modelling in an ad campaign for Guess jeans. Lucrative high-profile contracts with major fashion houses and designers such as Christian Dior, Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel and Versace followed.

While she gave up further education for life on the runways, Carla's passion for the arts remained strong. "Even when I was having my hair and make-up done backstage at a fashion show, I would sneak in a copy of Dostoevsky and read it inside a copy of Elle or Vogue," she once admitted. With her modelling career came a jet-set lifestyle and Carla was soon splitting her time between New York, London, Paris and Milan, and dating a string of high-profile men, including rockers Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, and entrepreneur Donald Trump.

By the end of the Nineties she was one of the world\'s highest-paid models, reportedly earning $7.5 million in 1998 alone. Success gave her the opportunity to turn her hand to her first love - music. At the time she was living with French writer Jean-Paul Enthoven with whose married philosopher son Raphael she had a baby, Aurélien, in 2001. Raphael and his wife later went their separate ways.

A year after giving birth to Aurélien Carla released her debut album Quelqu\'un m\'a dit. It was an instant hit in France, and she followed it up in January 2007 with her second disc No Promises - which helped take her music sales to over two million discs.

As her music career went from strength to strength, so did her personal life. In autumn 2007 she met French president Nicolas Sarkozy at an official gathering. And a few weeks after he divorced his second wife, the pair began dating. A whirlwind media-friendly romance followed with the pair making their union official in a private Paris ceremony at the Elysee Palace on February 2, 2008.

The daughter of an Italian concert pianist and a classical music composer, Carla Bruni may have seemed destined for a career in music. However, nobody could have predicted the path which would take her through a career in modelling and singing to the role of France's First Lady.

This French artist is nice and relaxing on a Sunday to listen to...however I have to go in search of the lyrics...

L'amour (French word)
Love (What it means below; as you follow the song...)

L'amour, hum hum, pas pour moi,
Love hum hum, not for me
Tous ces "toujours",
All these "always"
C'est pas net, ça joue des tours,
It's not clean, it plays tricks
Ca s'approche sans se montrer,
It's getting closer without showing
Comme un traître de velours,
Like a velvet traitor
Ca me blesse ou me lasse selon les jours
It hurts me or get me bored, depending on the day

L'amour, hum hum, ça ne vaut rien,
Love, hum hum, it's worth nothing
Ça m'inquiète de tout,
It make worry about everything
Et ça se déguise en doux,
It disguises itself in soft
Quand ça gronde, quand ça me mord,
When it roars, when it bites
Alors oui, c'est pire que tout,
Then yes, it's worth than everything
Car j'en veux, hum hum, plus encore,
Because I want, hum hum, even more

Pourquoi faire ce tas de plaisirs, de frissons, de caresses, de pauvres promesses ?
Why making all this bunch of pleasures, shivers ,caresses, poor promises?
A quoi bon se laisser reprendre
Why should I let myself be taken
Le cour en chamade,
My heart beating so fast
Ne rien y comprendre,
Understanding nothing about it
C'est une embuscade,
It's an embush

L'amour ça ne va pas,
Love is not all right
C'est pas du Saint Laurent,
It's not like Saint Laurent clothes
Ca ne tombe pas parfaitement,
It doesn't perfectly fit
Si je ne trouve pas mon style ce n'est pas faute d'essayer,
If I don't find my own style, it's not because I didn't try hard enough
Et l'amour j'laisse tomber !
And I forget about love!

A quoi bon ce tas de plaisirs, de frissons, de caresses, de pauvres promesses ?
Pourquoi faire se laisser reprendre,
Le cour en chamade,
Ne rien y comprendre,
C'est une embuscade,

L'amour, hum hum, j'en veux pas
Love, hum hum, I don't want it
J'préfère de temps de temps
I prefer from time to time
Je préfère le goût du vent
I prefer the taste of the wind
Le goût étrange et doux de la peau de mes amants,
The strange and soft taste of lovers'skin
Mais l'amour, hum hum, pas vraiment!
But love, hum hum, not really!

Have a great Sunday everybody!

Michael Jackson

2011-11-19T09:18:00.009-05:00

What hasn't been said about the King of Pop? On a more personal level, Michael Jackson grew into our hearts and hearth with release of 'Thriller. ' My son was 8 years old that year, and break dancing was popular; I kept thinking they would hurt themselves down on the floor or sidewalk flipping and flopping like fish. Also popular was the ninja, so he became a break-dancing ninja...along with his friends. Looking back at the apartment complex we grew up in, we didn't have squat, and it didn't matter; life was good, so many memories for my growing kids and myself, and such are the memories Michael left with all of us.

...and so the story goes a little something like this....

In 1968 the Bobby Taylor and The Vancouvers discovered the Jackson five and from there they got an audition for Berry Gordy of Motown Records. The Jackson 5 signed for Motown and moved to California. Their first 4 singles, "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" all made US No1 hits. The Jackson 5 recorded 14 albums and Michael recorded 4 solo albums with Motown.

The Jackson 5 stayed with Motown until 1976, wanting more artistic freedom they felt they had to move on and signed up with Epic. The group name Jackson 5 had to be changed as it was owned by Motown, so they reverted to The Jacksons as they had be known in the early days. Brother Jermaine married Berry Gordy's daughter and stayed with Motown. Youngest brother Randy joined in his place. The Jacksons had a number of hit records and in total made 6 albums between the years of 1976 and 1984.

In 1977 Michael made his first film debut when he starred in the musical 'The Wiz' playing Scarecrow with Diana Ross in the lead role of Dorothy. It was at this time Michael met Quincy Jones who was doing the score for the film.

Michael teamed up with Quincey Jones as his producer for his first solo album with Epic Records. The album titled "Off The Wall" was a big success around the world and the first ever album to release a record breaking 4 No1 singles in the US.

In 1982 Michael Jackson released the world's largest selling album of all time, 'Thriller'. This album produced 7 hit singles, breaking yet again more records, and went on to sell over 50 million copies worldwide. Michael was keen to use music video or short films as he called them to promote his singles from the album. He worked with the best directors and producers, using the latest technology and special effects for the hit song 'Billie Jean' The short film 'Thriller' used the latest make-up artists technolgy combined with fantastic dancing and cherography, to produce a 14 minute video, with a start, a middle and an ending. So successful was this video that 'The Making Of Michael Jackson's Thriller' became the world's largest selling home video combined with soaring album sales. In 1983 Michael performed the now legendary moonwalk for the first time on the 'Motown 25 years' anniversary show. This performance alone set Michael undoubtable into the realm of a superstar.

In 1984 Michael won a record breaking 8 Grammy awards in one night. The awards were for his work on the 'Thriller' album and his work on the narrative for the 'ET Storybook'.

On December 9th 1984 at the last concert of the Jackson's Victory Tour, Michael announced he was splitting from the group and going solo.

In 1987 Michael released his much awaited third solo album, titled 'Bad', and lauched his record breaking first solo world tour. 1988, Michael wrote his first autobiography, Moonwalk, talking for the first time on his childhood and his career. At the end of the 1980s Michael was named 'Artist Of The Decade' for his success off of his 'Thriller' and 'Bad' albums.

In 1991 Michael signed with Sony Music the largest ever recording contract and released his fourth solo album, 'Dangerous'. He toured world again in 1992, taking his concerts to countries that had never before been visited by a pop/rock artist. Also Michael founded the 'Heal the World Foundation' to help improve the lives of children across the world.

In 1994 Michael married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of rock legend Elvis Presley. The marriage only lasted for 19 months, as they divorced in 1996.

1995 saw Michael release a fifth solo album, 'HIStory', which was a double album, first half new material and second half half greatest hits. Michael toured again over a legs covering a 2 year period. In between legs of the tour on November 14th 1996, Michael married for his second time to Debbie Rowe who was a nurse that Michael had met in the treatment of his skin pigment disorder. Together they had their first child Prince Michael Joseph Jackson jr born on February 13 1997 and a daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson born on April 3rd 1998.

In 1997 Michael released the remix album 'Blood On The Dance Floor' which also contained 5 new song linked with a 38min film "Ghosts". This film Michael played 5 roles using the latest special effects and make-up artistry, combined with his dance and music.

In September, 2001 Michael celebrated his 30th anniversary as a solo artist with two concerts to be held in New York, USA. Many artists such as Whitney Houston, Usher, Destinys Child, Shaggy and many more performed there own and Michael Jacksons past songs. Michael then reunited with all of his brothers and performed there biggest hits. Michael then went onto perform solo some of his biggest hits.

In October 2001 Michael released the album 'Invincible' releasing only 2 singles including the big hit "You Rock My World". Shortly after the albums release there were rumours of a rift with Sony Music and a clear lack of promotion of the album. The second single "Cry" was released with a very poor music video which did not feature Michael and no other singles were released.

In November 2003 a new single "One More Chance" was released as a single and was also a track on new compilaition album "Number Ones".

In March 2009, Michael annouced a shock comeback tour at the O2 Arena in London to start in July 2009, intially for 10 dates but the total grew to a sold out 50 dates with over 750,000 tickets sold. All sold tickets sold out within minutes of being released.

On June 25th 2009 Michael Jackson died suddenly of a reported cardiac arrest. He was 50 years old. For all the Michael Jackson fans, justice may never fully have been served, even with the Nov 7th 2011 guilty verdict of Dr. Conrad Murray being delivered; however, the estate of Michael Jackson is looking to move on in a more positive direction. Currently, MJ's family and lawyers are shifting their attentions to making sure his legacy stays strong, specifically on the silver screen.

speaking of silver screen, do you guys remember this one? ..."you're weird, you're strange living up here all alone, scaring these kids...freaky boy..." some people never understood MJ. Instead of having music pasted in here, its out there, go in search of, however most of us carry it in our hearts. Enjoy a taste of "Ghost."

Michael Jackson "Ghost" 1997 film

For the remaining parts of the film look below:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXdPQMxU6-U
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJj7BArIhX0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV_MdUvnpuA
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIfkYMrIRPY

For a more indepth biographical look at Michael Jacksons life read the following era's;

The Jackson 5 Era
The Jacksons Era
Off The Wall Era
Thriller Era
Bad Era
Dangerous Era
HIStory & Blood on the Dance Floor Era
Invincible Era

info obtained here.

The Rat Pack, 1965

2011-11-19T09:14:00.003-05:00

Group of entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Henry Silva who often performed in Las Vegas clubs together and who made a reputation for themselves as playboys by partying together off-stage until the wee hours of the morning. All five appeared together in Ocean's Eleven (1960). Sinatra and Martin starred together in Some Came Running (1958) and Sinatra, Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. teamed up for Bells are Ringing (1960), The Detective (1968) and Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964). Silva and Sinatra also starred in four films together.

Forever they are always remembered!!

If you click on the actual screen, it will take you to You Tube so you can watch it on a bigger scale; this a full performance by the Rat Pack from 1965 at Kiel Opera House, videoed in 10 parts, enjoy! I know I did.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

If ~

2011-11-18T22:52:00.003-05:00

if you were here...

I would gaze intently into your eyes, pleading without an utterance of words. You would instinctively know what I wanted, what I needed, and what I ached for; that which only you fulfill.

if you were here...

I would teasingly brush the corner of your mouth with mine. You would gently part my lips as you whispered promises of the ectasy to come. I would rest my head on your shoulder; drown myself in your scent. You would nuzzle me in closer; my breathing becoming more shallow.

if you were here...

I would listen intently to see if your heart was beating as rapidly as mine. You could softly tickle the nape of my neck with your tongue to remind me that slow, deliberate strokes were imminent. I would surrender freely and effortlessly to your physical prowess, and you, to my desire for passion.

if you were here...

Together we would let the harshness of the day fall away as we shed the clothing from our bodies.

Together we would probe the depths to which we each would go, giving of ourselves unselfishly with acceptance, openess and trust.

Together we would soon feel the fire ignite as the touching and caressing became more vigorous and masterful.

if you were here...

On this beautiful moonlit night, I would be holding you, touching you, invaginating you, darling, and~

Together, our bodies would dance to the rhythm of song until we exploded and collapsed in contented exhaustion...

Debussy...

2011-11-05T19:28:00.002-04:00

I do have a love of classical and all things Debussey.

As a pianist, I marvel at his musical bio, however I like to read about the other aspects of their lives.

His private life was often turbulent. At the age of 18 he began an eight-year affair with Blanche Vasnier, wife of a wealthy Parisian lawyer. The relationship eventually faltered following his winning of the Prix de Rome and obligatory incarceration in the eponymous city.

On his permanent return to Paris and his parents' home on the av. de Berlin in 1889, he began a tempestuous nine-year relationship with Gabrielle ('Gaby') Dupont, a tailor's daughter from Lisieux, with whom he later cohabited on the Rue Gustave Doré. During this time he also had an affair with the singer Thérèse Roger, to whom he was briefly engaged.

He left Dupont for her friend Rosalie ('Lilly') Texier, a fashion model whom he married in 1899. Although Texier was affectionate, practical, straightforward, and well liked by Debussy's friends and associates, he became increasingly irritated by her intellectual limitations and lack of musical sensitivity. In 1904, Debussy was introduced to Emma Bardac, wife of Parisian banker Sigismond Bardac, by her son Raoul, one of his students. In contrast to Texier, Bardac was a sophisticate, a brilliant conversationalist, and an accomplished singer. After despatching Lilly back to her father's home in Bichain on 15 July 1904, Debussy secretly took Bardac to Jersey for a holiday. On their return to France, Debussy wrote to Texier from Dieppe on 11 August, informing her their marriage was over, but still making no mention of Bardac. On 14 October, five days before their fifth wedding anniversary, Texier attempted suicide, shooting herself in the chest while standing in the Place de la Concorde; she survived, although the bullet remained lodged in her vertebrae until her death in 1932. The ensuing scandal was to alienate Debussy from many of his friends, whilst Bardac was disowned by her family.

In the spring of 1905, finding the hostility towards them intolerable, Debussy and Bardac (now pregnant) fled to England, via Jersey, settling at the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne from 24 July to 30 August 1905, where ebussy was to correct proofs to his symphonic suite La mer,[4][17] and celebrate his divorce from Texier on 2 August. After concluding their holiday with a brief visit to London, they returned to Paris, soon setting up home on the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne (now Avenue Foch), where he was to reside for the rest of his life. Their daughter (and the composer's only child), Claude-Emma, was born there on 30 October. More affectionately known as 'Chouchou', Claude-Emma was the dedicatee of Debussy's Children's Corner suite; she outlived her father by scarcely a year, succumbing to the diphtheria epidemic of 1919. Her parents were eventually married in 1908, their troubled union enduring until Debussy's death in 1918.

Debussy died of rectal cancer in Paris on 25 March 1918 at age 56. He had been diagnosed with the cancer in 1909 after experiencing haemorrhaging, and in 1916 underwent one of the first colostomy operations ever performed. The operation achieved only a temporary respite, and occasioned him considerable frustration (he was to liken dressing in the morning to "all the labours of Hercules in one"). His death occurred in the midst of the aerial and artillery bombardment of Paris during the German Spring Offensive of World War I. The funeral procession made its way through deserted streets to Père Lachaise Cemetery as shells from the German guns ripped into his beloved city. At this time, the military situation in France was desperate, and circumstances did not permit the honour of a public funeral or ceremonious graveside orations. It was just eight months before France would celebrate victory. Debussy's body was reinterred shortly afterwards in the small Passy Cemetery sequestered behind the Trocadéro; his wife and daughter are buried with him.

The Lounge Presents...Street Music

2011-10-13T17:29:00.009-04:00

There is such great music out there, but not all music is done in plush recording studios with million dollar contracts. How many of you have stopped to marvel at a musical street performer? I don't live in a big city or a place where this happens, but sometimes I run across a video that really catches my attention. I find it fascinating. If you keep watching this video, you soon hear a one man show turn into a one man band...this is quite interesting.

(Benjamin Stanford) is a worldwide street performer and studio recording artist from St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia. His trademark is creating rich live music using only his voice aided by Live looping and effect pedals. Dub's music really gained momentum when Bristol film maker BD filmed "Love Someone" on the street and posted it on his Youtube account. 30 million collective views later Dub has travelled to all far reaches off the globe to perform with his fiancée Flower Fairy.

Dub has several releases out, "Live in the Street" a collection of street performances from his travels busking through Europe in his Van, A remastered double album "Everythinks A Ripple / RMX" which combines his first studio album repackaged with a Remix album showcasing various producers. Dub is also heavily into production and teamed up with long time friend SIRIUS to release "A Crossworlds" a very mature Dubstep Album & Flower Fairy's album "Nursery Gryme"

Dub FX 'Flow' feat. Mr. Woodnote from bd films on Vimeo.

What did James Dean listen to?

2011-09-10T10:59:00.005-04:00

“My purpose in life does not include a hankering to charm society”

James was only 24 years old at the time of his demise, dying at the height of stardom. What was the music of this era? swing? rockabilly? Perhaps he was into doo-wop, shag beach? alternative? One would think alternative right off due in part to the roles he played. I guess as I dig in and read his bio, I might be pleasantly surprised and was in fact! Stats are that he was born on February 8th, 1931 in Marion, Indiana. His hobbies were writing, painting, bullfighting (when did that happen?), photography, sculpting, car racing, horse racing and playing the bongos. His favorite drink was coffee and his favorite ice cream flavor was coffee and raspberry.

No matter what kind of music James Dean listened to, he liked it loud! But what did he listen to? After all it was the early 50's and Elvis had yet to become the King, the Beatles had yet to become the Fab Four...What did James Dean rock out to, before there was Rock?

He liked African Tribal music, Afro-Cuban songs and dance (Dean liked to play the bongos), Classical music - especially Bartok and Stravinsky, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday. I love Afro-Cuban/tribal, and Classical too, ah, sweet! *for African-Cuban and tribal music, venture into the Happy Hour chatroom page*

As his final film, Giant, was wrapping up in Marfa, Texas, Dean was driving his Porsche Spyder to an auto race in Salinas, California. His car collided with another car outside Cholame, California. James Dean, an American legend, died on September 30th, 1955. The Failure Analysis Associates later re-created all the details of the accident at the same approximate time on September 30th, and concluded that James Dean was traveling 55 to 56 m.p.h. when the fateful accident occurred, thereby proving he had not been speeding, despite the fact that he had received a speeding ticket only two hours before the crash.

It has been said that James Dean's favorite song was Billie Holiday's "When Your Lover Has Gone" and his favorite album was Frank Sinatra's "Songs for Young Lovers."

I realize this isn't necessarily a musical post, but I do so enjoy a good bio...love this website.

The Lounge Presents...a short tale...

2011-09-09T23:54:00.002-04:00

After a long night of making love, loverboy notices a photo of another man on her nightstand by the bed.

He begins to worry. "Is this your husband?" he nervously asks.

"No, silly," she replies, snuggling up to him.

"Your boyfriend, then?" he continues.

"No, not at all," she says, nibbling away at his ear.

"Is it your dad or your brother?" he inquires, hoping to be reassured.

"No, no, no!!!" she answers.

"Well, who in the hell is he, then?" he demands. "That's me before the surgery."

this video always cracked me up!

The Lounge Presents... Ida Maria

2011-08-20T14:47:00.009-04:00

Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen (born July 13,1984) is a Norwegian rock musician known primarily by the stage name Ida Maria.

Ida Maria’s popularity is fairly recent but she is definitely an artist that has paid her dues. Even though her first album was released in 2008, the Norwegian rock artiste has been involved with music at a very early age and was raised by music conscious parents. Her few works are testimonies to the fact that she is not a flash in the pan artiste and she is gradually establishing herself as an international artiste starting with the UK. Arguably, one of her greatest assets is a condition (synesthesia) that allows her to see colors whenever she’s writing or performing music, something that sets her songs apart.

The launch of her career can be traced back to 2007 after winning two national competitions in Norway. This popularity aided her in holding successful shows at the annual Music Industry Festival in Norway. As part of establishing herself as an international artiste, Ida Maria has being on different tours spanning the United States, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Australia. She has also performed in various music festivals including Reading and The Glastonbury Festival. At the BT Digital Music Awards in 2008, she was nominated for Best Rock/Indie Artist.

In 2008, Ida Maria released her first album, Fortress Round My Heart to favorable public acceptance. The album was included in People magazine’s list of top 10 albums in 2009. One of Ida’s most popular songs is her hit single Oh My God, a song that grabbed the number 1 spot on Newsday’s list of 2009’s top ten songs. Oh My God has also been featured in Rock Band 3 and has been used in the trailer for It’s Kind of a Funny Story. Another popular song is the single, I Love You So Much Better When You Are Naked, a song that was featured in episode 8 of My Life as Liz.

In 2008, Ida Maria contributed the vocals for a track (Words) on Guillemots’ album, Red and in 2009, her song Keep Me Warm was used in the finale of season 4 of Grey’s Anatomy and also in some commercials for Nivea. Also, Ida’s song, Louie is being used to promote the FX TV series Louie. On November 8 2010, Ida released her second album, Katla produced by Butch Walker. Another single, Bad Karma has been featured in Scream 4, released in 2011. Currently signed on to Nesna Records, Sony BMG and Upper 11 Group, Ida plays guitar and bass.

Ida Maria has definitely come a long way from the little girl with the thin voice who is recognized today for her powerful vocals. She has been described as a mix of Karen O, Courtney Love, Bjork and Avril Lavigne.

From Discogs:
b. July 13, 1984 in Nesna, Norway.Norwegian rock artist, based in Stockholm, Sweden. Her band consists of:Ida Maria: guitar, vocals, bassStefan Törnby: guitar, backing vocalsOlle Lundin: drums, backing vocalsJohannes Lindberg: bass, backing vocals

From Lastfm:
Ida Maria (full name Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen, b. July 13th 1984) is an indie rock/punk artist from Nesna, Norway, currently living in Sweden. Her first album, Fortress Round My Heart, was released in Norway and the UK on May 5th, 2008.

Ida Maria won Zoom Urørt in 2006 and the Urørt-competition in 2007 (both are Norwegian competitions for unsigned artists) and played some of Norway`s biggest festivals. In 2007 she also won Alarmprisen (Norwegian music awards).

Her band consists of:
Ida Maria: guitar, vocals, bass
Stefan Törnby: guitar, backing vocals
Olle Lundin: drums, backing vocals
Johannes Lindberg: bass, backing vocals

Website: http://www.myspace.com/idamaria

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.

Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves....

2011-08-13T11:31:00.012-04:00

This song seems to mirror my life here lately; one unsuspecting daughter playing thief, the other practicing the world's oldest risque profession to pay the rent...

Haiku for a Half-Breed

That extra rib, white wand, she let me keep, gift for a fine nurse, proud fan. [In the Recovery Room]
Gypsies, tramps and thieves! Hear it from the people of the town: all jealous. [The Truth] Nighttime shines, drapes day, black beauty streams loose from cheek- bone to waist, cascades. [Cher's Hair, c. 1965-1978] Caught in crisis, takes her fingers, taps rails, thighs, cars- watch the films...you'll see. [Method of Acting]
Toothie Ruthie, Self- conscious crowded smile proved no obstacle to song. [Before Mid-Life Braces] Tan switch of willow. Sex and sinew; to the left: mustache, butt of jokes. [Variety Show Shtick] Ten black sheep bleat, slur of warm licorice, ancient redskin rumble, fire. [Pipes like no other]
In another life: trapeze artist, still bending wide eyes of the crowd. [Some things are meant to be] Constellations burst, sequins, sheerness, headdresses. Small tits don't matter. [Mackie's Muse]
Could cover in clay dual curves, twin ridges, render perfect bowls, prayers, art. [The cheekbones: a potter's dream] Snubbed in '85 arrives a raven: quills, beads, stunning, nine feet tall. [After not receiving a nomination for Mask]
Metronomic flip after a quip, long onyx flight over shoulder. [The signature toss of hair] Multi-ethnic tongue slid across gums, teeth, readies barbs, mouth for Sonny. [After insults, before retorts, on T.V.]
Famous tattooed ass refurbished with skin taken from recent face lift? [Enquiring Minds Want to Know] Big metal ballads. Consorted with Bon Jovi. Leather, lace, perms, hits. [The late 80's comeback] Top Ten hits splash five different decades. Great singer, actress, beauty. Yikes! [Nap of envy: Madonna wakes]
Gave baby daughter ridiculous name, came out a proud lesbian. [Nurture or Nature?] Blueberry, Egg, Salt, Multi-Grain, Cinnamon: can not eat bagels, still. [On the first anniversary of her break-up with Rob]
Hairy-nosed devil with much charm, leer, seed, pinches for girls, mean tricks, tongue. [After working with Jack on The Witches of Eastwick] Blood of centaur, horse/ woman, coltish charisma. Cult rises. Happy. [Icons Deserve Worship]
Moonstruck by Oscar- gave humble speech, stayed slinky. Some respect at last? [The Big Night] Hawked cosmetics, blew credibility, dumb move: not hard to Believe. [Success's slippery ladder]
Fan missed concert. Cries. On TV sees thighs sausaged in old outfit. Faints... [The Reckoning: Lititz, PA - August 2000] Half-nude dancers shall produce banal moves, distract as costumes change fast. [Directions for stage]
Butcher named Vidal attacks while asleep. She wakes to publicity. [Punky Rooster, 1979]
Little girls groom heads of nylon hair, plastic skulls, life-size almond eyes. [Hasbro's Decapitation Make-up Station] Named for prophet, sad color, son plays bass behind Mom's cat-called bottom. [Video shivers: If I could turn back time]
First song flops, Released under "Bonnie Jo Mason." What were they thinking? [Just Desserts] Caveman, Cavewoman. First mod, then square, back to hip, solo hits, ski death. [Bono &amp;amp;amp; LaPierre: A Brief History] Chick with bangs meets smooth- faced geek, May-December heat. Made music and love. [In the beginning...]

Is Ape Culture Cher Obsessed? Guilty as charged. I am sure there are a few of us bloggers who loved Cher. Are you a fan?

A Cher Book Signing in 1998
Cher at Madison Square Garden in 1999
The First Cher Convention in 2000
Ask Cher Scholar
Live(ish) Chat with Sonny Bono
The Sonny Bono Adventure
Divas '99: A Look Back in Anger! (also by Christopher Brisson)

Christopher Brisson ©Ape Culture 1998-2007 and evermore.

One of Motown's best...

2011-07-17T18:52:00.004-04:00

..."and inch by inch we get closer and closer, to every little part of each other. Oooh baby, yes. Let the music take your mind. Just release and you will find...You're going to fly away!"

Can you name that song? the artist?

I always thought this guy had the most beautiful teeth I ever saw...his sultry voice, well...I loved him so much better as a solo artist than with his "miracles." You know who I"m talking about...

Smokey Robinson...

During the mid-1980s, Robinson was addicted to cocaine. His recording slowed, and his marriage to Claudette faltered; the couple divorced in 1986. With the help of friend Leon Kennedy (as described in Robinson’s autobiography Smokey published in 1987), Robinson was dramatically healed of his addiction at a religious service. He eventually revitalized his career, having hits in 1987 with the Grammy Award-winning “Just to See Her” (a U.S. #8 hit) and “One Heartbeat” (U.S. #10). Also in 1987, British band ABC scored a U.S. and U.K. hit with their tribute to Robinson entitled “When Smokey Sings”. In 1987, Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. However, in a move that has since sparked much controversy, for unknown reasons the other original members of the Miracles – Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, Pete Moore, Marv Tarplin, and Claudette Robinson – were not inducted. Yes, 1987 was a good year for Smokey, great hits...

When Motown was sold to MCA in 1988, Robinson resigned from his position as vice president. After one last album for Motown, Love, Smokey (1990), Robinson left the label. He released one record for SBK Records, the same year he won a Soul Train Music Award for Career Achievement. Eight years later, he returned to Motown, which by then was a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and released Intimate (1999). The same year, Smokey Robinson received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

Since then, Smokey has continued to perform and tour periodically. In 2003, Robinson served as a guest judge for American Idol during “Billy Joel Week.” He issued a gospel LP, Food for the Spirit in 2004. In 2005, Smokey Robinson was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

another of my Smokey favs...

“Just to See Her” is a 1987 top 10 hit song recorded by the American R&B singer Smokey Robinson. Released as the first single from hisMotown album, One Heartbeat, “Just to See Her” peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June of 1987. It also reached #2 on the R&B chart and spent one week at #1 on the adult contemporary chart that year. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at #52 on the UK Singles Chart. In addition, Robinson won a Grammy Award for “Just to See Her” at the 1988 ceremony in the category Best Male R&B Vocal performance.

one of Motown's best...for sure! hope you enjoyed it.

Its a Dog Day at the Beach...

2011-06-17T12:59:00.001-04:00

this video is too cute! ... to view other videos click or find out about this group of dogs, click here.

A Blues Jam...

2011-05-13T21:06:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the Lounge.

Blues...It suits my mood... I Can't Quit You Baby, like there's a whole lot of singin' going on...Buddy makes me smile!

and I like this blues tune, too, this song by the young, Stevie Vaughn here...with Albert, and BB who comes on stage later on in the song...great jammin'

and I like this Gary Moore and BB, too! Nobody can listen to just one, can they? haha!

those were frickin' awesome!

Tonight at the Lounge...Katie Melua

2011-04-23T19:37:00.009-04:00

Ketevan Melua, known as Ketino to her family, was born to Amiran and Tamara Melua in Kutaisi, Georgia, which was then part of the Soviet Union. She spent her first years with her grandparents in Tbilisi before moving with her parents and brother to the town of Batumi, Ajaria where her father worked as a heart specialist. During this time Melua sometimes had to carry buckets of water up five flights of stairs to her family's flat and according to her, "Now, when I'm staying in luxurious hotels, I think back to those days".

Due to her upbringing in politically unstable Georgia and troubled Belfast,Melua initially planned to become either a historian or a politician.This changed in 2000, at the age of fifteen, when Melua took part in a talent competition on British television channel ITV called "Stars Up Their Noses" (a spoof of Stars in Their Eyes) as part of the children's programme Mad for It!. Melua won the contest by singing Badfinger's "Without You". The prize was £350 worth of MFI vouchers, with which she bought a chair for her father. Had she lost the contest, she would have been gunged (slimed).

Although she is a baptized Orthodox Christian, whilst living in Belfast, Melua attended Roman Catholic schools. Melua attended the BRIT School for the Performing Arts in the London Borough of Croydon, undertaking a BTEC with an A-level in music. Melua met Luke Pritchard, lead singer of The Kooks, when they were both studying at the BRIT School where they began dating. Melua and Pritchard rarely speak of the relationship, but what is known is that the couple dated for three years. However, as Melua became more successful, the relationship came into difficulties and they split up in March 2005. The song videod here is one she wrote after their breakup. At school, Melua began to write songs and met her future manager and producer, Mike Batt. Melua didn't attend University, though she has often stated her desire to do so, saying that English literature, history and physics would be her courses of choice should she get the chance to go to University.

When Katie signed with Mike Batt's independent record label Dramatico in September 2002, no-one could have imagined that by the release of her third album, ‘Pictures’, in 2007, she would be the biggest-selling UK-based, female artist in the world. Her first two albums, 'Call Off The Search' and 'Piece By Piece' both became international number ones with singles such as ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’ and ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ becoming airplay hits around the world.

To me, Katie's voice exemplifies bluesey jazz, she has a beautiful voice.If you listen to this tune all the way through its remarkable, poignant. Enjoy!

Melua is occasionally referred to as an 'adrenaline junkie' because she enjoys roller coasters and fun fairs and often paraglides and hang glides. She has skydived four times and taken several flying lessons, and in 2004 she was lowered from a 200 metre building in New Zealand at 60 mph. When asked about Melua being an 'adrenaline junkie', Mike Batt said, "she enjoys extremes, but in life her emotions are always in check." In November 2009, Melua came near to drowning after she breathed in and choked on a lungful of water when diving in a lake near Heathrow Airport.

In September 2010, Melua was ordered by her doctors to stop working for a few months after suffering from a nervous breakdown, resulting in her hospitalization for six weeks. As result, all touring and promotional activities were postponed until the following year.[35]

Katie’s focus for the first half of 2009 was America where she embarked on an acoustic tour performing with just her guitar and piano for accompaniment “sometimes it's nice to strip the songs back. That's how you know whether a song is good or not — when it can survive without such protection." Reunited with her band, a summer of outdoor shows around Europe concluded the tour before Katie settled down to start work on her fourth album ‘The House’.

"In addition to being inspired by the values in music from the past, I wanted to embrace the future. First, by accepting the values that are treasured more in music today and by projecting them forward. I found if you went far enough in both directions you end up in the same place. This thought was so liberating it enabled me to be a lot more fearless with expressing emotions, with challenging conventional structures of song and, finally, still allowing simplicity to stir the soul, as it so often does." explains Katie.

Katie has confirmed an extensive European tour for spring and summer 2011 which will include 13 shows in Britain in April and May.

*info taken from websites to include Wikipedia*

Love This Tune...

2011-04-15T22:22:00.005-04:00

Who remembers this show?

what a great tune...the soul of this song is in its opening chords...

One of things that strikes me is how young and how much hair Clapton is sporting here...LOL...sorry couldn't help it...

and what can one say about Robert Cray?

...both are great artists and guitarists.

"'Nothing but my soul to save, from the cradle to the grave'...It was one of those things, you wake up in the middle of the night, run downstairs and write it down. What it means, I think, is that the music I'm making here has been my motivation. It's the thing I've turned to, the thing that has given me inspiration and relief, in all the trials and tribulations in my life." ~ Eric Clapton...

2011-04-02T22:40:00.000-04:00

Remember Chicago?

click here.

thanks Scratchy!

Great band...I enjoyed listening.

Can't listen without singing along!

Musipic

2011-03-25T18:55:00.004-04:00

Music is...

my shelter and escape from the trials of this life

shows me rainbows of color when I am blue

wakes me up when I am tired

brings me consolation and communion when I am alone

it is inspirational,
meditational,
sense...ational!

lights fires in me
washes over me
breathes life into me

invokes my imagination
embraces me with no hesitation

it guides me to the world of spirit
to the quintessence of soul
a touchstone for the power of life
a beautiful thing that I never tire of
a lover that will never grow old...

Saturday Night at the Lounge Presents...

2011-03-19T19:42:00.010-04:00

James Brown This is a Bella's Gotta Brand New Blog original posting (and comments) from Saturday October 21, 2006; I believe this was the first attempt at putting music on Saturday night...wow, remember how it was hard back then to find music to even embed? much less get it to play or stop it from playing? hahaha! We've come a long way, baby! and I thought it might be fun to reminisce...As this Saturday Night Blog Fever took off on Blogstream, at its peak, there were anywhere from 50 to 90 some comments. We had a great time, didn't we?! Since Blogstream is closing, and most of the gang have moved to Blogger, I welcome you to The Lounge. You will find most Saturday Night Blog Fever postings in this blog, along with the original Blogstream comments. Any or all comments about this post should be made way down yonder below the Blogstream comments! Ready ? Go !!!!! ( ! ) ( . ) ( ! ) ( . ) ( ! ) ( . ) ( ! ) ( . ) ( ! ) ( . ) ( ! )( ! ) Come on now !! Strut your stuff, baby !! Shake those tailfeathers !!

Posted by BellaLolaBrigida at 8:03 PM - 12 Comments Add a Comment	(edit) Hide Post

Comments:

check out the Godfather~! this song was my inspiration for naming my blog at Blogstream way back when. Bel-la's Gott-A Brand New Blog!

This is a video of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, performing his huge hit "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" live at Chastain Park in 1985. I found it on the DVD "James Brown: Live at Chastain Park - 1985".

Enjoy!

Just can't help it! Love it...		\|< << >> >\|
by Rosie (PM , CC ) on Saturday October 21, 2006 @ 8:13 PM (del)

Shake it, but don't break it Rosie !!!		\|< << >> >\|
by Bella (PM , CC ) on Saturday October 21, 2006 @ 8:14 PM (del)

Bella, great new blog...Love the the music. I have two left feet so I'm sending my friend to dance...and strut his stuff		\|< << >> >\|
by Bookworm (PM , CC ) on Sunday October 22, 2006 @ 5:45 PM (del)

Hi Bella, love the new look!		\|< << >> >\|
by Daisy (PM , CC ) on Sunday October 22, 2006 @ 5:52 PM (del)

This is really wonderful!		\|< << >> >\|
by Coloconnect (PM , CC ) on Sunday October 22, 2006 @ 6:05 PM (del)

		\|< << >> >\|
by God (PM , CC ) on Sunday October 22, 2006 @ 6:29 PM (del)

thanks Ms. Daisy !! Have your driver drop you off anytime for tea and a little tailfeather shakin' !!		\|< << >> >\|
by Bella (PM , CC ) on Sunday October 22, 2006 @ 7:46 PM (del)

now THAT girl knows how to shake her tail feathers! good one Bella!		\|< << >> >\|
by Scratch (PM , CC ) on Sunday October 22, 2006 @ 7:55 PM (del)

Snoop Dog is in the house !! ALLRIGHT !!! That's what we need around here ... a Saturday night blog party !!! What should we call it ? Saturday Night Blog Fever ? Well, come back next Saturday night to "get jiggy with it" ... or just pop back in anytime !!!		\|< << >> >\|
by Bella (PM , CC ) on Sunday October 22, 2006 @ 7:56 PM (del)

Nice re-do darlin...BC		\|< << >> >\|
by BigChris (PM , CC ) on Sunday October 22, 2006 @ 8:02 PM (del)

Oh yes I likey shaky the tail feather Bella...now I likey more if you show manly manny shaky his tail feather!!!! And if he turny aroundy and shaky his birdie I likey even morey!!		\|< << >> >\|
by Donuts Are My Life (PM , CC ) on Sunday October 22, 2006 @ 9:28 PM (del)

Even God loves James Brown and wants to boogie !!!		\|< << >> >\|
by Bella (PM , CC ) on Monday October 23, 2006 @ 8:08 AM (del)

Chillin' with Amos

2011-03-03T20:27:00.005-05:00

Who doesn't love this guy? He's a Philly native...sweet! and what a great voice!

With his fourth album, Mission Bell, folk-pop singer-songwriter Amos Lee has been propelled into the national consciousness. The album, defined by his raspy, soulful voice, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 earlier this month. It was an impressive feat for an artist who until this year hadn’t shed the journeyman tag despite his high-profile connections. Signed by Blue Note Records (musical home of Norah Jones) in 2004, he’s toured with an impressive cast of artists including Jones, Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard. Mission Bell, which features cameos from heroes Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams, further advances his reputation as one of the brightest talents in folk and Americana. More impressively, the album is comprised of 12 songs all solely written by Lee. In this interview with The 9513, the Philadelphia native and former schoolteacher speaks about his life as a musical troubadour and his love for a couple of Als.

What’s the biggest change in your life now that you’ve had a No. 1 album?

"It was exciting for sure. It was so unexpected. I’ve never…if we’re talking about Billboard placement, I don’t think we’ve ever had a record in the Top 20. (Editor’s note: Lee’s last album, 2008′s Last Days at the Lodge, peaked at No. 29). We just wanted to do the best we could during the first week and just get the songs out there. Everybody worked really hard. I’ve been running since, well, we really started a year ago. I was super happy to, you know, get these songs out to the most people without defying the sanctity of these songs."

Because the core of your craft has been there for years, but now it’s getting national exposure.

"Right. That was always the sort of thing with me. When I first started with Blue Note, I was drawn to them and the philosophy that they had. It wasn’t about hit songs. It was important for me to grow as an artist and songwriter and stay grounded in some sense."

When listening back to the album, how do you feel about the finished product?

"I’ve always found there’s an incessant relationship (during the sessions). At first you’re still feeling the songs, but then it becomes an intellectual trip when you’re running through everything and keeping a steady eye on it. I need to take some time and get away from the record. My favorite way to hear a record that I made is to wander into somebody’s house party or a bar or a music venue where a song of mine is being played. At that point I’m just sort of in the room with the tune. When my friends are sitting there listening to me or my parents are listening, that’s different. When you walk into the room, there’s a casual relationship and not that added pressure. When I play it for a friend, I’m like ‘(expletive), man! This is going to be uncomfortable. (laughs) And you won’t see me listening to it when I’m pulling up to a red light or something like that. But it’s been really cool in the past to walk in the room and be a casual observer and remember all the things that went into the music. It’s always ultimately been fond memories and good times because it’s all about just making music."

When an artist is termed as a singer-songwriter, so much of the emphasis is placed on the second half of that equation. I’m curious to know how you feel your vocal performances have developed.

"The centerpiece is the song. There are times when i stretch out a little more vocally, but my job is to serve the song the best and bring the song to a better place. It could be Luther Vandross, Jimi Hendrix… the song lives through them and lives in their soul. As a vocalist, if I’m serving the song, if there’s no interruption (between song and audience), it comes to life. Norah Jones is a great singer; Frank Sinatra is a great singer. With songs they revitalize them just the way they sing. Another singer like that is Willie Nelson. Even the “El Camino” song we did, I love the version that we did with the band, but when I separate myself from it, his voice takes the song to a better place. It’s not about chops; it’s not how ferocious you can be. It’s not even how much skill you have as long as you respect the sanctity of the song. I think there are two ways of singing: above ground and underground. And I prefer the underground."

Another of your collaborators on the new album is Lucinda Williams. Tell me about the experience of working with her.

"She’s somebody I’ve loved for a long time. When I first started writing, I was listening to how she’s singing. I love the way she sings and she’s an incredibly soulful person. When I had an opportunity to reach out and see if she’d be interested in singing, I was obviously overwhelmed and super excited. When she came back with her vocals—and all the vocalists on this album are great–it took the road in a different direction. She can just tear you up. I’ve had many a day sitting on a plane or a train and one of her songs comes on and I can’t stop listening to it for an hour. It’s very meditative; it’s like listening to a monk chant. (laughs)."

The biggest relationship a musician often has is to the music itself, though this album suggest there’s more to life–”Stay” and “Out of the Cold” for starters. How is it building a life around your career as a traveling artist?

"I’m always seeing things through the song. I’m always living life through a lyric. I’m not always writing stuff, but there’s such a direct relationship there. Some of the things have changed as I’ve gotten older. These songs are just the people I’ve met in the past that are incredibly inspiring to me. I just think I’ve become a little less concerned with my scene and I’ve opened my eyes to what goes on around the world. Not that I wasn’t doing that before, I was just in a better place to be open to it. There are a lot of things I have to sacrifice (by being on the road). There are a lot of habitual things that you can’t do as much as a lot of people–the comforts and routines. For me every day is different and I’m playing different rooms, different crowds. I still want to be present for every show and be in that moment. I sort of live vicariously through people and I admire people that live beautiful lives for themselves and are living lives conducive to their values. I dig people that make those choices for themselves."

A number of these songs have an undercurrent of spirituality, and you’ve been inspired recently by gospel. The most overt entry is “Jesus,” which you wrote about your grandfather’s funeral. Tell me about the experience behind that song.

"Well, for instance the song “Jesus” was written about people that I’ve known in my life, who I’ve loved a lot, that have faith or have a strong connection to religion spirituality or faith or whatever you want to call it. For them it was such a practicality that needed to be a part of their lives. That tune is about reaching out into the darkness. I think there’s gotta be some in between. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re reaching for, but you’re reaching from the darkness to the light, and I think that’s faithful enough."

What’s your music of choice right now?

"I’ve been listening to three records lately. The Al Anderson album, Al Green’s The Belle Album, which is my favorite of his, and an Arthur Russell compilation that I’ve been listening to it nonstop. It’s got a lot of really cool performances on it. Let me find the name of it…Love Is Overtaking Me. He’s such a conceptual musician."

One last note: you’re playing a solo show at the Ryman this spring. For ticket information and performing schedule click here.

"I’m almost shocked that there’s been such a good response. I’ve always wanted to play the Ryman. I got a chance to play there once with Bob (Dylan) and Elvis (Costello). It’s one of the great rooms in the world and such a huge honor to perform there."

I, for one, would love a front row seat, however, I have him all to myself at the moment, and that's allright with me! ha! check him out!

Saturday Night Blog Fever

2011-02-26T15:27:00.002-05:00

John Lee Hooker

yeah that's right...its Saturday Night Blog Fever...

You know what to do...

Dig that tune up and I'll link your groove~! chat box provided at the bottom for everybody! Come on in and say hi!

John Lee Hooker, blues legend, one of the last at blues of the deep South, collaborated with many great musicians, including Carlos Santana who appears on this archived video. However, upon his death John Lee Hooker didn't want anyone singing the blues at his funeral.

"When I'm gone, I don't want any weeping, crying, falling around, gnashing of teeth," he told his daughter Zakiya Hooker-Bell shortly before he died in his sleep on June 21, 2001 at the age of 83, "I want people to be joyous, because I'm going home. I'm tired. I've made a journey."

That journey was celebrated in raucous song, prayer and story as nearly 1,800 friends, family and admirers paid tribute to the king of one-chord boogie during a 90-minute funeral service in the Oakland hills. From Bonnie Raitt to harp player Charlie Musselwhite and old friend guitarist Eddie Kirkland, Hooker was celebrated as a blues guitar legend as well as a kind, funny and, above all, fiercely compassionate man.

Hooker — born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on August 22, 1917 — was laid to rest in a highly polished mahogany casket, which sat flanked at the front of the Oakland Interstake Center Auditorium by a chair made of gardenias and an oversized guitar fashioned from deep red and black carnations.

As guests made their way into the auditorium, a murmuring tape of some of Hooker's best-loved songs greeted them. The droning chords of "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" set the mood for a service that featured son Robert Hooker bringing the crowd to its feet with the rousing gospel song "I Still Have Joy" and a call-and-response chant of his father's signature phrase, "Hey, hey."

Blues singer/guitarist Raitt — who shared a Grammy with Hooker in 1990 for their duet on "I'm in the Mood" — was close to tears as she eulogized her friend of 30 years. She recounted how Hooker used to pull her boyfriends aside and taunt them, "I'm really happy for you two, but you got to understand I'm always going to be the backdoor man." Raitt remembered being 14 years old in 1963 and having her mind blown by Hooker's contributions to the seminal Blues at Newport compilation. "I had never heard anything coming out of any man that was as scary and evocative and as intoxicating [and as frightening]. And I feel the same way about him today." Hooker & Bonnie's video is actually in The Lounge vault.

Among the other peers on hand to celebrate Hooker's life were Chicago blues great Buddy Guy, Ry Cooder, Jimmy Vaughan, Roy Rogers and more than 20 former members of Hooker's band. Hooker's oldest daughter, Francis C. McBee, read a moving letter to her father in which she summed up the enduring mystery of great blues players. "You did things your way until the end," she read. "Instead of dying during the day, you died during the night so that you could have a clean getaway. Instead of leaving by the front door, you stepped out the back door and went quietly into history." McBee said she hoped that on his way to his resting place, her father would have all the things he loved: plenty of pretty women, baseball, a good heater and "a little light beer."

The many gospel tributes to Hooker from his friends and family summed up the bittersweet mood of that 2001 afternoon. Granddaughter LaQuita Witherspoon raised the roof with an organ-assisted rendition of the standard "I'll Fly Away," which inspired the mourners to shouts of "amen" and stomping of feet. Organ player and onetime Hooker sideman Deacon Jones brought the service to a close with a haunting rendition of "We'll Meet Again." Several family members wailed and collapsed into tears as they filed out to the refrain "I know before my life ends...We'll meet again."

*original Blogstream posting*

Gary Moore...dead?

2011-02-13T11:02:00.006-05:00

I am just shocked.

One of rock's most underrated guitarists (both from a technical and compositional point of view), found dead in a hotel room in Spain, February 6th? Really? at only 58 years of age. Sad, truly sad.

Gary Moore remained relatively unknown in the U.S., while his solo work has brought him substantial acclaim and commercial success in most other parts of the world — especially in Europe. Born on April 4, 1952 in Belfast, Ireland, Moore became interested in guitar during the '60s, upon discovering such blues-rock masters as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and perhaps his biggest influence of all, Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green. After relocating to Dublin later in the decade, Moore joined a local rock group called Skid Row, which featured a young singer by the name of Phil Lynott, who would soon after leave the group to double up on bass and form Thin Lizzy. Skid Row persevered however, eventually opening a show for Moore's hero, Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac, and making such an impression on the veteran group, that Green personally requested their manager help secure Skid Row a recording contract with CBS.

Green sold Moore one of his most-used guitars, a maple 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, which would become Moore's primary instrument). Skid Row would go on to issue several singles and albums (including 1970's Skid and 1971's 34 Hours), and although the group mounted a few tours of Europe and the U.S., failed to obtain breakthrough commercial success, leading to Moore's exit from the group in 1972. Moore then formed his own outfit, the Gary Moore Band (along with members drummer Pearse Kelly and bassist John Curtis), for which the guitarist also served as vocalist. But after the trio's debut album, 1973's Grinding Stone, sunk without a trace, Moore hooked up once more with ex-bandmate Lynott in Thin Lizzy. Moore's initial tenure in Lizzy proved to be short-lived however, as his fiery playing was featured on only a handful of tracks. Moore then set his sights on studio work (appearing on Eddie Howell's 1975 release, Gramaphone Record), before joining up with a prog-rock/fusion outfit, Colosseum II. But once more, Moore's tenure in his latest outfit was fleeting; he appeared on only three recordings (1976's Strange New Flesh, plus a pair in 1977, Electric Savage and War Dance), as Moore accepted an invitation by his old buddy Lynott to fill in for a Thin Lizzy U.S. tour, playing arenas opening for Queen.

far right is Moore

(right) Thin Lizzy: certainly the best Irish rock band in history, possibly one of the best in the world.

1978 proved to be a busy year for Moore, as the guitarist appeared on three other artist's recordings — Andrew Lloyd Webber's Variations, Rod Argent's Moving Home, and Gary Boyle's Electric Glide. The same year, Moore issued his second solo release (almost five years after his solo debut), Back on the Streets, which spawned a surprise Top Ten U.K. hit in May of 1979, the bluesy ballad "Parisienne Walkways," and featured vocal contributions by Lynott. Moore joined forces with his Lizzy mates once more in 1979, appearing on arguably the finest studio album of their career, Black Rose, which proved to be a huge hit in the U.K. (for a fine example of Moore's exceptional guitar skills, check out the album's epic title track). But predictably, Moore ultimately exited the group once more (this time right in the middle of a U.S. tour), as a rift had developed between Moore and Lynott. Undeterred, Moore lent some guitar work to drummer Cozy Powell's solo release, Over the Top, in addition to forming a new outfit, G Force, which would only remain together for a lone self-titled release in 1980.

During the early '80s, Moore united with former ELP guitarist/bassist/singer Greg Lake, appearing on a pair of Lake solo releases (1981's self-titled release and 1983's Manoeuvres), in addition to guesting on another Cozy Powell solo release, Octopuss. But it was also during the '80s that Moore finally got serious with his solo career — issuing such heavy metal-based works as 1982's Corridors of Power, 1983's Victims of the Future, 1984's Dirty Fingers and the in-concert set We Want Moore!, 1985's Run for Cover, 1987's Wild Frontier, plus 1989's After the War — establishing a large following in Europe, despite remaining virtually unknown Stateside. But the decade wasn't all rosy for Moore however — although he was able to patch up his friendship with Phil Lynott (appearing with Lizzy for several tracks on Life/Live, and teaming with Lynott for a pair of tracks in 1985, "Military Man" and "Out in the Fields," the latter a U.K. hit), years of hard living finally caught up with Lynott, leading to his passing in January of 1986. Moore would subsequently dedicate Wild Frontier to Lynott, and honored Thin Lizzy's former frontman on the track "Blood of Emeralds" (from After the War).

Fed up with the pressure to pen hit singles and tired of his metallic musical direction, Moore returned to his blues roots for 1990's Still Got the Blues, the most renowned and best-selling release of his career, as the album featured such special guests as Albert Collins, Albert King, and George Harrison. Oh my God, I absolutely love this work. Moore continued in his newly rediscovered blues style on such subsequent releases as 1992's After Hours and 1993's Blues Alive, before forming the short-lived super group BBM, along with Cream's former rhythm section — bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker — which lasted for a single album, 1994's Around the Next Dream. Up next for Moore was a tribute album for Peter Green, 1995's Blues for Greeny, which saw him put his own personal stamp on 11 tracks either penned or performed at some point by Green. Moore experimented with different musical styles on his next two solo releases, 1997's Dark Days in Paradise and 1999's A Different Beat, before embracing the blues once more on his first release of the 21st century, 2001's Back to the Blues.

Over the years, Gary Moore has been the subject of countless compilations, the best of the bunch being 1998's metal-oriented Collection and 2002's blues-based Best of the Blues, as well as Out in the Fields: The Very Best of Gary Moore, which was split 50/50 between his metal and blues excursions. Teaming with Skunk Anansie bassist Cass Lewis and Primal Fear drummer Darrin Mooney, Moore started work on much harder and alternative-influenced rock in the spring of 2002 and released the results as Scars.

Quite frankly, I am scarred with shock at his passing away. Damn.

Put Your Funk On...

2011-02-05T22:37:00.010-05:00

this picture cracks me up! You? talkin' to me? hahaha...

teeth-barred, long assed week of work, stress oozing out of every pore...

who the hell wants to talk.

bring on the funk, the funk, and nothing but the funk!

Rare Tunes...

2011-02-01T22:16:00.010-05:00

who is this group?

Many times good to excellent songs get passed up for a variety of reasons…for instance Decca once sent the Beatles a rejection letter saying that in their opinion they didn’t like their sound and guitar music was on it’s way out. Sometimes it’s a matter of not having the right connections, or not catching the eye ( ear ) of the right DJ who will give you the air-time.

If all you ever listen to is Top 40 pop radio, or Top 40 classic rock radio, chances are you’ve never even heard of most of these, and that’s too bad, because there’s really some great songs out there that never got played by commercial radio that caters to their advertisers and not the music.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Well…if you come from the 60’s or early 70’s generation (I'm more a 70s lover), or are a hard-core classic rock lover, some of these you might remember, and many you will remember if you listen to them, and many that you don’t remember but should listen to. There are about 96 in this box.

Some of these are rare songs that never made the Top 40, some are rare one-hit-wonders, and all of these are worth your time tracking down and adding to your collections!

source: Tazzone

The Lounge Presents...

2011-01-28T22:49:00.004-05:00

Born William Royce Scaggs, June 8, 1944, in Canton, Ohio; married Carmella Storniola, 1972 (divorced 1980); children: two sons. What is not to love about this guy's music?

Although Boz Scaggs is perhaps best known for his innovative white soul music during the 1970s, this versatile musician has recorded many other styles of music as well, ranging from rhythm and blues and folk to slick urban pop and disco. Scaggs moved with his family to Plano, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), when he was quite young. His interest in music was sparked by his childhood friendship with Steve Miller, with whom he attended St. Mark's Preparatory School in Dallas. Miller, who would grow up to front the highly successful Steve Miller Band, taught Scaggs the rudiments of guitar playing and encouraged him to sing.

In the early 1960s the two friends formed the Marksmen Combo and gained performance experience by playing local venues. A few years later, the pair headed north to attend the University of Wisconsin in Madison, drawn to the area in part because of its proximity to Chicago's thriving blues culture. In Madison they met another developing musician, Ben Sidran, and performed with him as the Ardells.

Scaggs left the University of Wisconsin without graduating and returned to Texas alone. He formed a new group, the Wigs, and flew to England with them, confident that they would make their mark on the British music scene. Success never materialized for the Wigs, however, and they disbanded within a few months. Scaggs traveled through Europe on his own, supporting himself by singing on plazas and street corners. The continent appealed to him, and by the mid-1960s he had established a home base in Stockholm, Sweden, where he became affiliated with Karusell Records, the company that released his first album. Boz, a collection of folk songs, was a substantial success in Europe, although it remains relatively obscure in the United States.

Steve Milller Band ...circa 1968

Just as he was settling down for a long stay in Europe, Scaggs received an urgent postcard from Miller, who had migrated from Madison to San Francisco and formed one of the area's first "psychedelic" rock groups. The Steve Miller Blues Band, as it was then known, was the first such group to be offered a contract with a major record label, and Miller wanted his old partner to share in his success. Scaggs agreed, but stayed with the group just long enough to record two albums: Children of the Future and Sailor, regarded by some as the best albums ever made by the Miller band. After those projects were completed, Scaggs's restless nature drove him to strike out on his own once more.

His solo debut in the United States, entitled Boz Scaggs, was produced by Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner and featured some powerful guitar work by Duane Allman, an unknown at the time. Rolling Stone contributor Michael Goldberg called it a "classic [that] instantly established Scaggs as a gifted songwriter and musician." High Fidelity reviewer Steven X. Rea also commented enthusiastically on the album, classifying it as "a milestone ... full of bluesy rock aggressiveness and spooky ballads." But despite reviewers' high opinions of the album, it was not a great commercial success. Scaggs's audience was still limited to the San Francisco Bay area and a small but intensely loyal following scattered about the rest of the country.

During the next few years Scaggs worked hard to win more listeners. He refined his rough-edged blues style into a smoother, less rootsy sound. The transformation can be heard on the albums Boz Scaggs and Band, My Time, and Slow Dancer. In 1976, Scaggs finally achieved the success he'd so long desired when his album Silk Degrees sold over five million copies and produced the Number One single "Lowdown."

Rea described Silk Degrees as "a precise, passionate synthesis of rock, soul, and disco that was the epitome of blue-eyed soul." Goldberg noted that the album also "cemented Boz's uptown image. Scaggs had traded in his blue jeans and funky shirts for a designer wardrobe and a blow-dried look that made him a sex symbol the world over." The singer followed his breakthrough album with two more that sold millions of copies: Down Two Then Left and Middle Man. In 1980 alone, he had four Top 20 singles, and his concerts were sellouts across the nation.

Legions of Scaggs fans were stunned when, at the peak of his success, the singer announced plans to take an indefinite hiatus from the music business. Personal difficulties, including a divorce and bitter child-custody battle, played a role in his decision. Scaggs also admitted to feeling lost in the image that had taken him to superstardom and overwhelmed by the pressures that celebrity had thrust upon him. "Fortune and fame aren't what they appear to be," he told Rolling Stone. "The demands that are created by a career on that level were more than I wanted to continue at that time. I wanted to step outside it."

At the time, Scaggs expected his break to last for a year or so, but in fact it stretched to nearly eight years, during which time he played only occasionally at jam sessions in bars, or in benefit concerts for the inmates of San Quentin Prison.

Scaggs began work on a comeback album in the spring of 1985. He put nearly three years of painstaking effort into the project, only to be told by top executives at Columbia Records that it would have to be almost completely redone. The final product, 1988's Other Roads, was a mixture of his trademark ballads (including "Heart of Mine," which became a minor hit), danceable music, and a harder-edged sound than he had produced in years. Scaggs confided to Goldberg that despite initial conflicts with Columbia over the changes, "I enjoy listening to this album more than any other album I've ever made." Despite his satisfaction, the album floundered. It would be another six years before the public again heard from Scaggs.

After devoting most of the 1980s to operations at his San Francisco restaurant, the Blue Light Cafe, Scaggs was lured back to the studio by Virgin records, which felt the time was right for a Scaggs comeback. The singer agreed. "I just wanted to get away from the music side of the business," he told Melinda Newman of Billboard. "I didn't realize it would be such a long break."

Some Change was released in April 1994. Penned entirely by Scaggs, who also handled keyboard and guitar duties, the album was hailed as a dazzling display of the singer's versatility. The songs range from the cajun/country, "Fly Like a Bird" and the bluesy title track to the "Lowdown"-like "I'll Be the One." Though Some Change was less slick than previous Scaggs albums, Paul Evans of Rolling Stone noted "the insinuating ballads that slowly build into lush set pieces, vocals that simmer and then soar," and concluded that Some Change brings Boz Scaggs back, "lit by the fire at the heart of cool." Though he seldom performed concerts, even at the pinnacle of his success, Scaggs told Billboard that he wasn't opposed to touring to promote Some Change. "If there is a demand for me to perform.... I want to play," he asserted.

Whatever his personal battles, he remains one great artist...and he gets better lookin' with age...does he not?! I love this ballad. Need more Boz...here you go.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

That 70s Music

2011-01-18T22:12:00.013-05:00

Welcome to the Lounge. It's the 70's Revisited! What a great time to be alive! So many different musical artists/bands and styles/genres of music. I loved 70s funk and rock, still do. Some of the best hard-rock bands grew out the 70s and 80s, none since really. Along with top ten hits from nearly every genre of 70s music, there was a string of one-hit wonders too. I had fun digging up this list of 70s one-hit wonders, I hope you guys enjoy it too.

They called him R.C. ... He was the most handsome guy I had ever laid my eyes on at 17, but what did I know of men, really? not a lot. He was older, more experienced~ but one look into those dark eyes and a flash of those pearly whites, and I was a goner. All I knew was that there he was ... smoking hot ... and that damn black RT Dodge Charger even hotter! Now that was one kickass car!

and the driver wasn't bad either! Suavecito! and two songs come to mind here with R.C., and his black Charger, Vehicle (by the Ides of March) and The Rapper (by Jaggerz) all of which are on this playlist!

I tell my kids there wasn't any great music past the 70s really. Are you a music lover of the 70s yourself? I loved the 70s, and for the most part the early 80s, and listening to these one-hit wonders of the 70s brings back a lot of memories for me, of places and faces past. It is amazing how a song transports us back to a certain time and place, isn't it? Surreality!

We really did some crazy stupid stuff back then! I remember one time we were riding around in the back woods somewhere (there were plenty of those where I grew up) and "mooing" out the car and the cows came running! There was nothing to do in God's Country except be ornery~! We would run them cows down the road a quarter mile laughing like the stoned crazies we were! a listenin' to Tull and tokin'! There was always the racing of souped up cars on a back stretch of highway on a Friday night, lots of driving around, and pulling up at the local drive-up restaurant, honking the horn for service, and having the waitress bring out your food orders. It was one big party, great fun!

Ah, those were the days! of Dodge Chargers and sexy R.C.! woot!

maybe you'd prefer instead of one-hit wonders, the ultimate 70s mix...playing...

and boy...do I remember that Charger purr! While checking out this guy's website, the sticker price for a basic RT was $3,711.00 in 1970! Unbelievable for such an awesome car! To check out more about this Charger and see more pics and videos click here.

69 of the Steamiest Tunes...

2011-01-07T22:23:00.007-05:00

I went on a search for the 69 Steamiest Tunes of all time, which I then put into a player. According to this PopEater.com website, here is a mix of picks and comments...

I bet you remember a few of them! hit play! I think Barry White did make this list but...gawd...his "never, ever gonna give you up" and a few others could steam up a room...

69. George Michael, 'I Want Your Sex'

In '87, when the man from Wham! dropped this seductive hit (which he then claimed was about monogamy), many thought it was his attempt to woo the pants off of actress Brooke Shields. Once he got caught looking for gay nookie in public bathrooms years later, many realized they'd thought wrong.

68. Nelly Furtado, 'Promiscuous'

Nelly told us that this song title -- and that of her 2006 album 'Loose' -- refers to her "really relaxed and free" approach to making music. Sounds nice, but after hearing the song's deliciously irresponsible lyrics, we can't help but think that she didn't tell us the whole story.

67. Mazzy Star, 'Fade Into You'

More sensitive than sexy, this sad and sultry 1994 alterna-hit is the soundtrack to candlelit dorm-room grope sessions across the country. It's still the go-to track when theater majors are looking to score.

66. Ludacris, 'Fantasy' Hip-hop can always be counted on for its candor, and it doesn't get more blunt than Luda's play-by-play quest for some cut in anyplace but the bedroom. Like Burger King, the Lova Lova's fans can have it their way.

65. DiVinyls, 'I Touch Myself'

DiVinyls brought masturbation to the mainstream with this not-so-subtle 1991 ode to diddling. Once they caught a glimpse of singer Chrissy Amphlett's cleavage in the video, teenage boys everywhere brought the lyrics to life at least twice a day.

64. T. Rex, 'Bang a Gong'

One of the greatest anthems of England's early-'70s glam rock explosion, this is sexy stomping music for boys in leather boots and mascara. Substitute some other words for "gong" and you get the point. -- JP

63. Marvin Gaye, 'Sexual Healing'

Health insurance is for suckers. According to the Demigod of Sexy's 1982 smash, all you need is some sweet lovemaking each day to keep the doctor away.

62. Goldfrapp, 'Ooh La La'

Part gritty glam throwback, part electro-disco pant-a-thon, this 2006 tune finds saucy singer Alison Goldfrapp proclaiming her cravings for "ooh la la la la." It remains one of the kinkiest songs to ever be coaxed from a keyboard.

61. Mtume, 'Juicy Fruit'

The beat for this '80s jam is sensual in itself (just ask Biggie, who ripped it for his debut single 'Juicy' in '94), but add to that lead singer Tawatha Agee's breathy repetitions of "I like It," and you've got a musical striptease that stands the test of time. -- DB

60. Madonna, 'Like a Virgin'

It sounds tame compared to some of her later stuff, but in '84, Madonna's tune for being "touched for the very first time" blew the minds and eardrums of most parents. Its video also inspired teenage girls everywhere to dress like total whores (much to the delight of teenage boys). -- MTC

59. Joan Jett, 'Do You Wanna Touch Me'

On her first album after quitting jailbait band the Runaways, Joan Jett asked the dumbest question ever. Rocker guys and riot grrrls everywhere screamed "Yes!" in unison.

58. Keith Urban, 'Raining on Sunday'

Before he tied the knot with Nicole Kidman, country's sexiest stud generated heat with his female fans with this provocative song from 2002's 'Golden Road' album. He blames Mother Nature for staying in bed all day ... as if he needed an excuse. Sexiest Lyric: "Oh surrender is much sweeter when we both let it go/Let the water wash our bodies clean and love wash our souls"

57. Portishead, 'Glory Box'

The pulsing trip-hop rhythms and swooning symphonic swells are inspiring, but it's singer Beth Gibbons' bluesy plea for "a reason be a woman" that made this song the perfect soundtrack for after-party passion in 1994.

56. Dave Matthews Band, 'Crash Into Me'

Whether you believe this DMB hit to be a lover's heartfelt ode to his paramour or the sick musings of a peeping tom on the prowl, 'Crash' is no doubt a song about claws-coming-out, bodies-slamming-into-bodies sex.

55. Romeo Void, 'Never Say Never'

If you're only gonna write one hit, it may as well be a song about getting laid. Twenty-six years after its release, this salacious new-wave rocker is still the surefire way to get the hands groping on alt-rock dancefloors.

54. Christina Aguilera, 'Dirrty'

Before "Baby Jane" started biting Marilyn Monroe's steez, we had "Xtina" -- the x-rated diva who called her 2002 album 'Stripped' and dressed for the part. As if the song wasn't steamy enough, its video treated us to more ass-baring chaps and straddling maneuvers than a rodeo.

53. David Bowie, 'China Girl'

When Bowie reinvented himself (again) in the early '80s, the ladies melted over his drug-free physique and his sweet collection of linen suits. But everyone melted when they saw the song's video, which features David rolling around in the surf with a naked Asian model.

52. Diana Ross, 'Love Hangover'

You know the loving is good when you're still thinking about it the next day. Part slow jam, part disco boogie, this 1976 hit from the original Dreamgirl articulated the morning after high that hurts oh so good.

51. Peaches, 'AA XXX'

Set to a slammin' electro beat, Peaches' raunchy request for an innocent young stud is so raw, you might get salmonella on the dancefloor. Something tells us this porno-feminist crusader always gets to be on top.

50. Maxwell, 'Til the Cops Come Knockin''

Don't let his slim physique and curly mane fool you. The true way to tell a man's stamina is by the length of his ... song. Maxwell's '96 debut clocks in at almost seven minutes -- twice that of the average radio cut -- and promises to "lock you up in love for days."

49. Teddy Pendergrass, 'Turn Off the Lights'

It's hard to believe that Chef from 'South Park' didn't write this song. Candles, showers, hot oil -- the only thing missing from this frighteningly literal song is some Courvoisier and a cigarette at the end.

48. Enigma, 'Sadness Pt. 1'

In 1990, the robe-wearing Eurotrash outfit known as Enigma rode this track to No. 1 in 24 countries, mainly because all that French moaning and Latin chanting sounds really, really naughty. It's actually about the Marquis de Sade's morality or something, but who the hell cares?

47. Aaliyah, 'Rock the Boat'

Way before OnStar, the late Aaliyah finessed an aquatic rhythm and lyrics ripe with innuendo to guide a potential driver down the channel of love. Fellas, if you ever need proof that it's okay to ask for directions, peep the line below.

46. Frankie Goes to Hollywood, 'Relax'

The world's first-ever hit single by a bunch of openly gay leather boys, this 1983 ode to not "losing your head" beat the tantric sex movement by more than a decade. The only thing that didn't last long was the band's career.

45. Bob Dylan, 'Lay Lady Lay'

The words "Dylan" and "sexy" rarely appear in the same paragraph, but this low-key '69 song gets frisky, ex-hippie parents who still use the term "lovemaking" all hot and bothered. Besides, he says the word "lay" 12 times!

44. AC/DC, 'You Shook Me All Night'

A rollicking tale of an Australian rocker getting between some "American thighs," this hip-shaking mullet anthem has been fogging up pickup-truck windows since 1980. An entire generation of Joe Bobs and Little Ozzies was conceived to this song.

43. Berlin, 'Sex I'm a ...'

In 1982, four years before they made the touchy-feely soundtrack to the 'Top Gun' PG sex scene, new wave band Berlin turned out this NC-17 moaner in which lead singer Terri Nunn proclaims that once you get her in bed, she'll be whatever your heart desires.

42. Bee Gees, 'Love You Inside Out'

If you really think about it, this disco-era falsetto jam has the dirtiest title on this list, but that's nothing compared to those porntastic wakka-wakka guitars. This 1979 No. 1 hit left a whole nation covered in silk robes and massage oil.

41. Prince, 'Darling Nikki'

In 1985, 'Darling Nikki' was the nastiest song most of suburban America had ever heard. And everyone thought it was hot -- everyone except Tipper Gore, who started a pro-censorship movement after she heard the song in her 12-year-old daughter's room. Sounds like Al should have given her a little more global warming.

40. Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, 'Let's Make Love'

Country's first couple has steamed up the charts with many a lovey-dovey duet, but this 1999 track is their most seductive. The title says it all, as Mr. and Mrs. McGraw trade lines about spending an entire night in intimate bliss.

39. Sade, 'No Ordinary Love'

Everything about Sade Adu is sexy -- from her curiously spelled name to her oversized forehead to her smoky voice. In fact, the whole point of this song is that regular people are unworthy of Sade's love.

38. Rod Stewart, 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy'

Rod caught a lot of heat for going disco with this 1978 recap of a one-night stand. All was forgiven when guys realized that the song was so hot, it made women willing to sleep with a guy that looked like, well, Rod Stewart.

37. Bel Biv DeVoe, 'Do Me'

Who needs sweet nothings when you can get dirty talk after dark? Enter original New Edition members Bell Biv DeVoe, who ditched their squeaky clean images with this bad boy anthem that simultaneously turned candy girls into sex-crazed women.

36. Aretha Franklin, 'Natural Woman'

Back in '67, '(You Bring Me to) Multiple Orgasms' probably wouldn't have made it past the Standards and Practices division at Atlantic Records. So songwriter Carole King used one of those "euphemism" things instead, providing the Queen of Soul with her signature anthem and a generation of women with their ultimate mating song.

35. Chris Isaak, 'Wicked Game'

Back in 1991, the guy could sing his grocery list and the ladies would drop everything (and we mean everything). At least Chris gave the 'Wicked Game' video a little something for the fellas, too: a wet, topless Helena Christensen.

34. INXS, 'Need You Tonight'

How hot was Michael Hutchence? The man swaggered around shirtless in skin-tight leather pants like Jim Morrison reincarnated -- and even made a perm work. No one knew what "your moves are so raw" meant in '87, but Mike made it sound so very dirty.

33. Liz Phair, 'Flower'

Liz let all her dirty-minded lust hang out on this semi-spoken-word come-on. Most of the lyrics are unprintable on a family-friendly Web site, but suffice it to say that indie record store clerks everywhere got their glasses all fogged up.

32. Jodeci, 'Freek N You'

While Boyz II Men were charming soccer moms with their on-bended-knee-R&B, Jodeci was bumping and pelvic-thrusting their way into said daughters' bedrooms. If the radio version wasn't clear enough, listen to the album for an extended, uh, love session.

31. Luther Vandross, 'Love Won't Let Me Wait'

No one covers a song like Luther. With his silky tenor and trademark "woo-woos," he turned this 70's Major Harris tune into a quiet storm staple. Even the harp strings, saxophone solo and piano chords feel like foreplay on wax.

30. Starland Vocal Band, 'Afternoon Delight'

Some would call this ultra-whitebread 1976 hit "creepy" rather than sexy, and the repeated use of the word 'rubbin'' does make us think of old-people sex. But any song that actually inspired an entire country to indulge in some daytime action must have done something right.

29. Patti LaBelle, 'Lady Marmalade'

The fact that it's been covered by everyone from the O'Jays to Christina and Lil' Kim proves the staying power of this proto-disco funk jam. But in the hands of soul sister LaBelle, who originally released the song in '74, the bawdy tale about finding love in the Moulin Rouge is naughtier than anything Nicole Kidman could ever act up.

28. The Beatles, 'I Want You'

Fourteen non-dirty words repeated over and over for eight minutes -- not exactly the recipe for hotness. But in the hands of John Lennon, the only remotely sexy Beatle, this '69 epic became a monster of lusty, panting desperation.

27. Tweet, 'Oops (Oh My)'

Most sexy songs describe an act between two people (or more), but it was Missy Elliott's protégé Tweet who made going solo attractive. She later said the hit was more about self-respect than stimulation, but we were all too busy stroking our "esteem" to notice.

26. Massive Attack, 'Inertia Creeps'

Trip-hop doesn't get more sinister or seductive than this slow-burning groover from the group's 1998 'Mezzanine' album. Fuzzed out guitars, breathy raps and eerie electronics writhe together in a way that would even make Moby try to cop a feel.

25. The Notorious B.I.G., 'One More Chance'

Sure, he helped start the video cliché of a rapper lying in bed with two women. But we forgave him because of the way he flipped DeBarge's 'Stay With Me' into one of the coolest hip-hop player anthems ever. Plus, how many guys do you know that call themselves "ugly as ever" and still get the girl?

24. Rolling Stones, 'Let's Spend the Night Together'

In '67, this jam was too damn hot for TV audiences, and Mick Jagger was famously forced to say "Let's spend some time together" on 'The Ed Sullivan Show.' Guess what? It still drove the girls wild.

23. Vanity 6, 'Nasty Girl'

The sonic equivalent of a long, brass pole, this song has worn out more exotic dancers than the National Basketball Association. It was also written by Prince. Raise your hand if you're surprised.

22. Ginuwine, 'Pony'

In '96, long before working with him became cliché, Ginuwine tapped into Timbaland to craft the ultimate pole-riding anthem, which still makes any dancefloor or bedroom giddy up. Forget all the others ... this is the all-time strip-club favorite.

21. Isley Bros., 'Between Sheets'

The recipe for successful procreation is as follows: Man + woman + an Isley Brothers CD. Ronald Isley's falsetto over this '80s synth beat has been the inspiration for Gwen Stefani, Notorious B.I.G. and countless others. We doubt even Billy Dee could resist the smooth taste of this jam.

20. Pussycat Dolls, 'Don't Cha'

After hearing this frisky tune about a raw, freaky girl that you just can't have -- sung by seven raw, freaky girls that you just can't have -- most men liked their girlfriends a little bit less. Needless to say, it's not a popular song at weddings.

19. R. Kelly, 'Sex Me'

Long before R. got trapped in the closet, he owned the boot-knockin' '90s R&B world with bedroom anthems that still make us blush. 'Sex Me' taught us how to please a woman step by step -- though in retrospect, his propensity towards the use of the word "baby" is a little disturbing.

18. Janet Jackson, 'If'

If this 1993 hit was just about having a crush, then 'Single White Female' was just about having a roommate. Janet (Ms. Jackson, if you're nasty) gives us the details on her fantasy play-by-play, including what she would do to her man's "smooth and shiny." We're sure the object of her affection cashed in immediately.

17. Otis Redding, 'Try a Little'

What's sexier than a man who knows how to treat a lady? Redding's sweet, soulful 1967 love letter to young girls everywhere has such lasting appeal, it even survived that Ducky lip-synching scene in 'Pretty in Pink.'

16. Soft Cell, 'Sex Dwarf'

Lots of people might think that vertically challenged love slaves are hot, but only '80s synth-pop duo Soft Cell had the balls to sing about it. A whip-cracking dominatrix helps the boys lure a legion of disco dollies to a "life of vice" on this fierce and fiendish track.

15. Lil' Kim feat. Sisqo, 'How Many Licks'

The Queen Bee has never recorded a song that wasn't sexy, but 'Licks' makes the list for her classic proclamation, "Under eight inches, damn forget it ..." The dueling moans of the Notorious K.I.M. and Mr. Thong Song in this search for her personal tootsie licker also helped seal the deal ... and forever tainted our view of Mr. Owl.

14. Nina Simone, 'Sugar'

Once upon a time, "sugar" was an innocent euphemism for a kiss -- like your auntie asking you to give her some sugar. But things changed in '67, when soulful jazz singer Nina Simone passionately sang about the sweet stuff women longed for between the sheets. You'll never pucker up for Aunt Mildred the same way again.

13. TLC, 'Red Light Special'

History gives more credit to TLC's party starters (and fire starting), but it's their 1995 slow jam that got our nature rising. Let's not forget its accompanying video, in which T-Boz, Chilli and Left Eye beat a crew of muscular hunks in a game of strip poker.

12. Def Leppard, 'Pour Some Sugar'

A No. 1 hit in 1988, Def Leppard's diabetes-inducing arena-rock anthem is still a reliable way to get into someone's acid-washed jeans. The opening guitar riffs will forever conjure images of teased hair and a halter top balled up on the front seat of a Chevy El Dorado.

11. Rick James, 'Give It to Me'

When he wasn't busy slapping Charlie Murphy or burning women with hot crack pipes, the '80s funk-master crafted booty-shaking masterpieces that brought out the superfreak in everyone. How can you refuse this cocaine cowboy's sexy command? He's Rick James, bitch!

10. The Art of Noise, 'Moments in Love'

The avant garde synth-poppers created one of the most noted soundtracks for horizontal groovin' in the '80s. It's 10 minutes of instrumental, electronic utopia -- more than enough time for most of us to get our grooves on.

9. Britney Spears, 'I'm a Slave 4 U'

This 2001 hit encompassed what Brit was at the top of her game: precocious, provocative and oozing sex from every teenage pore. For someone claiming she was a virgin at the time, she sure had that whole heavy-breathing, sex-kitten thing down to a tee.

8. LL Cool J, 'Doin' It'

When it comes to hip-hop love songs, LL Cool J is indeed the G.O.A.T. In 1995, he laid rights to the crown once more with a jam to dance and get busy to. The come-ons from his co-spitter LeShaun are so believable, we can almost picture Queen's finest licking his lips in the booth.

7. Led Zeppelin, 'Whole Lotta Love'

Between Robert Plant's snakelike hips and Jimmy Page's 10-story riffs, no one can escape this monstrous rocker's animal magnetism. Moaning and snarling while he begs to "be your backdoor man," Plant exudes the bottomless lust that made him the most notorious groupie-slayer of the '70s.

6. Barry White, 'Love Serenade'

Music doesn't get more baby-makin' than this. Barry's baritone drawl helped fertilize a million eggs in the sexy '70s, and no modern R&B crooner -- not even that dude from Boyz II Men -- can make a woman's toes curl faster. Usher, take notes.

5. Madonna, 'Justify My Love'

'Justify' is the musical equivalent of having phone sex while Public Enemy plays in the background. Sounds silly in theory, but when it's Madonna moaning on the other end of the line, the result is a dark 'n' dirty grinder that's almost too hot for prime time. Even liberal ears agreed that Madge finally deserved the spanking she'd been asking for her entire career.

4. Prince, 'Do Me, Baby'

He's eccentric and only 5 feet tall, yet Prince remains the Ambassador of Sexy. Maybe it's those high-pitched wails or the talk break at the end, but something about this straight-shooting ballad is extremely seductive. Bow down, Justin.

3. Donna Summer, 'Love You Baby'

When dance-music producer Giorgio Moroder tapped a then-unknown Donna Summer to bring this steamy 1975 disco epic to life, how were they to know it would single-handedly launch a decade-long herpes epidemic? Summer actually recorded the song's simulated orgasms lying on her back in a darkened studio. Now that's method acting!

2. Nine Inch Nails, 'Closer'

If you hadn't quite reached puberty by 1994, 'Closer' was there to help along the process. Proving once and for all that subtlety is overrated, the song boasted a chorus more raw, shocking and shameless than anything even Prince or Madonna would muster, inspiring both mascara-smeared goth chicks and plastered frat boys to do the nasty nastier than they'd ever done it before.

1. Marvin Gaye, 'Let's Get It On'

Marvin had no time for "beatin' 'round the bush." In the early '70s, this semi-explicit plea for liberated, sugar-sweet lovemaking (sung by a 34-year-old to his 17-year-old girlfriend, no less!) was still a bold statement, but the man just couldn't hold in all this love. America quickly opened its arms to Marvin's charms, making 'Let's Get It On' the second biggest hit of 1973 ... and the sexiest song of all time?

I'll reserve my vote...I didn't see Minnie Ripperton's "Loving You" on this list. Not sure I agreed with some of them, how about you?

SRV

2010-11-20T19:45:00.005-05:00

We are born with a fate-the deck of cards we are dealt at birth (or before)...Our heritige, enviornment, experiences.... We play the cards well, or not so well. We may overcome many things. We are the architects of own fate to a great extent. When we doubt ourselves, we fail. When we believe in ourselves we succeed. We do have to deal with "prevailing conditions" physical, mental and enviornmental.

When we conquer one set obstances we are faced with another. The battle is never over. Obstacles must be faced, conquered...then on to the next "battle"... challenge. Its up to us to keep fighting.

Stevie Ray Vaughan...did as we all must do journey thru our own soul and overcome the darknesses. Stevie's death, August 27, 1990, just a few moments after midnight in a helicopter crash after being in the air just a few seconds in East Troy, Wisconsin was just a short distance from this destination in Chicago and his new love Janna. Vaughan died the same day as his father, four years earlier.

When Stevie played Dallas in June of 1990 he could easily have been electocuted as he was playing in a downpour until the roadies cut the power and made him stop. Dr. John actually witnessed a guitarist killed just this way. The very next month, sound baffles crashed down on his guitars and if he hadn't just left, it would have fallen on him. One month later.... in fact, less than a day before his death, his last concert in Alpine Valley, WI, Stevie had a premonition of death. On the night of 25 August/morning of 26 August 1990, Stevie Ray had what was described as a "horrible" nightmare. He dreamt that he was at his own funeral and saw thousands of mourners (actually there were more than 3,000 people at his funeral). He felt "terrified yet almost peaceful." SRV shared this story with his bandmates and some trusted crew members. That was the last sleep/dream Stevie had in his physical body, he had less than 20 hours of life left.

Mick Jagger

2010-08-06T21:42:00.026-04:00

Besides maybe only Elvis Presley, no rock & roll singer has been as influential as Mick Jagger, the pouty-lipped, hip-shaking frontman of the Rolling Stones. In the Sixties, Jagger established ironic detachment as a hallmark of British Invasion-era rock and began turning heads with his not-so-subtle double entendres and sinuous dance moves. He was the most assured appropriator of African-American performers' up-front sexuality, yet he was hard to pigeonhole: He alternately sounded black, very English, jaded, fired up, horny, and bored.

Michael Phillip Jagger was born July 26, 1943, into a middle class family at the Livingstone Hospital, in Dartford, Kent, England. His father, Basil Fanshawe ("Joe") Jagger (13 April 1913 - 11 November 2006), and his paternal grandfather, David Ernest Jagger, were both teachers. His mother, Eva Ensley Mary (6 April 1913 – 18 May 2000), an Australian immigrant to England, was a hairdresser and an active member of the Conservative Party. Jagger is the elder of two sons (his brother Chris Jagger was born on 19 December 1947). His brother Chris is also a singer.

Jagger states "I was always a singer. I always sang as a child. I was one of those kids who just liked to sing. Some kids sing in choirs; others like to show off in front of the mirror. I was in the church choir and I also loved listening to singers on the radio - the BBC or Radio Luxembourg - or watching them on TV and in the movies."

In his late teens, Jagger happened to bump into Richards once again (while the two were waiting on a train platform), and when Richards noticed Jagger had several blues records under his arm, they became friends again and started up the Rolling Stones shortly thereafter. The band (which also included second guitarist Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts), merged the rock & roll of Chuck Berry with the raw blues of Muddy Waters, creating a style that would be infinitely copied by others in its wake. By the late '60s, the Rolling Stones were rivaling the Beatles as the world's most popular rock band (with their second guitarist slot rotating from time to time), issuing such classic singles as "Paint It Black," "Time Is on My Side," "Get Off of My Cloud," "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," and others. In 1968, they began a string of albums that would go down as some of rock's most quintessential and enduring albums ever recorded -- 1968's Beggar's Banquet, 1969's Let It Bleed, 1970's Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out, 1971's Sticky Fingers, and 1972's Exile on Main Street. One of my favorites you can watch here.

(left) The Rolling Stones in 1964: Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman.

Jones, a bohemian blues musician who helped create the Rolling Stones in 1962 (and is said to have come up with the group’s name, taken from the Muddy Waters song “Rollin’ Stone Blues”), was found dead on July 3, 1969, at a home in East Sussex that once belonged to A. A. Milne. At that time, Jones had recently left the band, and a coroner’s report gave the official cause for his demise as “death by misadventure,” though subsequent films and books (including “The Murder of Brian Jones” by Anna Wohlin, a girlfriend of Jones who was with him when he died) have suggested that foul play was involved.

Jagger's bluesy vocals and spastic, often sexually suggestive stage moves got the band pegged as troublemakers — the opposite of the more clean-cut, congenial Beatles. In 2008, it was revealed that members of the Hells Angels had plotted to murder Jagger in 1975. They were angered by Jagger's public blaming of the Hells Angels, who had been hired to provide "security" at the Altamont Free Concert in December 1969, for much of the crowd violence at the event. The conspirators reportedly used a boat to approach a residence where Jagger was staying on Long Island, New York; the plot failed when the boat was nearly sunk by a storm.

Mick Jagger - More Music Videos

While continuing to tour and release albums with the Rolling Stones, Jagger also began a solo career. In 1985, he released his first solo album She's the Boss. Aside from his music, Jagger has worked in film, both as an actor and producer. His first solo stage work was the single "Memo from Turner," which he sang in Nicholas Roeg's dark, experimental film Performance. The movie starred Jagger as a reclusive, sex- and drugs-obsessed former rocker who'd lost his mojo. It wrapped in 1968 but wasn't released until 1970.

Though he was a model of rock decadence, Mick Jagger has always been, as Lenny Kravitz called him, a "disciplined artist." Throughout his career, he wrote, co-wrote, or appeared on literally scores of beloved rock songs, mastered the art of showmanship, and influenced generations of rock & roll performers.

Also of note, on 12 December 2003, Jagger was knighted for Services to Music, as Sir Michael Jagger by The Prince of Wales. Mick Jagger's knighthood received mixed reactions. Some fans were disappointed when he accepted the honour as it seemed to contradict his anti-establishment stance.

Mick Jagger - More Music Videos

Jagger has been romantically linked with a string of celebrity actors, singers and models, including Chrissie Shrimpton, Marianne Faithful, Carly Simon and many others. He's been married twice: first to Nicaraguan Bianca Pérez Morena Macías, a former actor and model, in 1970; and second to model Jerry Hall, in 1990. He divorced Hall in 1999.

Jagger has sired seven children with four different women: model and singer Marsha Hunt had daughter Karis Hunt Jagger; Bianca Jagger had daughter Jade Sheena Jezebel Jagger; Jerry Hall had Elizabeth Scarlett Jagger, James Leroy Augustin Jagger, Georgia May Ayeesha Jagger, and Gabriel Luke Beauregard Jagger; and model Luciana Gimenez Moradson had Lucas Maurice Morad Jagger. Jagger has four grandchildren. As of 2010, he was reportedly dating fashion designer L'Wren Scott.

(pictured below) Brian Jones and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones enjoy a food fight at the Kensington Gore Hotel, where the band staged a mock medieval banquet for the launch of Beggars Banquet on December 5, 1968.

if I didn't know better, I'd say his barn door is unzipped! but then again, he has lived pretty much of his life unzipped! gotta love the forked lapel too!

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Frank and Ava..

2010-07-24T15:02:00.007-04:00

Ava would write in her autobiography later that of all the men she'd had - that he was the love of her life. Gardner's third and last marriage was to Frank Sinatra fro 1951 to 1957. Sinatra left his wife, Nancy, for Ava and their subsequent marriage made headlines.

Sinatra was savaged by gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons, the Hollywood establishment, the Roman Catholic Church, and by his fans for leaving his wife for a "femme fatale." His career suffered, while hers prospered - the headlines solidifying her screen siren image. Gardner used her considerable clout to get Sinatra cast in his Oscar-winning role in From Here to Eternity (1953). That role and the award revitalized both Sinatra's acting and singing careers. Gardner said of her relationship with Sinatra, "We were great in bed. It was usually on the way to the bed when the trouble began."

During their marriage Gardner became pregnant twice, but she had two abortions. "MGM had all sorts of penalty clauses about their stars having babies," she said. She said years later, "We couldn't even take care of ourselves. How were we going to take care of a baby?" Gardner and Sinatra remained good friends for the rest of her life.

Gardner divorced Sinatra in 1957 and headed to Spain where she began a friendship with writer Ernest Hemingway. While staying with Hemingway at his villa in San Francisco de Paula in Cuba Gardner once swam alone with no bathing suit in his pool. After watching her Hemingway ordered his staff: "The water is not to be emptied". Gardner's friendship with Hemingway led to her becoming a fan of bullfighting and bullfighters such as Luis Miguel Dominguín, who became her lover. "It was a sort of madness, honey," she said later of the time.

After a lifetime of smoking, Gardner suffered from emphysema, in addition to an autoimmune disorder (which may have been lupus). Two strokes in 1986 left her partially paralyzed and bedridden. Although Gardner could afford her medical expenses, Sinatra wanted to pay for her to visit a specialist in the United States, and she allowed him to make the arrangements for a medically-staffed private plane. Her last words (to her housekeeper Carmen), were reportedly, "I'm so tired," before she died of pneumonia at the age of 67. After her death, Sinatra's daughter Tina found him slumped in his room, crying, and unable to speak.

Gardner was not only the love of his life but also the inspiration for one of his most personal songs, "I'm a Fool to Want You", which Sinatra (who received a co-writing credit for the song) recorded twice, toward the end of his contract with Columbia Records and during his years on Capitol Records. ("It was Ava who taught him how to sing a torch song", Sinatra arranger Nelson Riddle was once quoted as saying.)

Gardner died in her London home in 1990, from pneumonia, following several years of declining health. Gardner was buried in the Sunset Memorial Park, Smithfield, North Carolina, next to her brothers and their parents, Jonah (1878-1938) and Mollie Gardner (1883-1943).

It has been reported that Sinatra attended her funeral, due to the presence of a black limousine parked behind the crowd of 500 mourners. Instead, a hairstylist from Fayetteville, North Carolina, had felt that a limousine was the only appropriate mode of transportation to Gardner's funeral. A floral arrangement at Gardner's graveside simply read: "With My Love, Francis."

Frank would pass away in May 1998, living 8 years longer than Ava.

To read more about Ava's early life, biography, or film history, click here.

Big Hair or Glam Metal Bands of the '80s

2010-06-26T16:41:00.002-04:00

While no one would ever argue that hair metal was a genre full of variety, the form did boast a handful of archetypes, the most well known of which is probably the glorious power ballad. While there are many examples to choose from, it's impossible to shower any of these tunes exclusively with either praise or negative criticism. But somehow this mixed bag syndrome does not prevent a substantial amount of pleasure from creeping into the experience of listening to them. Here's a look at 10 of the best.

Poison - "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Capitol Records

The most remarkable thing about this emblematic hair metal classic is how solid it actually is. In the five or so years that this quintessential glam pop metal band occupied a portion of the zeitgeist, audiences came to expect a fairly vapid, undistinguished party-time output. But this assessment of romance gone sour contained genuine emotion and showcased a very decent songwriting sense on the part of Poison frontman Bret Michaels. Therefore, its status as one of pop metal's finest moments is well-deserved and well-earned.

Warrant - "Heaven"

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Columbia/Legacy

I recently heard Warrant frontman Jani Lane despair over the fact that the song his band is probably most remembered for (well, the video anyway) is the appalling, subtle-as-a-nuclear-assault abomination known as "Cherry Pie". But I hope it's some consolation to him that "Heaven," a thoroughly successful acoustic ballad that again plumbs genuine emotion in lieu of empty macho posturing, actually represents a fairly respectable legacy for the band. It may be a bit hard to distinguish this blond lead singer from his competitors, but there have been far worse efforts than this tune that have somehow received more acclaim.

Cinderella- "Nobody's Fool"

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Island Def Jam

Early on in the band's career, Cinderella distinguished itself by retaining a sinister, somewhat aggressive edge even as members fully adopted the increasingly popular glam look. Such darkness fuels this atmospheric gem from the band's 1986 debut Night Songs, and it makes for a wonderful marriage with the gravelly, creepy vocal style of frontman Tom Keifer. Of course, this East Coast band never truly fit in as a hair metal act anyway, quickly moving to more bluesy material for its sophomore release. Nonetheless, this great song remains a central '80s flashpoint for hair metal balladry.

Def Leppard - "Love Bites"

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Island/Mercury

Arguably the best power ballad ever, this track alone could have cemented a vital spot for Def Leppard in the hard rock pantheon. Of course, there were plenty of other reasons for this British band's '80s dominion, but at no time did the boys from Sheffield get things more right than on this precise, compelling, and meticulously produced masterpiece. Futuristic blips and beeps aside, the song presents the best version of Joe Elliott's vocal style and spotlights the underrated guitar playing of Phil Collen and the late Steve Clark that gave the band its powerfully melodic sound.

Motley Crue - "Home Sweet Home"

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Motley Records

As much as I write this with clenched teeth, this piano-driven power ballad from the L.A. bad boys' 1985 album Theatre of Pain was unmistakably a prototype for many of the songs that would follow from their big-hair brethren. This signature Motley Crue song's template calls for the revelation lyrically of a heretofore hidden sensitive side (gently supported by piano, keyboards or acoustic guitar) and just enough guitar-hero explosions to avoid scaring away that highly important adolescent male demographic. But the piano intro is a good one, and the melody is almost strong enough to make up for Vince Neil's typically thin vocal delivery.

Skid Row - "I Remember You"

Album Cover Photo Courtesy of Rhino Records

I was tempted to spotlight this somewhat rougher-edged hair band's "18 & Life" in this space until I realized that would fly in the face of the established formula of the hair metal ballad. On one level or another, after all, doesn't it have to be about love sweet love? So with some reluctance I choose this song instead, which actually is not embarrassing in the least and spotlights nifty guitar playing from Dave "the Snake" Sabo. But I guess Sebastian Bach's theatrical vocals are the main attraction, even though the main thing I remember is the homeless dude from the video and his acid-washed hottie from his haunted past.

White Lion - "When the Children Cry"

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Atlantic Records

I remember getting drunk during my first, short-lived stab at college and howling the guitar solo to this treacly little number along with some newly made acquaintances. And of course, we somehow didn't fathom how totally uncool this made us. Nonetheless, Vito Bratta was a talented fretman, and his solo here remains an enchanting listen, even if Mike Tramp's vocals, garbled as they were by his Danish accent, tended to inspire laughter rather than the intended empathy. It was always treacherous territory when hair bands attempted to get serious, and that's certainly the case with this shallow world peace propaganda.

Whitesnake - "Here I Go Again"

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Geffen Records

Tawny Kitaen aside (or astride, I may just as well say), I've always thought this song works so well because David Coverdale downplays his normal tendency to try and sound like Robert Plant. Oh, there's still plenty of posturing (as well as woman-as-hood-ornament imagery), but the primary strength of this song is that in its mildly vapid way, it's a compellingly universal examination of the rocky romantic road that confronts us all at one time or another. As one of the most spirited marriages of rock guitar and synth-heavy keyboards in the annals of hair metal, the tune will always be a worthy '80s classic.

Europe - "Carrie"

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Portrait/Epic/Legacy

Oh, Joey Tempest, with his blustery wail and curly Nordic locks, certainly took a lot of abuse from "genuine" rockers of the '80s, but the truth is that his band's operatic pop metal was always better than it got credit for. That goes for this song as well, a soaring ode to Joey's Scandivanian queen of hearts with the distinctly Swedish name. Europe remained apart from its hair metal brethren in a number of ways, and general purity was one of them. No sleazy tramps or nights of debauchery populated the band's lyrics, just non-threatening space-age shenanigans and true devotion such as this.

Twisted Sister - "The Price"

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Armoury Records

In this case I'll save the most underrated and unheard for last. Along with his cohorts, Dee Snider, the scariest clown-faced drag king on the planet, produced fist-pumping anthems and a more simplistic hard rock. But with this tune the band takes advantage of restricted expectations and delivers a surprisingly tuneful, even mildly thought-provoking power ballad that has actually aged remarkably well. Well, maybe not remarkably, but Snider proves that he has a reasonably expressive voice, and the band ably kicks in behind him with a crisp if restrained aggression that retains considerable toughness and grit.

The Lounge Presents...

2010-06-12T17:39:00.008-04:00

Marvin Gaye

"There are still times I feel unhappy and I must smile, and there are times I want to cry and I must laugh... people rarely see the real Marvin Gaye."

With a career that exemplified the maturation of romantic black pop into a sophisticated form spanning social and sexual politics, Marvin Gaye was one of the most consistent and enigmatic of the Motown hitmakers. Certainly among the most gifted composers and singers, with a mellifluous tenor and a three-octave vocal range, Marvin Gaye was also moody — avoiding TV, rarely performing live, and sometimes not showing up for the few concerts he did schedule. From "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" to "Heard It Through the Grapevine," from "What's Going On" to "Sexual Healing," Gaye sang some of the most memorable black pop of the '60s, '70s, and '80s. He was nominated for eight Grammys before winning one in 1983. His life ended tragically one year later — and one day before his 45th birthday — when he was shot to death by his father, an Apostolic preacher, after a violent argument. In many respects, Gaye was, as his friend, the cowriter of "Sexual Healing," and author David Ritz titled his biography of him, a divided soul.

Gaye started singing at age three in church and was soon playing the organ as well. After a stint in the Air Force, he returned to DC and started singing in streetcorner doo-wop groups, including a top local group, the Rainbows. He formed his own group, the Marquees, in 1957. Under the auspices of supporter Bo Diddley, they cut "Wyatt Earp" for the Okeh label. In 1958 Harvey Fuqua heard the group and enlisted it to become the latest version of his ever-changing backing ensemble, the Moonglows. As such, Gaye was heard on "Mama Loocie" and other songs for the Chess label in 1959.

By 1961, the group was touring widely. Detroit impresario Berry Gordy Jr. heard the group and quickly signed Gaye to his fledgling Motown organization later that year. Soon after, Gaye married Gordy's sister Anna. Gaye's first duties with the label were as a session drummer (he played on all the early hits by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles).

Gaye got his first hit with his fourth release, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," in 1962. Over the next 10 years, working with nearly every producer at Motown (including the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, Smokey Robinson, and Norman Whitfield), he enjoyed over 20 big hits. Although he specialized in midtempo ballads, he also had dance hits: "Hitch Hike" (Number 30, 1963), the 12-bar blues "Can I Get a Witness" (Number 22, 1963), which became a virtual anthem among the British mods), and "Baby Don't You Do It" (Number 27, 1964). But by and large he favored romantic, sometimes sensual ballads. He felt that his desire to move into a more mainstream, sophisticated style was hindered by Motown's emphasis on hits. For a performer as unenthusiastic about some of his material as Gaye later claimed to be, he gave almost every song he ever recorded an inspired reading. His Top 10 hits included "Pride and Joy" (Number 10, 1963), "I'll Be Doggone" (Number Eight, 1965), "Ain't That Peculiar" (Number Eight, 1965), and "How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You" (Number Six, 1965). Among his 39 Top 40 singles of the period were also such unlikely hits as "Try It Baby" (Number 15, 1964, with background vocals by the Temptations), "You're a Wonderful One" (Number 15, 1964, with backing vocals by the Supremes), "One More Heartache" (Number 29, 1966), "Chained" (Number 32, 1968), and "You" (Number 34, 1968).

Beginning in 1964 Gaye was teamed with Mary Wells for a couple of hits, "Once Upon a Time" (Number 19, 1964) and "What's the Matter With You" (Number 17, 1964), and with Kim Weston for "It Takes Two" (Number 17, 1967). But his greatest duets were with Tammi Terrell: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Number 19, 1967), "Your Precious Love" (Number Five, 1967), "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (Number Eight, 1968), and "You're All I Need to Get By" (Number Seven, 1968), all penned and produced by Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. In a 1967 concert Terrell collapsed into Gaye's arms onstage, the first sign of the brain tumor that killed her three years later. Although, contrary to popular belief, Gaye and Terrell were not romantically involved (she was involved with Temptation David Ruffin), he was deeply affected by her illness and death. Shortly thereafter Gaye had his biggest solo hit of the '60s with a dejected, paranoid reading of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Number One, 1968), a song that had already been given a fiery treatment by another Motown act, Gladys Knight and the Pips.

The second, quite distinct phase of Gaye's career — and black popular music — began in 1971 with What's Going On. Along with Stevie Wonder, Gaye was one of the first Motown artists to gain complete artistic control of his records. What's Going On was a self-composed and produced song cycle that could rightfully be called a concept album. Berry Gordy Jr., who still maintains that he didn't understand the record, was reluctant to release it. Gaye was vindicated when the album hit Number 6 and spun off three Top 10 singles: "What's Going On" (Number Two, 1971), "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (Number Nine, 1971), and "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)" (Number Four, 1971) were impassioned, timeless statements on Vietnam, civil rights, and the state of the world. "What's Going On"; has been covered many times in the ensuing years, including a Top 20 version by Cyndi Lauper in 1986.

In 1972 Gaye scored the 20th Century–Fox film Trouble Man, and the dark, minimalist title track gave him yet another Top 10 hit (Number Seven, 1973). By 1973, he had shifted his attention to pure eroticism with Let's Get It On, the title track of which went to Number 1. His late-1973 album with Diana Ross, Diana and Marvin, produced three fairly successful singles: "You're a Special Part of Me" (Number 12, 1973), "Don't Knock My Love" (Number 46, 1974), and "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" (Number 19, 1974), but this project was one of many things Gaye did with Motown that he felt were forced upon him.

Gaye's rocky marriage of 14 years to Anna Gordy Gaye was the subject of Here, My Dear as the '70s closed, with Gaye still reeling from the divorce settlement. He filed for bankruptcy, and his ex-wife later considered suing him for invasion of privacy over the content of Here, My Dear. (The album had been precipitated by court hearings in 1976, when a judge instructed Gaye to make good on overdue alimony payments by recording an album and giving his wife $600,000 in royalties.) With Gordy he fathered a son, Marvin Gaye III. He married his second wife, Janice, in 1977 and that year had a Number 1 hit, Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1." They had two children: Nona, who has since become a recording artist in her own right, and Frankie. Janice was Gaye's muse, but he was also obsessed with her, and the relationship was tumultuous.

Under pressure from the Internal Revenue Service, Gaye moved to Europe to record his 1981 release, In Our Lifetime, which concentrated on his philosophies of love, art, and death. The next year, he left Motown for Columbia. His first album for the label, Midnight Love, sold 2 million copies and included the hit "Sexual Healing," which won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. He sang live on the Grammy broadcast and, in 1983, in concert at Radio City Music Hall. During his Sexual Healing Tour, Gaye closed the show singing his hit in a silk robe, often stripping down to bikini underwear. Fan reaction was mixed. Also in 1983 he appeared in one of the more memorable segments of Motown's 25th-anniversary television special, obviously somewhat disoriented but riveting nonetheless. His a cappella version of "The Star-Spangled Banner," performed before the 1983 NBA All-Star game that year, became an instant bootlegged classic and is included on The Marvin Gaye Collection.

Gaye's comeback was one for the record books. But even with the recognition he longed for, Gaye was depressed, and his cocaine abuse was escalating, despite several attempts to clean up. He returned to the U.S. and moved into his parents' home — where he often quarreled with his father, with whom he'd been at odds since his teenage years. As Gaye later confessed to David Ritz, his internal life was marked by what Gaye viewed as an irreconcilable conflict between good (as represented by his strict religious upbringing) and evil (sex, drugs). In early 1984 Gaye reportedly threatened suicide several times and had become paranoid and irrational. Following a Sunday morning shouting match in his parents' home, Gaye's father shot him to death at point-blank range, he later claimed, in self-defense. Gaye's father was charged with and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He was found to have a brain tumor, and was given a six-year suspended prison sentence.

After his death Motown and Columbia collaborated to produce Dream of a Lifetime and Romantically Yours, both based on unfinished recordings from the Sexual Healing sessions; among the tracks on the first album were the ribald, "Savage in the Sack" and "Masochistic Beauty," and some questioned whether Gaye had intended to release them at all. Since then, Gaye's work has been repackaged in a steady stream of new compilations. In addition, his work has been the subject of several tribute projects. In 1987 Gaye was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was also inducted to Hollywood's Rock Walk in 1989 and was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990.

RIP.

*Sources: The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001) & Wikipedia

Sweet Home, Chicago...

2010-05-20T19:43:00.004-04:00

a great tune, played by Buddy Guy, having too much fun, accompanied by quite a few greats! Enjoy!

The Lounge presents Mel Torme.

2010-05-15T10:15:00.003-04:00

Mel Torme was among the most enduring singers from the big-band era, maligned by some as the epitome of lounge singer, acclaimed by many more as one of a talented and serious vocalist.

Legend has it that Torme began singing for his supper a Chicago restaurant when he was four and was working the vaudeville circuit soon after. He worked as a child actor on radio, and began writing songs in his early teens. In the early 1940s, he quit high school to became a boy singer (and drummer and part-time arranger) with Chico Marx's band.

His first fame coincided with Frank Sinatra's, and the two appeared together in their first film, "Higher and Higher." He wanted to be a jazz singer, "but I got sidetracked," he said. His manager "felt the way to the gold was for me to become a crooner. For a long period I was singing mushy, sentimental songs." His publicist coined the name, "The Velvet Fog," to describe his smooth style but he hated it (hecklers called him "The Velvet Frog").

In 1944, he formed his own vocal group, the Mel-Tones, which included a young Les Baxter and Henry Mancini's future wife, Ginny O'Connor. The Mel-Tones had several hits, on their own as well as paired with Artie Shaw's band. "What is This Thing Called Love?," which later became a jazz standard, was their biggest. The Mel-Tones were among the first of the jazz-influenced vocal groups, setting the direction later followed by the Hi-Los and the Manhattan Transfer.

In 1947, he broke out as a solo artist, and has stayed in fairly steady, if not spectacular, demand, since then. He had one #1 hit, "Careless Love," in 1949, and several minor hits, among them "Mountain Greenery" in 1956. He recorded several LPs in the mid-1950s with the Marty Paich Dektette, a collection of some of the best West Coast jazz performers, that are considered his best work. In 1962, he had a surprise hit with "Comin' Home, Baby," arranged by Claus Ogerman, a driving R&B-flavored number that more than a few mistook for something by Ray Charles, particular with its call-and-response bits with a female back-up group sounding remarkably similar to the Raelettes. Quincy Jones and Kai Winding both had hits with killer instrumental covers of this great tune. Ethel Waters, a great jazz and gospel singer, once said that Torme "is the only white man who sings with the soul of a black man."

Torme never stopped working on his vocal technique and he was always conscientious about protecting his voice: no smoking, only an occasional glass of wine, careful avoidance of drafts. "Before I sing I force myself to have seven or eight hours of sleep." As one writer put it, over the years, "The 'Velvet Fog' has lifted in recent years and has been replaced by a deeper, richer, more flexible sound."

Torme was always been willing to stretch out of the traditional pop standards. He recorded tunes such as "Homeward Bound," "Red Rubber Ball," and "Raindrops are Falling on My Head" in the late 1960s that either leave you in awe of his range and flexibility or cringing at his attempt to bridge a generation gap. His rendition of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" is a highlight of Rhino's tongue-in-cheek "Golden Throats" compilation, but personally, I think his take on "Secret Agent Man" is the epitome of "spy lounge."

Torme wrote his own songs on occasion. In particular, his "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose"), first recorded in 1946 by Nat King Cole, is a true Christmas standard. He and his frequent lyricist Robert Wells wrote the song on a sweltering summer day:

I saw a spiral pad on his piano with four lines written in pencil," he recalled. "They started, `Chestnuts roasting ... Jack Frost nipping ... Yuletide carols ... Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."

In all, Torme wrote over 300 songs. He also worked as an actor and writer. He had a TV talk show for a while in the '50s, and he was nominated for a best supporting actor Emmy in 1956 for a role in "The Comedian," a "Playhouse 90" production. He has also written a number of books, including a biography of drummer Buddy Rich, a remembrance of Judy Garland's disastrous television series, an autobiography, and a loving tribute to singers who influenced him, My Singing Teachers.

Torme's roughest period was in the late 1960s, when he seriously considered changing professions and becoming an airline pilot. But slowly, he rebuilt his following through a long series of club appearances. In the early 1980s, he collaborated with George Shearing on several excellent albums. "An Evening With George Shearing and Mel Torme" and "Top Drawer" earned him the Grammy for Best Male Jazz Vocalist in 1982 and 1983. Until suffering a stroke in August 1996, Torme performed constantly, moving comfortably from Las Vegas to jazz clubs to "The Simpsons." He's also known as the subject of fanatical devotion by Harry Anderson's character of the judge on the TV series, "Night Court."

I wanted to post Torme's performance of "Ho-Ba-La-La" on his 1964 Columbia album arranged and conducted by Robert Mersey, "That's All" but I could not find it. However, to hear this song and others off this album, click here. Torme is a true hep cat. While I loved Diana Krall's Quiet Nights, Mel's version is unbelievably smooth! ah...nice.

the Troutman...

2010-03-24T18:29:00.005-04:00

I love this guy!

New Jersey-born blues-rocker Walter Trout spent decades as an ace sideman, playing guitar behind the likes of John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, and Joe Tex. In 1981, he was also tapped to replace the late Bob Hite in Canned Heat, remaining with the venerable group through the middle of the decade. While filling in one night for an ailing John Mayall, Trout (also a Bluesbreaker for some five years) was spotted by a Danish concert promoter who agreed to finance a solo tour. This video is live in Amsterdam, 2006.

Assembling his own backing band, in 1990 he released his debut LP, Life in the Jungle, trailed a year later by Prisoner of a Dream. Albums including 1992's Live (No More Fish Jokes), 1994's Tellin' Stories, and 1997's Positively Beale Street followed. Trout continued a steady release schedule, issuing Livin' Every Day in 1999, a live album the following year (recorded at the Tampa Bay Blues Fest), the 2001 studio album Go the Distance, 2003's Relentless -- which Trout and his band, the Radicals, recorded in front of a live audience -- and 2005's Deep Trout, a compilation of early and unreleased recordings. On the 2006 release Full Circle, Trout realized his dream of creating an album with some of his most admired musicians, including John Mayall, Coco Montoya, and Joe Bonamassa, among others.

The Godfather of Soul...

2010-02-28T01:06:00.004-05:00

This man could squeal, couldn't he? Good Gawd Ya'll...but what could one expect from James Brown! what a treat, what a bio. Dig those outfits, too!

Brown was born into poverty in the rural South around the time of the Depression (some records give his birth date as 1928; he claims it is 1933). As a child, he picked cotton, shined shoes, danced for pennies in the streets of Augusta, Georgia, and stole. Convicted of armed robbery at age 16, he spent three years in a juvenile detention institution. While incarcerated, Brown made the acquaintance of Bobby Byrd, who performed with his family gospel group at the institution. Byrd's family eventually helped obtain Brown's release by taking the youngster in and getting him a job.

Brown tried semi-professional sports, first as a boxer, then as a baseball pitcher, but a leg injury ruined his chances of going pro. In the meantime, Byrd and Brown had put together a gospel group, which performed under a succession of different names at the Mount Zion Baptist Church, in Toccoa, Georgia, and at auditoriums in the area. Byrd and Brown sang duets, with three or four other members singing background vocals and harmonies.

After seeing a rock & roll show featuring Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, Fats Domino, and others, Brown and Byrd left gospel music behind, transforming the group (Johnny Terry, Sylvester Keels, and Floyd Scott) into the Flames. Each Flame sang, danced, and played an instrument or two &Number 8212; Brown's were piano and drums. Byrd also played keyboards and shared vocals; he would remain Brown's sideman off and on during the next three-plus decades. Enjoy this 1969 classic JB tune, called Mother Popcorn.

His career would undergo several metamorphosis, a change in his previous band members, its all out there in reading, but James Brown was perhaps the best known and clearly the most successful black artist of the '60s and early '70s; his polyrhythmic funk vamps virtually reshaped dance music. I know I have a hard time keeping still when I listen to his music, watch him moving in video. You never saw him be still, but still he became on Christmas Day, 2006. With some 800 songs in his repertoire, he over the years has influenced a wide range of contemporary artists...and he always remained true to himself, refusing to conform to anyone's vision other than his own.

Rest in peace, JB.

2010-02-22T19:11:00.005-05:00

BB King is the last of the great bluesmen – the sole survivor of a tradition that goes back to the Mississippi Delta and the early 1920s. Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf – the men who were his contemporaries, and his rivals, have all passed on. But King continues to record and tour. He recently turned 84 years old, and while on his website looking at his performing circuit, he is still going strong, folks. This man just doesn't quit. Here is a link to a great article about this man, click here.

One Kind Favor released in August 2008 was his latest album, with glowing fan reviews. The full track listing for One Kind Favor (original artist in parenthesis):

"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (Lemon Jefferson)

"I Get So Weary" (T-Bone Walker)

"Get These Blues Off Me" (Lee Vida Walker)

"How Many More Years" (Chester Burnett)

"Waiting For Your Call" (Oscar Lollie)

"My Love Is Down" (Lonnie Johnson)

"The World Is Gone Wrong" (Walter Vinson, also known as Walter Jacobs, and Lonnie Chatmon, core members of the Mississippi Sheiks)

"Blues Before Sunrise" (John Lee Hooker)

"Midnight Blues" (John Willie "Shifty" Henry)

"Backwater Blues" (Big Bill Broonzy)

"Sitting On Top Of The World" (Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon)

"Tomorrow Night" (Lonnie Johnson)

Its a hard decision which song to post, so here's 3! Just hit the button to stop the one that's playing and listen to the one you want!

"Get These Blues Off Me"

"See That My Grave is Kept Clean" live in July 2009…

“I Get So Weary”

Around the World Mondays...

2010-02-15T21:03:00.007-05:00

lands us in France this week to listen to a little piano jazz!

...and without further ado...

The Lounge presents~

Pascal Wintz

Ever hear of him? Pascal Wintz was born in 1966 in the French Alps in the beautiful town of Annecy. He started playing piano at a young age and after its degrees of jazz piano and composition at Conservatory People of Geneva, he turns to the classic, gets price "of Gabriela Agostini between classroom and virtuosity at the Conservatoire Superieur de Paris. Since 1995, Pascal Wintz travels with his own piano Steinway concert, he carries everywhere and without assistance thanks to a fabulous machine motor, the "Klavier-Roller."

"Today I am the synthesis of both styles in my own arrangements. I am especially in tune with Gershwin's music, both jazz and classical and with jazz of the 30s melodic and sparkling. "

To read more about him, click here.

2010-01-24T13:02:00.011-05:00

Turn down the lights, turn down the bed
Turn down these voices inside my head
Lay down with me, tell me no lies
Just hold me close, don't patronize
Don't patronize me

'Cause I can't make you love me If you don't
You can't make your heart feel something it won't
Here in the dark in these final hours
I will lay down my heart, and I'll feel the power
But you won't, no you won't
And I can't make you love me
If you don't

I'll close my eyes and then I won't see
The love you do not feel, when you're holding me
Morning will come, and I'll do what's right
Just give me till then, to give up this fight
And I will give up this fight

And I can't make you love me if you don't
You can't make your heart feel something it won't
And here in the dark in these final hours
I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power
But you won't, no, you won't
And I can't make you love me
If you don't

Ain't no use in you trying
It's no good for me baby without love
All my tears, all these years, everything I believed in
Baby

Someone's gonna love me

Eric Clapton

2010-01-23T14:23:00.007-05:00

Lonely Stranger~

I must be invisible;
No one knows me.
I have crawled down dead-end streets
On my hands and knees.

I was born with a ragin' thirst,
A hunger to be free,
But I've learned through the years.
Don't encourage me.

'cause I'm a lonely stranger here,
Well beyond my day.
And I don't know what's goin' on,
So I'll be on my way.

When I walk, stay behind;
Don't get close to me,
'cause it's sure to end in tears,
So just let me be.

Some will say that I'm no good;
Maybe I agree.
Take a look then walk away.
That's all right with me.

the wonderful Jane Monheit...

2010-01-01T23:13:00.000-05:00

nothing like a little jazzy New Year!

Around The World Mondays...with Sigur Rós

2009-12-28T21:32:00.005-05:00

(and this is the last Monday in 2009!)

Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with melodic, classical, and minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound and lead singer Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto. Their name is Icelandic wordplay: while the individual words Sigur and Rós mean, respectively, Victory and Rose, "Victory Rose" wouldn't be grammatically correct; the name is actually borrowed from Jónsi's younger sister Sigurrós, who was born the same day as the band was formed, and then split into two words.

Sigur rós consists of jón þor (jónsi) birgisson (vocals, guitars), kjartan (kjarri) sveinsson (keyboards), orri páll dýrason (drums) and georg (goggi) holm (bass). the band were formed by jónsi, georg and original drummer ágúst in 1994. they were later joined by kjartan and when ægúst left the band after the recording of ágætis byrjun in order to pursue a career in graphic design, he was replaced by orri. Sigur rós hail from iceland, and rightly claim to bring you the beautiful landscape of their homeland with their music, and the video below is set to song Hoppipolla showing scenes of this beautiful Planet Earth we live on!

Their fourth album, Takk... ([ˈtʰaʰk]; "Thanks...") employs the distinctive sound of their second album in a more rock oriented structure with greater use of the guitar, and was released in September 2005. "Hoppípolla" ([ˈhɔʰpiˌpʰɔtl̥a] "Hop in puddles"), the second official single from Takk..., was released in November alongside a new studio remake of "Hafsól" ([ˈhafsoʊ̯l] "Ocean Sun"), a song that was previously released on the band's 1997 debut, Von. "Hoppípolla" was used in the trailers for the BBC's natural history series Planet Earth in 2006, as well as the closing credits for the 2006 FA Cup final and ITV's coverage of the 2006 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, advertisements for the BBC's coverage of England games during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, on television advertisements for RTÉ's Gaelic games coverage in Ireland and on an advertisement for Oxfam. It was also used in the final scene of the movie Penelope, for the trailer of the film Children of Men and for the trailer of the film Slumdog Millionaire. Following this, demand for the single grew. It was made more widely available by EMI in consequence. This song is also used in the trailer for the Disney movie Earth.

for their official website, click here.

a little Stevie...

2009-12-27T13:58:00.006-05:00

Stevie Ray Vaughan |

Page & Plant...

2009-12-19T23:37:00.001-05:00

Time for an intermission from the ho-ho-ho stuff!

Enjoy!

A Star...Judy Garland

2009-12-16T23:40:00.004-05:00

Shine the Love this Christmas!

I am trying to figure out the name of this movie, can anybody enlighten me? I always loved Judy Garland. I guess it started with her role of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Its sad she never really found that happiness somewhere over the rainbow. On June 23, 1969, 47 year old Judy was found dead in her London home by her husband, Mickey Deans, to whom she had only been married for three months. She had gone to London the year before to play a cabaret in another of the "comeback" performances that dotted her last 15 years.

Growing up, her father died when she was 12 years old; the pressures of adolescent stardom sent her to a psychiatrist at the age of 18; she was married five times; she was frequently ill; her singing voice faltered, and she suffered from the effects of drugs she once said were prescribed either to invigorate or tranquilize her. I'm not sure what the cause of death was; what a shame. Surviving were three children, Liza Minnelli, who as we all know is a wonderful singer and actress, and Lorna and Joseph Luft.

Christmas with The Chipmunks!

2009-12-14T16:27:00.005-05:00

Alvin and the Chipmunks is an animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual; and Theodore, the chubby, impressionable sweetheart. The trio is managed by their human father and confidant, David Seville. In reality, David Seville was Bagdasarian's stage name, and the Chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their original record label, Liberty Records: Alvin Bennett (the president), Simon Waronker (the founder and owner), and Theodore Keep (the chief engineer). This is the original version for TV.

"Christmas, Christmas time is near

Time for toys and time for cheer

We've been good, but we can't last

Hurry Christmas, hurry fast

Want a plane that loops the loop

Me, I want a hula hoop

We can hardly stand the wait

Please Christmas, don't be late."

The Chipmunks first officially appeared on the scene in a novelty record released in late fall 1958 by Bagdasarian (creator of the Chipmunks). The song, originally listed on the record label (Liberty F-55168) as "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)," featured the singing skills of the chipmunk trio. One phrase in the chorus has Alvin wishing for a hula hoop, which was that year's hot new toy. The novelty record was highly successful, selling more than 4 million copies in seven weeks, and it launched the careers of its chipmunk stars. It spent four weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from December 22, 1958 to January 12, 1959. It also earned three Grammy Awards and a nomination for Record of the Year.

How many of you had a Hoola-Hoop?! I did but mine didn't come that early, it was in the mid 1960s!

The White Stripes

2009-12-13T14:43:00.017-05:00

Are you a fan?

Jack White, born July 9, 1975, is an American musician, record producer, and occasional actor best known as the guitarist and lead vocalist of the alternative rock musical duo The White Stripes. He is also a member of rock band The Raconteurs. During the 1990s, White was a part-time musician in various underground bands in Detroit, while working by day as an upholsterer.

“Let’s Shake Hands” Live performance footage from the The White Stripes’ 10th Anniversary show that is featured in the DVD films The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights and Under Nova Scotian Lights. DVDs available as part of a limited edition box set that is available for preorder here.

White and his ex-wife, drummer Meg White, formed The White Stripes. The band went on to have a string of critically-acclaimed albums, with their third, White Blood Cells, catapulting them to international stardom. Jack was ranked #17 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

White's popular and critical success with The White Stripes enabled him to collaborate as a solo artist with other renowned musicians, such as Loretta Lynn, whose 2004 album Van Lear Rose he produced and performed on, Beck, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan.

In 2005, White became a founding member of the rock band The Raconteurs. In 2009, he became a founding member of his third group, The Dead Weather.

more about Jack.

Deano, Frank, and Bing...

2009-12-10T22:49:00.002-05:00

It isn't Christmas till you listen to Dean, Bing, and Frank! I love this silly song between Deano and Frank! It's a Marshmallow World! How odd to see somebody smoking on television. Half the time Deano was so trashed he couldn't remember the words! They had a good time, and certainly were entertaining. I miss good entertainment like that.

Funny quote I heard Deano say in a video tonight..."You're not drunk if you can lay on the floor without holding on." He said he felt sorry for the nondrinkers cause when they get up that's the best they'd feel all day.

and then there's the unforgettable voice of Bing.

Around the World Mondays...Koop, Koop Who?

2009-12-07T17:06:00.006-05:00

Welcome to "Koop Islands." A place where music and life swing to a slightly different drum (and I might add all imaginary!)

Acc. to an article written by Derek Beres, the ascension of this Swedish duo has been auspicious (okay that is if you like it). They slithered into a comfortable niche when Palm Pictures released Waltz For Koop in the summer of 2002, somehow carving a space in an inundated world of jazzy electronica. The realization that computers could help make great jazz was a revelation already two decades old by the time, yet there was something, well, quaint about this debut. Cut and pasted (is this really music?) by Magnus Zingmark and Oscar Simonsson, they had captured a slice of Americana nostalgia in those nine songs, and amassed a credible underground following.

Five years later and Koop Islands travels in reverse. They’ve decided to tinker with big bands, slicing grand horn sections with the occasional conga and a nicely melancholic touch of accordion. The album is entirely sample-based, adding to the splendid mystery of how much time they spent constructing an album of such depth (and trickery?).

The Official Koop video (off Koop Island Blues) featuring Koop themselves, Mia Jacob and Luc Catania, shot in Paris, Fall 2007, directed by J.F. Julian.

Where 'Waltz For Koop' was steeped in a modern – and modernist - take on 60s jazz and Swedish songstresses from the time (Monica Zetterlund's name was mentioned more times than the group thought was fair), Koop Islands has – despite its name - very little to do with romanticising the Stockholm archipelago. Rather, it goes much, much further southwest, all the way down the Caribbean for inspiration. That’s where you’ll find Koop Islands on their imaginary world map. Also, Magnus and Oscar realized that sometimes the only way forwards is to go as far back in history as possible.

This journey in time and music is what forms the foundation Koop Islands was built on. This video "Come To Me" is sung by Yukimi Nagano (who in my opinion doesn't even lip sync that good, does she really sing? LOL!); this is taken from the 2007 album "Koop Islands". Come To Me is the point where the Swedish summer solstice meets a Caribbean Christmas. It’s where the sweetest melody ever swings easy on a faraway beach where Santa Clause handles the steel pans, or a bad case of lip syncing?! ugh

When listening to Koops music it's somehow easy to believe that it's played by a small orchestra, but in fact the music is based on samples. Samples? Yes, samples...thousands of small clips from records puzzled together into new songs ... the reason why it takes so long to make a Koop album? All the drums, strings, horn sections and choires are actually sampled? and of course it wasn't made on an island, it was made in a studio in Stockholm, go figure. Who does this remind you of? Boy George?!

My question is, whatever happened to real skilled musicians just making music, and not something pieced together in a studio to fabricate a real song? uh...yeah.

Anyway, that's your trip this Monday. All the way to Stockholm, Sweden.

Tis The Season

2009-12-06T00:21:00.034-05:00

Is there a Holiday Inn with a fireplace? For me, one of the simple joys of the season is getting to watch those old Christmas movies on TV; I don't know why, but I seem to watch them pretty much year after year. How many of you still watch the old movies too? It used to be when my kids were small every year it was Rudolph and all the other classics with Burl Ives, like Frosty the Snowman, and of course lets not forget the Wizard of Oz (not that it was a Christmas movie per se) but you had to watch it every year...and some of us still do despite the kids having left the nest! I have two grandchildren now who love the old classics, too!

This video was edited using clips from Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in Holiday Inn set to the Beef Wellington remix of Happy Holidays. What a fun video!

There are a number of Christmas carols I like, mostly done to the piano and/or choir, but I would have to say my two top favorites are "O Holy Night/What Child Is This" (Medley) and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear." If you click the titles you can hear it. I need to dust my piano off and sit down and play it myself; I used to play it beautifully, probably not so much anymore. I need practice, and my piano needs tuned up as well.

Do you have a favorite holiday song that rings off the season for you? or brings a wonderful memory? Go ahead, tell me.

Friday Night Dance Mix...

2009-12-04T22:26:00.011-05:00

If you're happy and you know it, shake your tailfeathers!

It's been a long week for me, and I am happy its over!

Tomorrow I am going to stock up so I can mix up some of Rudolph's Tipsy Spritzer...ah! and if you'd like to try it the recipe is on the sidebar! and speaking of happy and celebrating the end to a workweek, on this dance mix is a tune called "Happy!"

Enjoy!

songs on this pod...

Friday Night Dance Mix (16 tracks)

1. Orienta-Rhythm Feat. Joi Cardwell - Happy

Ringtone | Buy Song

2. 9/25 M.O.V.E.1周年 Orienta-Rhythm & Interselector 出演 @ ACIDROOM

Ringtone | Buy Song

3. Stephanie Cooke-Everything -

Ringtone | Buy Song

4. Street Fighting Man By The Rolling Stones

Ringtone | Buy Song

5. Deep House Music: Mr. V - Below Your Radar

Ringtone | Buy Song

6. Birds Of Prey By Von Iva

Ringtone | Buy Song

7. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - 15 To 20

Ringtone | Buy Song

8. Groove Junkies & Andy Caldwell - I Believe In Dreams

Ringtone | Buy Song

9. Joe & Will Ask Feat SaintSa - Fabric Of Win

Ringtone | Buy Song

10. Jay-J Ft Charlene Moore - Love Alive

Ringtone | Buy Song

11. YouTube - Classic House - Jack N Chill...The Jack That House Built.flv

Ringtone | Buy Song

12. Jeremy Word Featuring Deanna - Hear You Hum - Audacious Records

Ringtone | Buy Song

13. Medicine By Starfucker

Ringtone | Buy Song

14. Wolfgang Gartner - Wolfgang's 5th Symphony

Ringtone | Buy Song

15. Odyses Of Noises - Firedance 2005

Ringtone | Buy Song

16. Be Alright

famous words of Hunter S. Thompson..

2009-12-01T21:20:00.004-05:00

Ain't that the truth? Hunter was a very interesting character, but what a sad ending for a man who bought a ticket and had quite the adventure. Hunter died at his self-described "fortified compound" known as "Owl Farm" in Woody Creek, Colorado, at 5:42 p.m. on February 20, 2005, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He always did everything to excess, writing, drinking and eating. He inspired many developing his own crazy outspoken style, but what would one expect from a native Kentuckian? While living in Louisville after high school, he was accepted into a high-class literary school where he met Porter Bibb, who became the first publisher of Rolling Stones Magazine. However he got into legal problems, being in a car with a few others, one of which robbed a store, and of course he was ejected out of the snobhob literary school. In fact, after serving a 60-day stent in jail for accessory to robbery, he joined the Air Force.

Thompson is often credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of writing that blurs distinctions between fiction and nonfiction. His work and style are considered to be a major part of the New Journalism literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which attempted to break free from the purely objective style of mainstream reportage of the time. Thompson almost always wrote in the first person, while extensively using his own experiences and emotions to color "the story" he was trying to follow. His writing aimed to be humorous, colorful and bizarre, and he often exaggerated events to be more entertaining.

Thompson spent two years in the Air Force as a young man, working as a sports reporter for the base newspaper. During the course of his career he filed memorable coverage of the Kentucky Derby, the Super Bowl and other sporting events; a consistent outlet for Thompson's writing in recent years was his "Hey Rube" column for the ESPN Web site. The world of sports also came into play for his biggest interview, when he rode in a limousine with his future nemesis, Richard Nixon, during the 1968 presidential campaign on the grounds that they would discuss only football.

Thompson gave the phrase "fear and loathing" its cultural relevancy, writing the darkly comic altered-states novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the maniacal political reportage of Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72. His first book, Hell's Angels, published in 1966, was an inside look at the notorious biker gang. For his efforts, Thompson got himself roughed up by some of the gang's members. From then on, however, it was Thompson who did the roughing up, with words that he wielded like weapons. His political coverage was famously irreverent, often to the brink of viciousness. In a recent piece for Rolling Stone on the 2004 presidential campaign, he called George Bush a "treacherous little freak." To Thompson -- who once threatened to run for the presidency himself and narrowly lost an election in 1970 for sheriff of the Aspen area, running on the Freak Power Party ticket -- politics was a blood sport, and American politicians, so prone to corruption, were only too deserving of contempt. Observing President Bush's poor performance in a debate with "my man" John Kerry, he wrote for the magazine, "I almost felt sorry for him, until I heard someone call him 'Mister President,' and then I felt ashamed."

Reclusive and often unintelligible in conversation, Thompson had a persona that was ripe for caricature. Both Bill Murray and Johnny Depp portrayed him in feature films (Murray in Where the Buffalo Roam, Depp in the film adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). He was also Garry Trudeau's inspiration for Uncle Duke, the loose cannon of the Doonesbury comic strip. Thompson's incorrigible behavior, his mumbling incoherence, his fishing hats, aviator frames and cigarette holders all made for a larger-than-life presence. He was a hardboiled writer of the old Hemingway school, terse and piercing, enamored of guns. Yet he will be forever associated with the counterculture of the hippie era for his ruthless dogging of the Nixon administration and his gleeful experimentation with psychedelic drugs, two subjects which he often wrote about in tandem.

Besides Hell's Angels and the Fear and Loathing books, highlights of Thompson's career as an author include The Great Shark Hunt (1979), the first of several anthologies of his newspaper and magazine writing; The Curse of Lono (1983), a sort of Hawaiian sequel to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas lavishly illustrated by Ralph Steadman, whose furious images would become inextricably linked with Thompson's prose; and The Rum Diary (1999), the writer's "lost" novel, begun in 1959 when he was living in Puerto Rico after being fired by Time magazine, unpublished until 1999.

His wild, licentious writing style lost him innumerable assignments, but Thompson invented a whole new genre when a fellow journalist called his feature on the skier Jean-Claude Killy "gonzo." The piece was written for Playboy, which turned it down; it was published by a fellow maverick, San Franciscan Warren Hinckle. Thompson later said that his realization that he could "get away with" such an outrageous writing style convinced him to stop trying to write "like the New York Times. It was like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool full of mermaids."

Thompson's first pitch for Rolling Stone was similarly the stuff of legend. A staffer later recalled the writer drinking a six-pack, playing with his wig and ranting non-stop for an hour with publisher Jann Wenner, who was sufficiently overwhelmed to hire him. In 2002 Thompson collaborated with his friend, the late Warren Zevon, on a song lyric for Zevon's album My Ride's Here. The song was titled "You're a Whole Different Person When You're Scared." If he feared anything, Thompson knew how to hide it well. "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone," he once said, "but they've always worked for me."

Thompson's son (Juan), daughter-in-law (Jennifer Winkel Thompson) and grandson (Will Thompson) were visiting for the weekend at the time of his suicide. Will and Jennifer were in the adjacent room when they heard the gunshot. Mistaking the shot for the sound of a book falling, they continued with their activities for a few minutes before checking on him. The police report concerning his death stated that in a typewriter in front of Thompson, they found "a piece of paper carrying the date 'Feb 22 '05' and the single word 'counselor'."

They reported to the press that they do not believe his suicide was out of desperation, but was a well-thought out act resulting from Thompson's many painful and chronic medical conditions. Thompson's wife, Anita, who was at a gym at the time of her husband's death, was on the phone with him when he ended his life.

What family and police describe as a suicide note was delivered to his wife four days before his death and later published by Rolling Stone. Titled "Football Season Is Over," it read: "No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won't hurt."

On August 20, 2005, in a private ceremony, Thompson's ashes were fired from a cannon atop a 153-foot (47 m) tower of his own design (in the shape of a double-thumbed fist clutching a peyote button) to the tune of Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" and Bob Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man. Red, white, blue, and green fireworks were launched along with his ashes. As the city of Aspen would not allow the cannon to remain for more than a month, the cannon has been dismantled and put into storage until a suitable permanent location can be found. According to his widow Anita, Thompson's funeral was financed by actor Johnny Depp, a close friend of Thompson. Depp told the Associated Press, "All I'm doing is trying to make sure his last wish comes true. I just want to send my pal out the way he wants to go out."

Other famous attendees at the funeral included U.S. Senator John Kerry and former U.S. Senator George McGovern; 60 Minutes correspondents Ed Bradley and Charlie Rose; actors Jack Nicholson, Bill Murray, Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, and Josh Hartnett; singers Lyle Lovett, John Oates and numerous other friends. An estimated 280 people attended the funeral. He was one helluva guy; definitely bought the ticket, and took the ride!

Russian Victor Tsoi and the band Kino

2009-11-30T17:50:00.007-05:00

For Around the World Mondays I am spotlighting Viktor Robertovich Tsoi, who was a famous Russian rock artist and leader of the rock group Kino. Tsoi was born to a Korean father and Russian mother on June 21, 1962 in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). He died in a car accident on August 15, 1990 at the age of 28. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of Russian rock and has a huge following in the countries of the former Soviet Union even today.

Even though Tsoi was a huge star, he still lived a relatively ordinary life. He kept his old job in the boiler room of an apartment building, a fact that surprised many people. Tsoi said that he enjoyed the work and he also needed the money to support the band, as they still received no government support and their albums were copied and passed around the nation via samizdat free of charge. This made Tsoi even more popular among the people because it showed that he was down to earth and they could relate to them. In 1982, Tsoi met Marianna, who he married in 1985. She was a source of support and family for Tsoi, giving birth to their son Alexander (Sasha) on August 26, 1985.

Few bands in the history of Russian music have been more popular or have had more impact on their genre than the rock band Kino. Any discussion of Kino must inevitably begin and end with the creator, writer and lead singer of the band, a man who was once called "the last hero" of Russian rock and "a legend". The band was born when he was, lived when he did, and died with him in a tragic accident. The life of Victor Tsoi is the life of Kino.

This song entitled V nashih glazah means "In Our Eyes"

Wait, do not go!
We waited for the summer - come winter.
We went into the house,
But in the houses it was snowing.
We waited for tomorrow
Every day, waiting for tomorrow.
We hide the eyes behind curtains century.

In our eyes, shouting "Forward!"
In our eyes, shouting "Stop!"
In our eyes the birth of the day
And the death of fire.
In our eyes, starry night,
In our eyes the lost paradise,
In our eyes closed door.
What do you want? Choose!

We wanted to drink, there was no water.
We wanted to light, no stars.
We went out in the rain
I drank water from puddles.
We wanted songs that had no words.
We wanted to sleep, no dreams.
We wore mourning, the orchestra played the carcasses ...

In our eyes, shouting "Forward!"
In our eyes, shouting "Stop!"
In our eyes the birth of the day
And the death of fire.
In our eyes, starry night,
In our eyes the lost paradise,
In our eyes closed door.
What do you want? Choose!

In 1982, Kino released their first album 45. This album first showed Tsoi's willingness to approach political topics in his music, something not too many other artists were willing to do. In his song "Suburban Electric Train" (Russian: Электричка/Elektrichka) he discussed a man stuck in a train that was taking him where he didn't wish to go; this was clearly a metaphor for life in the Soviet Union, and the band was quickly banned from performing this song live. Regardless, the political message of the song made it popular among the youth of the anti-establishment movement that now began to look to Viktor Tsoi and Kino as their idols. Here is a video from that album, a song set in a cold apathetic rural Russia. Cold and grey Elektrichka.

Kino displayed more of their political views at the 2nd Leningrad Rock Club Concert. The band won the competition with Tsoi's anti-war song "I Declare My Home... [a nuclear-free zone]" (Russian: Я объявляю свой дом ... [безъядерной зоной], Ya ob'yavlyayu svoy dom ... [bez'yadernoy zonoy]). The song's popularity was fueled by the ongoing Afghan War which was claiming the lives of thousands of young Soviet citizens.

Kino was still not getting much mainstream attention due to the lack of government support, but that changed with the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. His social and economic reforms, especially Glasnost and Perestroika, began exposing the social and economic problems of the Soviet Union and allowed open discussion of them in the media. Glasnost loosened the restrictions on the media and allowed rock bands to be written about and shown on television. In 1986 Tsoi used the open atmosphere and public sentiment to release a song titled "[I Want] Changes!" (Russian: Перемен!, Peremen!). The song called on the young generation to demand changes within the current system and spread Kino's name all over the nation. (picture is Viktor 1986)

1987 was a breakthrough year for Kino. The release of their 7th album, Blood Type triggered what was then called "Kinomania". The open political climate under Glasnost allowed Tsoi to make Blood Type his most political album yet it also allowed him to record a sound of music that no one before him was able to play. Most of the tracks on the album were directed at the youth of the Soviet Union, telling them to take control and make changes within the nation, some of the songs addressed the social problems crippling the nation. The sound and lyrics of the album made Tsoi a hero among Soviet youth and Kino the most popular rock band ever. In the diverse Soviet republics fans translated his originally Russian lyrics into their native languages as well.

Over the next few years Tsoi appeared in several successful movies and also traveled to the USA to promote his films at film festivals. Several more albums were released, their themes were once again mostly political, further fueling the band's popularity. Kino's finest hour came in 1990 with a concert at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. 62,000 fans filled the stands to celebrate the triumph of the USSR's most successful rock group. Here is a live performance there.

His fame however would be cut short. While in Latvia on August 14, 1990 Tsoi finished recording the vocals for Kino's next album. He was supposed to travel back to Leningrad so that his band mates could record its musical score. Early in the morning of August 15th, 1990 Viktor Tsoi was driving on the road Sloka - Talsi from a fishing trip when his car collided with a bus outside Tukums at high speed. Tsoi died instantly. His car was completely demolished to the point that one of its tires was never found. The investigation revealed that Tsoi had fallen sleep while driving, possibly due to fatigue. When he died, it was the end of the band Kino as well, which had been together since 1981 to 1990. The tape which contained the only recording of Tsoi's vocals for the next album was recovered and the surviving members of Kino recorded the music to the album, which was christened Black Album as a sign of mourning for the fallen singer. The album became the band's most popular creation and solidified Kino's place at the top of Russian rock's history and Viktor Tsoi's as its greatest hero and legend.

Trippin' To the '60s...

2009-11-28T19:13:00.008-05:00

Let's trip back to the 60s shall we? I wasn’t old enough to enjoy the 1960s per se, there are things I loved about the 60s as far as tech, culture, music, fashion.

The 60's were a decade of social revolution once again dominated by a war (Vietnam), not a world war, but the effects were still felt throughout the world. It was also the start of showing how the people can effect politics through the power of "peaceful" demonstrations, students were the driving force because with education comes empowerment and with empowerment comes a voice, and in the 60's students learned how to use that voice. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed the lives of the African Americans minority by ensuring equal rights for all. Unfortunately for our nation, both Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy were assassinated during the 60's.

I certainly can’t cover the scope of the 60s, only a few things I found interesting …

If you know nothing about the 1960s, or if you are revisiting memories of the 60s, here are a few “Did You Know Facts”

Did You Know That ? ….The Soviet Union and the United States were involved in the space race in the early 1960s? This led to an increase in spending on science and technology during this period. The Soviets and Americans were then involved in a race to put a man on the Moon before the decade was over. America won the race when it placed the first men on the Moon: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, in July 1969.

This was the decade of the Smiley Face found on anything and everything around the world including T Shirts, it's popularity was at it's peak in the mid to late 1960's.

This was the start of the skateboarding era which was started by some surfing enthusiasts in California who were frustrated by the weather and put roller skates on the front and back end of wooden planks! Ingenuis!

In 1960 a new house cost $12,700.00 and by 1969 was $15,500.00

In 1960 the average income per year was $5,315.00 and by 1969 was $8,540.00

In 1960 a gallon of gas was 25 cents and by 1969 was 35 cents

1960 - The female birth control contraceptive, “The Pill”, was released.

1963 – Touch-Tone telephones introduced.

1965 - Sony markets the CV-2000, the first home video tape recorder.

1967 – First heart transplantation operation.

Oranges were 89 cents for 2 dozen and oven ready turkeys 39 cents per pound!

1969 – Arpanet, the research-oriented prototype of the Internet, was introduced.

Also in 1960, the average cost of new car was $2,600.00 and by 1969 was $3,270.00. Even though prices seemed cheap the average household did not have more than one car.

If you’re interested in learning what 60s cars cost and watching a few videos, click here. A Buick Riviera 1963 was advertised as “a boys toy in the 60's modern world … priced from $4300. Doesn’t that blow your mind? The ads were interesting. click here.

As far as fashion … the 1960s magnified all the fashion trends that were considered unorthodox or untraditional in the material world. Early 60's for women wore mini skirts and leather boots and men wore paisley shirts and velvet trousers. Later 60's from 1966 started the introduction of psychedelic clothes with bright colors for both men and women and the age of the hippie is born. Men started to wear hair longer and women identified with the hippie look by wearing skirts and dresses longer often known as Maxies and anything and everything had color including the body. If you study all of the different sub-groups (a.k.a. subcultures) of the 1960s you will find this out for yourself. Who could forget skinny Twiggy, the fashion icon of the 60s?

Yes, the 1960s were a cool time for hairdos & clothes! and so were the 70s!

As far as music, one could go on for days about the music culture of the 1960s couldn’t they? This is more or less a rundown….

Music of the 1960s was characteristic of the revolution that was going on during the decade. It was a time of rebellion and counter-culture in which the younger people were questioning everything, including authority, corporations, the government, and other aspects of everyday life. It was essentially a revolution of the status quo. This gave rise to the Civil Rights Movement of the decade along with other movements that affected the rights of society as a whole.

The British Invasion was a movement during the mid-1960s in which several bands in the UK were creating a buzz in the United States. The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Animals, and The Beatles were some of the prominent bands that defined this movement. Did you know that Elvis Presley even met with then-President Nixon and asked him to ban The Beatles from entering the United States because they had lifestyles that encouraged drug use and they were anti-war? Speaking of the Beatles, I was unable to find any of their music that was playable at finetune to put on this music widget.

Bob Dylan was another influential artist during the 1960s. His success still continues and he has been revered as a poet, musician, songwriter, activist, and a folk artist. He unofficially became the spokesperson for the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and many young people looked to him for their ideas concerning the social issues.

The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, often referred to simply as Woodstock, took place during the weekend of August 15-18, 1969. It was the symbolic culmination of a decade of social reform and questioning authority. On a dairy farm in Bethel, New York, over a half million people showed up to enjoy the most popular musical performers of the era, including Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, and Jimi Hendrix, among many many others. This also came to be known as the “Summer of Peace and Love” as many of the attendees were “hippies,” or people that promoted the idea of sexual liberation and love for your fellow man. Even with that many people in one area, only three people died that weekend and they were all results of accidents.

The 60s were certainly an influential time in our American culture! Hope you’ve enjoyed this time warp through the 60s! See ya!

After Thanksgiving Kind-A-GrooveThang...

2009-11-26T18:17:00.009-05:00

GALLARA

are the only real

surf-

instro-

garage-

shake-

lounge-

boogaloo-

bossa band from Italy madly inspired from old 70's films and funk and lounge soundtracks...

Need more? I did. Check this out.

Cheers!

2009-11-24T18:03:00.010-05:00

with a little Wild Turkey on ice! (a little dab will do ya!)

Happy Thanksgiving from The Lounge, everybody!

I am a Keb Mo fan, and while the above video is not necessarily my favorite video of his, there are plenty of videos at the end to click on if you'd like a better glimpse into the 'Mo Man' including those from The Legends of Jazz episode "Roots: The Blues." Check out this video of Mo with Robert Cray. The video below is Mo playing guitar and Taylor Hicks singing a rendition of Sweet Home, Chicago. They were having a good time with it. Enjoy!

Quadrophenia

2009-11-22T00:10:00.005-05:00

Quadrophenia is the sixth studio album by the English rock band The Who. Released on 19 October 1973, it is a double album, and the group's second rock opera (first was Tommy). Pete Townshend wrote every song in this album. Its story involves social, musical, and psychological happenings from an English teenage perspective, set in London and Brighton in 1964 and 1965.

The album open ups with the sound of the sea washing up on the beaches and snatches of refrains from the main themes of what is to come. The band comes crashing in with the rocker 'The Real me' and from then on you are taken on the roller coaster ride of a young impressionable wannabe Mod with plenty of highs as well as deeply disturbing lows. One of the highs is of Jimmy actually going to see his favorite band 'The Who' in concert. As Jimmy tries to emulate his heroes, his life spirals more and more out of control. Logically, later this rock opera was turned into a 1979 movie with Phil Daniels playing Jimmy and Sting the Bellboy, which was excellent. The video below is the opening scene in the 1979 British film.

The name is a variation on the incorrect popular usage of the medical diagnostic term schizophrenia as dissociative identity disorder to reflect the four distinct personalities of Jimmy, the opera's protagonist—each said to represent the personality of one member of The Who. However, Townshend noted in 2009 that, rather than Jimmy’s personalities representing a Who member, he chose the personalities of each member to illustrate each of Jimmy’s four personalities, or “personality extremes” or mood swings.

The liner notes illustrate this concept as follows (names added):

* A tough guy, a helpless dancer. ("Helpless Dancer" - Roger Daltrey)
* A romantic, is it me for a moment? ("Is It Me?" - John Entwistle)
* A bloody lunatic, I'll even carry your bags. ("Bell Boy" - Keith Moon)
* A beggar, a hypocrite, love reign o'er me. ("Love Reign O'er Me" - Pete Townshend)

To understand Quadrophenia, it helps to know something about the Mods. A British youth cult in the early-to-mid-sixties, the Mods lived for snappy clothes, Italian motor scooters, amphetamines, and American R&B. Their archrivals were the Rockers -- leather-clad, Harley-driving street toughs -- and the two gangs clashed frequently at seaside resorts on England's south coast. The Who was a Mod band in its formative years, and when, in the early seventies, the group's main songwriter Pete Townshend was searching for a new "rock opera" concept to follow the wildly successful Tommy and the aborted Lifehouse (portions of which were recycled for Who's Next), he found himself drawn to telling a story of that era. In the process, he created a work of art with universal appeal.

Quadrophenia's central character, Jimmy, is a Mod whose life has crumbled around him. He returns to Brighton, scene of one of the great Mod/Rocker riots, only to find that the "ace face" who led the charge is a lowly bellboy at a local hotel. The plot line is even more fragmented than Tommy's and the notion that Jimmy is "quadrophenic," split into four different selves, is poorly developed. But Townshend's gut-wrenching songs -- "The Real Me," "Cut My Hair," "Sea and Sand," "Love, Reign O'er Me" -- make up for these deficiencies. Anyone who's longed to be part of a group, anyone, in short, who's ever been a teenager -- can identify with Quadrophenia's sentiments.

The Who delivers those sentiments with vigor aplenty. Roger Daltrey's snarling vocals, Townshend's fluid guitar and keyboard work, John Entwistle's virtuosic bass and horn playing, and Keith Moon's over-the-top drumming bespeak a band at the height of its powers. Tracks like "5:15" and "Drowned" rock with all the force of a turbo-charged steamroller, while the album's two instrumentals, "Quadrophenia" and "The Rock," blend the four themes representing Jimmy's four personalities with a near-symphonic majesty. Yes, it helps to know something about the Mods to appreciate Quadrophenia, but it's not necessary; when music hits this hard, the difference between a Vespa and a Lambretto fades into insignificance.

At the time of its original release, the 1979 British film based on Who's Quadrophenia was received mostly negatively by critics and was panned for its large amounts of sex, violence, profanity and drug use, which were then still fairly uncommon in film. Today it is considered a cult classic and is recognized as a realistic reflection of youth culture in the 1960s. The film ends with the scooter smashing on the rocks below. When the final shots of falling scooter are played in slow motion, a figure, presumably Jimmy, is visible standing at the top of the cliff. Since the film also opens with a shot of Jimmy walking back from the cliff edge, it can be assumed that he jumped clear at the last second.

Did you ever see this movie?

*info gathered from various sources to include Rolling Stones Mag, Wikipedia, etc*

Friday Evening With Seals & Croft

2009-11-20T20:12:00.015-05:00

One of the 1970s' most successful soft-rock acts, was the duo of Jim Seals and Dash Crofts. The pair were both from small Texas towns and met as teenagers, playing in local bands. They first worked together in 1958 when drummer Crofts joined a band called Dean Beard and the Crew Cuts, with whom Seals was playing guitar. That year, Beard was invited to join the Champs (of "Tequila" fame), and Seals and Crofts tagged along, remaining with the group until 1965. The two then bounced from the Mushrooms to the Dawnbreakers before deciding to strike out on their own as a duo in 1969. Seals played guitar, saxophone, and fiddle, while Crofts handled drums, mandolin, keyboards, and guitar.

From 1972 to 1976, the duo had a string of five gold albums for Warner Bros., with an additional greatest-hits compilation certified double platinum. Their hit singles from this period include "Summer Breeze," "Diamond Girl," "We May Never Pass This Way (Again)," and "Get Closer"; all except the third mentioned reached number six on the "Billboard" charts.

Seals and Crofts were devout followers of their chosen faith and insisted that they be given time after each concert to speak to interested fans about Baha'i. Dash Crofts' wife's sister wrote a poem after viewing a documentary on abortion, which Jim Seals put to music. The result was an anti-abortion song called "Unborn Child", written from the view point of the fetus. Against the advice of Warner Brothers Records, the duo used the title for their 1974 album, which flopped. The song brought out controversy as many pro-choice and anti-abortion groups demonstrated at their concerts. Not familiar with Baha'i faith? click here.

By 1976, Seals & Crofts' appeal began to decline; their albums failed to sell as well, and they scored their last Top 40 hit in 1978 with "You're the Love." Warner dropped them shortly after their 1980 LP "The Longest Road", but by this time, both Seals and Crofts were more interested in devoting themselves fully to the Baha'i religion they had converted to back in 1969. The two have reunited occasionally at Baha'i gatherings, and for a short 1991-1992 tour; Crofts has lived in several different countries, while Seals moved to a Costa Rican coffee farm in 1980. During the '80s, Seals' brother Dan became a prominent country singer after leaving the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley.

So, where have they been the last twenty years?

Seals and Crofts have rarely been heard from since their last album in 1980. Jimmy has lived for years in Costa Rica, where he operates a coffee farm. "Costa Rica is a beautiful do-it-yourself sort of place," said Jim in a 1991 interview. "There are miles and miles of virgin beaches, and there's a very natural feel to everything. We were out there picking coffee beans and working the farm, and it was a great way of getting to know the people, who are very friendly. Plus, I set up a little writing and recording studio for myself because I wanted to make some transitions in my songwriting." Jim also has residences in Puerto Rico, Miami and the Nashville area.

Dash lived in Mexico and Australia before settling in the Nashville area. Jim is an avid golfer, Dash rides motorcycles and raises Arabian horses, and both are fly fishermen. Although they have gone different ways, neither have strayed far from their music. But tracking down all their individual projects is not easy. In 1991-2, they did a reunion tour of North America and recorded an album that has never been released. At other times, they have worked together for various Bahá'í events.

I always loved this song of theirs, Summer Breeze.

Enjoy your Friday night, bloggers!

*info for this post gathered from classic music, allmusic, and a few other online sites.

What Are Hippies? Let Grateful Dead Tell Ya...

2009-11-18T23:28:00.004-05:00

I was out rummaging around in YouTube one day last week and found this lovely documentary! I think I laughed through most of it! ha! those were the days!

This clip is actually from a 1967 television special called "Hippie Temptation" filmed in Haight Ashbury. I actually saw it at the Red Vic Theatre (in Hashbury) about 20 years ago. It is a fascinating time capsule of an era long past. The narrator is named Harry Reasoner, A big media personality of the day. I recommend Hippie Temptation if you want to get a real time slice of the hippie ers in SF (though from a straight perspective). cheers (by lukkymaxx) !!!

interesting comments about this video:

"Failure?"According to who? This shows the alienation of the American people projecting it's lack of perspective on anything it doesn't comprehend. The interviewer raises the drug question, drugs are not the key to who they were or indeed are.

The most ironic thing is that as soon as Harry Reasoner says "style without content", Jerry rips into a wicked lead on "Dancin'" Its as if Jerry edited this thinking "Here's your content, Harry!" Harry Reasoner was on ABC which at the time was the most conservative of the three broadcast networks. They did stuff like this to set them apart from "those liberals", Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley. Frank Reynolds was the news anchor. I think this was from an ABC special on the summer of lover.

haha thats so funny
they talk about hippies like theyre a different species. " Those are the hippies... they live in groups....."

"The hippies are capable of very hard work." - Harry Reasoner

Indeed they are. ...especially those in the cannabis farming business.

This is pre-60 minutes.
The news magazine was a product of the 70's, man. That Reasoner dude was OK for someone on a straight trip.
Hate the way he uses the term "hippie" as an indictment tho, man. Like the hippies were drugged out and poor and of bad hygiene and, errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, well they were, but it was a great time to be alive.

Nice video. I wanted to say though, the guy at the end says "they (hippies) depend on hallucination for their philosophy, this is not a new idea, and it has never worked". I beg to differ, people in the Amazon have used hallucinogens spiritually for centuries, and the NAC uses payote spiritually, and it seems to be working for them.

"saints running in groups are ludicrous" and harry the un-reasonable follows suit*

everybody wants to live an uncluttered life.

Long live the dead, RIP Jerry!

Monday's Trip Around The World...

2009-11-16T17:17:00.001-05:00

He's talented, he's handsome, he's charismatic, he's stylish, he has a strong and beautiful voice, and a look which moves...

His nationality: Turkish

His name: MURAT BOZ and since 2006 he's a Turkish pop star with a soaring popularity and an impressing musical success.

His age (at present) 29.

Gawd, I got underwear older than him!

Özledim(miss you) - April 2009

Murat Boz - Püf (2007)

(okay I found a lyrics translation for this second video...a little long, I know)

Kalmadı tahammülüm gücüm, gözgöre göre tükeniyorum
(I don't have any endurance any power any more, I'm exhausting knowingly)
mecnun misali pervanenim ama gün be gün soluyorum
(I'm your moth* like the example of mecnun**, but I'm fading day by day)
hastayım sana ben tescilli vurgununum
(I'm ill for you*** , I'm registered (person that is )in love with (you)
küt küt atıyor kalbim gönül tutuklunum
(My heart is beating as "küt küt"(the voice of heartbeat), I'm your prisoner of heart)
püf de üfle yanıyorum
(Say "püf", blow, I'm burning)
mum gibi alev alev eriyorum
(I'm melting in flames like candle)
hanidir bu gönül divane
(This heart is crazy for a long time)
senin için tütüyorum
(I'm reeking for you)
kaşına gözüne boyuna posuna yavrum
(to your eyebrow, eye, figure my lovey)
tütütütü maşalah
(tütütütü**** may God preserve (you) from evil)
bi hayli özenip bezenip yaratmış seni Allah
(The God has created you quite well)
endamın havan yakıyor yeri göğü
(Your shape your affectation is firing (both) the ground and the sky)
tütütütü maşalah
(tütütütü may god preserve (you) from evil)
sabrın sonu selamettir benimsin inşallah
(The conclusion of the patience is welfare*****, You're mine hopefully)

al varımı yoğumu feda olsun sana bu can
(Take all my belongings, let this life be sacrificed for you)
el üstünde tutarım başıma taç ederim seni inan
(I show great respect to you, I make you crown on my head, believe)
hastayım ama gel görki sensiz halim duman
(I'm ill but however I'm very bad without you)
aşk bu, gözü kör, gel kurtar beni bu azaptan
(This is love, its eye is blind, come (and) rescue me from this dolour)

ben o bildiğin havarilerden değilim güzelim
(I'm not from that apostles that you know, my beautiful)
aşk için ölenlerdenim sevdim mi tam severim
(I'm from the ones that die for love, I love absolute when I love)
fazla naz aşık usandırır ya, hafife alma beni
(Coyness in excess bores the lover, so don't flirt with me)
elini çabuk tut acilen bence kaçırma beni
(Hurry up urgently, don't lose me)

*means I'm your lover like a crazy
**mecnun is a mythical lover.
***I'm in love with you, I'm thrilled with you
****This expression is said for preserving from bad eyes
*****This is a Turkish proverb.

So...Bloggers, to which US 'pop' performer would you compare him to?

Are You Up To The Challenge?

2009-11-15T15:45:00.009-05:00

The task at hand: as accurately and with as much integrity as possible, identify the six songs that best define rock and roll. Pretty simple, huh? Simple and impossible.

While reading an article entitled "Six (Not So) Easy Pieces: Picking the Perfect Rock Songs" at MOG, the opinion of that writer and his friend, was that Chuck Berry perhaps molded the way for rock-n-roll as it were. I say so did Little Richard, for that matter with his "Good Golly Miss Molly versus perhaps Chuck Berry's Rock-N-Roll music; both get my music mojo moving, what about you?

I guess my #1 choice would be Little Richard's Good Golly Miss Molly! However, given more time to contemplate, I might have picked a song from the likes of other bands, such as Bill Haley & The Comets, Buddy Holly & the Crickets, or the Everly Brothers which some might say paved the way for Rock-n-Roll. What do you think?

Battling inside my head, surely I'd pick something from the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, both of whom I agree swooned me, and who got more media attention, they didn't necessarily define Rock-n-Roll to me. There were an onslaught of British Invasion bands who made their mark on Rock-n-Roll history, one of which was The Doors, with their classic hit, Riders On The Storm...and while The Rollin' Stones "I Can't Get No Satisfaction," almost made my list, I personally I loved The Who better.

My second choice would have to be "Born To Be Wild" ... by Steppenwolf. Yes, rock and roll took off for me when Steppenwolf landed in my ear! and Steppenwolf paved the way for other bands to include Zeppelin, Sabbath, Iron Butterfly, etc...They will always be my first rock-n-roll love!

While trying to remember to depict "the song" and not the bands or artists per se, this is becoming quite a daunting task! More than likely, I will vote in an arena rock band, ya know, one in which their shows often feature "smoke bombs, laser light spectaculars, large amplifiers and video screens", as well as "guitar pyrotechnics" like Boston, Styx, Foreigner, Kiss, REO Speedwagon, Journey, Queen, Kansas, Peter Frampton and Genesis! and let's not forget about the metal bands like Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, Slipknot and Marilyn Manson...U2, Pink Floyd? ... Trying to pick just six rock and roll defining songs is hard. I'll need a little more time to reflect on this, my choices undoubtedly won't go too far past the 80s. I have always loved the classic bands myself, so surely one of those would make a good choice, huh?

While stewing over The Who, and thinking about which song, I give you my third choice, an Aerosmith tune from 1975, called, “Sweet Emotion.” Why? This song to me depicts the talents of each of its unique band members. I loved Aerosmith myself, you?

Thinking of individual performers instead of groups, my fourth choice would be Tina Turner's, Proud Mary or Rollin' On the River as it is commonly known! Why? Because she did it in proper rock-n-roll diva style, that's why! Even though this song was written by Fogerty, and sung by CCR, Tina forever put her mark on it for me. yeah, baby!

okay I got two more to go! and still thinking about it, are you? Compile a list and tell me, or better yet, follow the link to Mog and voice it over there!

A Stick 'Em Up Dedication Funk...

2009-11-14T16:46:00.025-05:00

..."I'd like to dedicate this song to everybody whose never had a song dedicated to them"

~ Joe Walsh

playing Funk 49 at the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival...

What about Joe?

Joe was born in Kansas, grew up in Columbus Ohio, and attended Kent State University (later he would receive an honorary doctorate in 2001); migrated to New York & Jersey. He joined the James Gang band in 1968. At that time, the James Gang consisted of Walsh on guitar and vocals, Jim Fox on drums, and Tom Kriss on bass in a “power trio” form. They released their first album in 1969. Kriss left and was replaced by Peters, which resulted in a successful union. They released two albums, one of which included the song, Funk 49.

Walsh grew tired of the limitations of the band, and left the band in 1971 to pursue and solo career with two of his backing band members, Kenny Passarelli and Joe Vitale, "Barnstorm." He made a name for himself as a solo artist with the hit “Rocky Mountain Way” off of The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get (1973). Even after Barnstorm broke up, Vitale continued to be a collaborator and friend of Walsh. Their most famous collaboration is the magnificent “Pretty Maids All in a Row” which appeared on the Eagles’ Hotel California (1976).

The song "Rocky Mountain Way" was inspired by Walsh’s move to Colorado with his wife Stephanie and small child Emma Kristen. Tragically, Emma was killed in a car accident in 1974 while on her way to nursery school. Her story inspired the track "Song For Emma" on his album So What released later that year. In her memory, he had a fountain and memorial plaque placed in a park in which she played, North Boulder Park in Boulder, Colorado. The stress and strain would end his second marriage to Stephanie, and they divorced.

Unable to enjoy Colorado anymore, he moved back to L.A. He released a live album called You Can’t Argue with a Sick Mind in 1976, but by that time he was tired of working alone and was looking for a band to join. He found it in the Eagles, who had just lost their main guitarist Bernie Leadon to creative differences.

Once on board, his addition steered the band toward a harder-edged sound and away from their early country-style work, and he featured prominently on their multi-million-selling album Hotel California, 1976, co-writing the Top 20 hit "Life In The Fast Lane" (with Don Henley and Glenn Frey). As the Eagles struggled to record the follow-up to Hotel California, Walsh re-ignited his solo career with the well-received album But Seriously Folks (1978) -- which featured his hit comic depiction of rock stardom, "Life's Been Good". Joe also contributed "In the City" to The Warriors soundtrack (1979), a song penned and sung by Walsh that was later re-recorded for the Eagles The Long Run album. He was quite the hottie in his day, too, eh girls?!

All was not well within the ranks of the Eagles, however. Walsh’s dissatisfaction with the heavy-handedness of Glenn Frey and Don Henley when it came to creative decisions led him to go so far as to discuss forming another band with bassist Randy Meisner and co-lead guitarist Don Felder, but when push came to shove, Walsh wanted to stay with the Eagles. As one might expect tensions grew over this; the hostility so pronounced that Henley was to call Walsh an “insidious troublemaker.”

Not to mention, the amount of alcohol and drugs circulating didn’t help much either; Walsh had developed a drinking problem that he wouldn’t be able to shake until the 90s, and the amount of money that some of the band members were snorting up their noses would have been enough to buy a small country. It would reach the breaking point in 1980, and two years later in 1982 the Eagles would announce officially their break-up.

In the eighties, Walsh released the solo albums none of which met with much success. He also got married a third time and fathered a daughter, Lucy, now 24, who has entered the music business herself as a singer/pianist/songwriter. Though he wasn't around much in her early life, the elder Walsh had a profound impact on his daughter. She speaks openly about growing up with an alcoholic father. In 1994, after he got sober, the Eagles got back together for their Hell Freezes Over tour. Lucy Walsh went on the road with the band and caught the professional rock 'n' roll bug. Walsh says her father taught her that the work comes first. He "gave me space to get where I am creatively, and that's why our styles are kind of opposite. But I thank him for that. "After that marriage failed, he was involved with Stevie Nicks for a brief period. Nicks stated in a 2007 interview with the UK Telegraph that Walsh had been "the great love of her life."

In 1989, he went on tour as a member of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, a collection of former solo musicians that toured together, each one playing a couple songs (noted in picture circa 1989). Here is an article interview with Walsh, from 1985, very interesting to read. Joe Walsh's Outer Limits.

The famous “Hell Freezes Over” reunion in 1994 had a condition that Walsh couldn’t ignore: Frey demanded that everyone be sober. Finally, Walsh was able to kick the habit that had plagued him for so many years. In 2005, Walsh’s struggle was the inspiration for “One Day at a Time,” and he has appeared at functions to inspire recovering alchoholics many times. Walsh has speculated that his addiction may have been triggered by "self-medicating" for his ADD. The MTV special, album, and tour were wildly successful, thrusting Walsh into the spotlight once again as he proved to audiences that he had not “lost it” – that he was in fact better than ever. Walsh has toured regularly with the Eagles since then and the group released their first new studio album in 28 years, Long Road Out of Eden, in 2007. To find out the latest about Joe, click here.

There are quite a few online fan sites of Joe Walsh, with lots of information about him. You can also read reviews about his work, (one I posted and took off because I redid this post), his discography, you name it, its documented here somewhere on the web, which is where this info came from. Oh yeah, Joe married for the fifth time; his current wife is Marjorie Bach, sister-in-law to Ringo Starr. Obviously he’s by no means ready to retire – lucky for us, huh?

Hope you're enjoying this beautiful Saturday afternoon!

The Band...

2009-11-13T18:19:00.004-05:00

and Neil Young in concert, Winterland Arena, San Francisco 1976

I am working on a new playlist, this is just one I am adding to it.

It seems that Fantasy Records is did a re-issue of six classic CCR's early ones. I was listening to these songs, and they are kick ass! Excuse me, but I have to put up a link so I can find it again. These are digitally re-mastered, with rare and previously unreleased bonus material supplementing each release and old photos of Creedence Clearwater Revival Photos; click here.

The Who

2009-11-12T17:29:00.004-05:00

Wow, a whole 62-minute live 1974 concert of The Who! Heaven! All my favorites too!

I always loved this band. When I think of them, I hear ... See Me, Feel Me...

Never heard of The Who? Here's an early 60s pic of them. Know who is who?
I believe left to right are Daltrey, Entwistle, Townshend, and Moon.

For those of you who don't know much about the group, the Who were an English rock band formed in 1964. Their primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. Interestingly, they became known for energetic live performances including the pioneering spectacle of instrument destruction. Here's why...

In September 1964, during a performance at the Railway Tavern in Harrow and Wealdstone, London, Townshend accidentally broke the head of his guitar through the ceiling. Angered by sniggers from the audience, he smashed the instrument on the stage. He picked up another guitar and continued the show. A large crowd attended the next concert, but Townshend declined to smash another guitar. Instead, Moon wrecked his drumkit after Townshend received catcalls from the crowd; therefore instrument destruction became a staple of The Who's shows!

I found it interesting while cruising through early videos of them in the 1960s, there was in Paris of them singing the Beach Boys "Barbara Ann," but not before they were introduced by what looked like a marching brass band! Hated those hairstyles! I couldn't believe it was the same guys for a minute that awed the stage at Woodstock.

Speaking of their performance at Woodstock, it is extensively documented, and pretty well videoed in YouTube. They played their 60 awesome minutes of fame at Woodstock in the wee early morning hours as the sun broke daylight and became increasing popular in the US as a result. Glad to see their hairstyles changed too! It was during the performance of The Who at Woodstock that one of the most notorious events of the concert took place. Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman sat on the stage with concert organizer Michael Lang during The Who's set. Hoffman had been working the medical tent since the festival's opening act and was under the influence of LSD. Hoffman had become increasingly determined to publicize the case of John Sinclair, who had been given a 10-year jail sentence for passing two marijuana cigarettes to an undercover narcotics officer. Hoffman jumped up and grabbed a microphone during a brief lull in The Who's performance of Tommy saying, "I think this is a pile of shit, while John Sinclair rots in prison!" Townshend replied, "Fuck off! Fuck off my fucking stage!" and struck Hoffman with his guitar. Hoffman leaped off the stage and disappeared into the crowd.

While The Who has enjoyed their highs of success, they are not without their lows, one of which was Moon's death September 7, 1978. He died in his sleep after an overdose of Heminevrin - prescribed to combat alcohol withdrawal - a few hours after a party held by Paul McCartney. Years following, the original member Entwistle, who reunited on several appearances with Daltry and Townshend, was found dead at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, 2002. The cause was a heart attack in which cocaine was a contributing factor. Enjoy the videos. If you like to read more about The Who, here's the official website.

Commerical Intermission...

2009-11-11T19:38:00.006-05:00

We interrupt this regularly scheduled programming to bring you this video... What is it? in vitro fertilization? a test tube baby? another animal mating video?

I have to admit I had to watch this twice just to figure out what it was! Stupid me! I thought it was a condom, but obviously made for the guy who has everything but a vagina! What a great marketing and packaging idea by the Japanese.

say...Is that a Sex Toy in Your Egg Carton?

hahaha!

Toxic Tuesdays...

2009-11-10T12:24:00.007-05:00

Donny Osmond became a teen idol in the early 1970s as a solo singer, in addition to performing with his older brothers. He, Bobby Sherman, and David Cassidy were the biggest "Cover Boy" pop stars for Tiger Beat magazine in the early 1970s. I remember that magazine, is it still in publication? I think I might have drooled over a few in that magazine, but Donnie wasn't one of them; more than likely it was Davy Jones of the Monkees! Anyway, Donnie had his first solo hit with "Sweet and Innocent", which peaked at #7 in the U.S. in 1971. His other solo songs "Go Away Little Girl" (1971) (#1 in the U.S.), "Puppy Love" (U.S. #3), and "Hey Girl/I Knew You When" (U.S. #9) (1972) vaulted him into international fame.

If that wasn't enough, the teen idol went onto to have success with his sister in their very own variety show, "The Donny & Marie Show", television variety series which aired on ABC between 1976 and 1979. Hard to believe this teeny-bopper we remember in 1972, actually married to "puppy love" Debbie Glenn, in 1978 and together they have 5 sons, ranging in age from 30 to 11. Two of his sons are married. He is now also a grandfather of two yougins (age 4 and 1). Speaking of The Donny & Marie Variety Show, bloggers, it would top my list for toxic 70s shows as well!

Did you gag on that video? Someone help me, help me, help me please!!!

Nobody is debating his love of God and family who are all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In retrospect, he has written, "It would have been nice to be able to have served a regular full-time mission, but when I was of that age, my career was such that everyone, including my parents and the leaders of the church, thought that I could do a lot of good in the world by continuing being in the public eye, by living an exemplary life and sharing my beliefs in every way that I could". He continues sharing his beliefs in an extensive letters-and-comments portion of his website. For all you Donny lovers, here's his official site. However admirable (or otherwise full of bull), it still doesn't change my vote.

Yes, Donny boy turns 51 this year, and obviously is rallying against heart disease acc to this video by encouraging others to get out and walk! I am pretty sure Donnie is on this round of Dancing with the Stars, Marie was on that show too, and both have joined each other once again on stage doing a show since September 2008 in Vegas at the Flamingo under contract will 2010, I believe has been extended two more years beyond that. I guess Donnie finally grew up and tried to move past his teeny-bop past, but puppy love will forever be that toxic 70s tune for me!

Your vote, bloggers, 70s toxic or treasure?

stay tuned next week for ....as once upon a time, there was this Jewish singer who had a big nose, and sold millions of records (well acc. to Richard T, whoever that is) hahaha!