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| Beach Boys' Christmas |
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| Vince Guaraldi - Charlie Brown Christmas |
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| Phil Spector - Christmas Gift for You |
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| Nat King Cole - Magic of Christmas |
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Christmas Albums that don't suck!
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
A chip off the ol' block!
It is interesting to note that sometimes it doesn't matter what your Dad did for a living - or does it?
Below is the names of 13 rocks stars and 13 occupations. See if you can match the rock star with the occupation of their father........Ready, Go!
Below is the names of 13 rocks stars and 13 occupations. See if you can match the rock star with the occupation of their father........Ready, Go!
Rock Stars
Prince
Madonna
Elton John
Elton John
Neil Young
Jim Morrison
Gwen Stefani
Carly Simon
Deborah Harry
Deborah Harry
Eddie Van Halen
Keith Richards
Jimmi Page
Janis Joplin
Olivia Newton-John
Occupations of their father's in no particular order:
Sports writer/editor
Navy Admiral
Co-founder of famous publishing company
Clarinetist, saxophonist and pianist
Pianist and songwriter
Design engineer for Chrysler and General Motors
Gift shop proprietor
Flight lieutenant
Factory worker, stormed the beach at Normandy
Yamaha Marketing Executive
MI-5 officer
Personnel manager
Engineer at Texaco
Good luck!
Monday, 5 November 2012
Monday Monday, can't trust that day, Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Songs Everybody
Should Know
“Monday, Monday” by
the Mamas and the Papas (1966)
Why would a song writer think that anyone could relate to
a day of the week? I guess because it is a universal experience – wake up on
Monday morning (“Manic Monday” the Bangles, “I Don’t Like Mondays”, Boomtown
Rats), get your butt through the week (“Tuesday Afternoon” Moody Blues). Get
over hump day (“Wednesday Week” Elvis Costello, “Wednesday Morning, 3AM” Simon
& Garfunkel) and cruise through to Thursday (“Thursdays Child” David Bowie)
until we make it to Friday (“Friday I’m in Love” the Cure, “Friday on my Mind” Easybeats).
Then comes Saturday, (“Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” Elton John,
“Another Saturday Night” Sam Cooke, “Saturday Night” Bay City Rollers1,
“Saturday Night” Skyhooks).
So I think you get my point. It is the cheating lyricists’
way out. Of course we can relate – we are alive aren’t we!
This particular day of the week song was the 1966 #1 hit
for the Mamas and the Papas from their debut album “If You Can Believe Your
Eyes and Ears”. It is a great album
which also has their hit “California Dreaming” which is absolutely embedded in
the tapestry of popular culture now. I mean teenagers know this song and that
is saying something. This is prime hippy freedom/hedonism gone commercial. But
a very solid album blessed by the song writing of John Phillips – not too
spacey so that you can’t relate to it. No, it was sort of a folk-rock melodica,
somehow transcending pure folk.
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Classics - Always Good!
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| Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy |
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| Boston - Boston |
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| T.Rex - Electric Warrior |
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| Rod Stewart - Atlantic Crossing |
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
There goes my baby She knows how to Rock n' roll She drives me crazy She gives me hot and cold fever Then she leaves me in a cool cool sweat
Pick of the
Week
“Crazy Little Thing
Called Love” by Queen (1980)
He was born to be a showman. With his flamboyant
charismatic presence, the soaring, brilliant, multi-octave voice of Freddie
Mercury is easily worthy of being called one of the top male voices in rock
ever.
His lives on in videos, DVDs, records, CDs, Mp3s and
millions of people’s memories all over the world.
Born Farrokh
Bulsara he was born in Zanzibar, Tasmania and was raised in India till he was a
teen. In Bombay he had already started playing piano when he entered St.
Peter’s British-style boarding school at age 8. Soon to be called Freddie, he
formed his first band when he was 12 and did Cliff Richard and Little Richard
tunes.
After school he
returned to the family home in Zanzibar only to leave again for England due to
the Zanzibar revolution that saw thousands of Arabs and Indians killed. In Felltham,
Middlesex he enrolled in Islesworth Polytechnic where he studied, what else,
art. His diploma in Arts and Graphics was later put to good use when he
designed the ‘Queen’ logo.
After kicking
around with a few bands he teamed up with Brian May and Rodger Taylor who were
a bit nervous about the name “Queen”, but reluctantly agreed. It was about this
time that Freddei changed his surname from Balsara to Mercury.
Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe with whom Mercury
recorded an album, said of him, “The difference between Freddie and almost all
the other rock stars was that he was selling the voice. His technique was
astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sung with an incisive sense of rhythm, his
vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from a
register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle,
delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right
colouring or expressive nuance for each word.”
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Eighties for a Sunday Afternoon
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| Pat Benatar - Crimes of Passion |
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| The Police - Ghost in the Machine |
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| Bangles - Different Light |
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| Yes - 90125 |
Saturday, 13 October 2012
1984: The Raspy Show-down. Head-to-Head Bonnie Tyler vs. Laura Branigan
“I’m Holding Out
for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler (1984)
“Self Control” by
Laura Branigan (1984)
In retrospect the ‘80’s looks all carefree and colorful,
but it was likely still difficult for female artists. Things were still not as
progressive as maybe one might think. Were they bimbette airheads? Or, under the
multi-colored ultra-teased hair, leg warmers and spandex were they artists?
Where were all the pioneering women of rock and what had
they accomplished? The forgotten singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and
Carole King soldiered on in ‘80s – very much out of style. How things had
changed - so much but so little.
MTV drove a male definition of what feminism should have
been in the 1980’s. MTV drove fantasy, not reality. Who needs that?
Capitalizing on the appearance of female artists like Pat Benatar, Kate Bush,
and Deborah Harry of Blondie was standard for record companies in the early ‘80’s.
Sex symbols were alive and well – it sold records. Would Big Mama Thornton who
died alone and impoverished in 1984 tell them not to do it? No Mam!
Like Lena Lovich1 and Souxsie Sioux (the
Banshees) from the punk movement of the late ‘70’s it was trendy for women to
be exclusively singers – it was hard to drum and strut around in a video in the
latest fashions. They were to appear wandering down the street or rolling on a
bed not playing a guitar like would later happen in the ‘80’s.
Was the pop song “Watch Her Strut” by Sheena Easton a
response to Prince who she once dated? Some women embraced the use of their
femininity. Did Deborah Harry know what she was doing? Damn right she did.
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
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