Favorite New Songs

Okay first of all they're my favorite new songs. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are brand new. The second definitely isn't. At least it is from this century. Ha!

As I have mentioned before I don't listen to much radio here because it annoys me to no end; however lately I have been listening to CHOM online quite a bit and like the way they tweaked the format. They still play tons of classic rock but they have added some new rock. Bravo! CHOM rocks once again!

The first song that caught my ear is Young The Giant's "My Body" which was released as a single in January 2011. This is one of those songs that the very first time I heard it; I immediately had to listen to this song again and again. It just has this driving beat and this catchy chorus. I have no idea what the songs means. I read that it was a song that took them ten minutes to write after a particularly bad day at the recording studio. Well they nailed this song that's for dang sure.

Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYpF2pCkLI&feature=bf_prev&list=FLWSkrZT-kF2QIBHW9w6bHqQ&lf=plpp_video

The second song that caught my ear is the Pearl Jam song "Just Breathe" released at the end of October 2009. I know. I know. I have jumped on the train a little bit late. Whatever! This song is gorgeous. I am such a sucker for an accoustic guitar song and the lyrics are so heartfelt to boot. I always have thought of Eddie Vedder as a front man who makes weird faces, contorting his body in bizarre ways and making his eyes flutter madly and then he comes up with an absolute gem like this song. Plus he plays a nice accoustic guitar on top of that.

Here's the link for this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aePWkeDxRjE&feature=bf_prev&list=FLWSkrZT-kF2QIBHW9w6bHqQ&lf=plpp_video

The other song that is bouncing around my head lots these days is Mumford and Sons "The Cave" that came from an album released in late 2009. I first heard of this band when I saw them on stage with Bob Dylan and The Avett Brothers at the Grammys. The song was a hit in Ireland when the album was released and then a hit down under in 2010 making it to the hottest 100 charts in Australia and New Zealand. It then started getting airplay here in the States in 2011. Let's face it a folk rock bluegrass group is going to take a while to get a following here on rock radio. A band with a keyboard, a couple accoustic guitars, a banjo, a stand-up bass and drums doesn't exactly strike me as Van Halen or Journey like. Hey I like Van Halen amd Journey! Just making a point. I don't know if they play them here in SC. I discovered their stuff on YouTube. A great place for old and new music. Hearing it online makes me go out and buy the CD. I don't do ipods. LOL.

Here's the link for this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnmIGWW_pv4&list=FLWSkrZT-kF2QIBHW9w6bHqQ&index=125&feature=plpp_video

Anyways enough typing for now. I need to grab a bite to eat. Time for some Guadalajara.

America - I Need You ('74)

So the other night in another one of those "I can't sleep once again" so I may just was as well get up and putter around for a bit. So the TV comes on and I am off to the races trying to find something that will occupy my time and mind for a little while until I can get back to sleep.

One of the channels was running a Time-Life 30 miniute promo show on singer-songwriters from the 70s and it was hosted by Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley. Unless you grew up listening to their music on CKGM back in the day; you probably know them better as America.

As I was listening and watching to the show which has a pretty amazing setlist by the way, I started thinking about the band and their string of hits back in the early 70s.

My older stepbrother M had their eponymous 1st album "America". At least I think he did. LOL. Memories get a little hazy when they are nearly four decades old. I know that he had Jethro Tull's "Thick As A Brick". I'm pretty sure that he had the "America" album as well. I was in grade three back then living on the corner of Notre Dame and 100th in Chomedey, Laval.

Anyways the first hit off the album was "A Horse With No Name" which has the unforgettable "la la, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la" chorus which became a million seller when actual 45s were released in a format that you see and touch. This first hit became a precursor to the signature "America" sound. The accoustic guitars, the harmonies, the catchy choruses and the story song.

You'd be surprised at how many words you know to their songs. It's as if the lyrics seeped into your subconscious to be promptly remembered when you hear an America song on the radio or TV somewhere.

The second hit off the album was this beautiful and sad ballad written by Gerry Beckley that inspired this blog. I've noticed that it always seems to be the sad songs that affect me or touch me. Does that mean that I suffer from melancholia or some other affectation? Or does it just mean that a song like this triggers a memory? You know even a sad memory typically is rooted in a good memory. Take this song. It talks about losing or having lost one that you loved. You wouldn't have the sadness without having experienced the happiness. As the lyric goes " I need you like the winter needs the spring". The good and the bad.

Another track that got airplay was "Sandman" which is one of the heavier songs that the band released. This song was tailor-made for album-oriented rock stations.

Less than a year later, America released "Homecoming" which featured Dewey Bunnell's "Ventura Highway" which featured the accoustic sound, the catchy chorus, the harmonies and the story. I think I see a pattern here. LOL.

Their third album "Hat Trick" was released in 1973. Three albums released in 33 months. That is prolific. This one though didn't do as well commercially as the first two. They had a minor hit with a song written not by a bandmember called "Muskrat Love". That song was remade and was a bigger hit by The Captain and Tennile. The less said about this song the better. It's actually about muskrats. Ranks right up there with Michael Jackson's "Ben" as an ode to a rodent. The hallucigenics in the 70s must be the reason for these songs dedicated to rodents. LOL.

Less than a year later, America released "Holiday" which found them near the top of the charts once again. They had brought in the Beatles producer George Martin to help out and this resulted in the top ten hit "Tin Man" which had the "America" formula down pat once again. This album also had the inspirational "Lonely People" which was also was a top ten hit. This one was written by the third key member of the band Dan Peek. This was the first song that featured him singing as well and becoming a hit.

America had a unique way of writing for their albums. Their albums typically had ten songs. Three written solo by each member. Sometimes credit would be given to the other members if they added to the song when it was being recorded. They would also bring in a song from a non-band member to round out the album.

In the spring of '75, America released another George Martin produced album named "Hearts" which featured another huge hit. This being "Sister Golden Hair". Another one of those super-catchy singing along songs.

They tried to repeat the formula a couple more times with George Martin but the albums didn't last long on the charts. They hit the top twenty on Billboard album charts with songs being played on AOR stations but they only had minor radio hits so these didn't generate huge sales for the band.

They underwent some changes as bands do when things slowdown with Dan Peek leaving the band to become a fulltime Christian-themed artist. Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley kept releasing albums and they made it back to the charts in 1982 with the Russ Ballard penned "You Can Do Magic". Listening to that song is as if Ballard wrote it specifically for them to sing. It has that "America" sound.

About a year ago, we used to drop in on a pretty regular basis on Friday nights at Fitzpatricks on Laurens Rd. for sweet potato fries, Harp or Gaelic ale on tap and to listen to the 2 or 3 person bands that they would bring in to entertain on Fridays. One of the bands was a couple of guys a little older than I that would always have a couple of America tracks in their set. As I mentioned above, immediately the words would come back as they would play the songs.

A good remember when. Smiles.

Live - Lightning Crashes

So while waiting for J to get home after A's JV b-ball game I've been listening and watching some of my favorite songs on YouTube.

"Lightning Crashes" by Live is one of my fav songs from the 90s. I saw this band headline an amazing show at the Bi-Lo Center a few years ago. The supporting acts were Tonic and Collective Soul. The show was amazing. I got us seats 3 rows from the stage. Us being Harrison and I. It was H's first concert. Personally I think that line-up was a pretty good introduction to live music shows for him. I'm biased as Collective Soul and Live are two of my fav bands from the 90s and beyond.

Anyways CHOM in Mtl. used to play this song every once in a while back in the day but it never really made it big airplay-wise back home. I really came to know this band when I first moved to Greenville in 1999 and spent hours and hours chatting online while listening to new music stations either on my TV or computer.

This is where I was introduced to "Throwing Copper" by Live. To me it is one of the definitive albums of the new rock era of the 90s. There are 4 songs on this disc that stand the test of time. They are as memorable today as they were back in 1994. These songs being "I Alone, All Over You, Selling The Drama and Lightning Crashes". Songs I will never get tired of listening to. This CD is on heavy rotation in my car and I bought the DVD of their show at the Paradiso. Simply amazing. The audience was so into Live. I would have loved to have been there. I would have been one of the many singing the lyrics as Ed K. was doing the same.

Back to "Lightning Crashes" now. I have sang two songs karaoke in my life. This was my solo performance. This is how much I like this song! I got up in front of people and tried to do justice to do this song. I remember my hand in my pocket. My right knee bopping to the acoustic guitar. Okay many may have been inebriated nevertheless this was my song. A song about life. Birth. Death. It is a song about life.

CD Player - Week of October 17th

So every once in a while I empty the driver side door panel of CDs that have been there for a bit and bring into the car some discs that I haven't been played in a blue moon. This week "Addictions" Volume 1 by the late Robert Palmer made its' way onto the disc player. He left us back in 2003 at the young age of 54 years old after suffering a heart attack in Paris. Way, way too young to go!

Every time I hear one of his songs I think of an amazing soul singer that would not have been out of place on the Motown roster of the 60s. He had a classy and smooth way of delivering a song. I also think of the ladies in his videos that became MTV staples. I think most of us young guys back then barely even noticed the singer in the tie suit jacket that he often wore in his videos. Our eyes were glued to the band. The red lips. The bouncing and swaying that was going on. We didn't even notice that the instruments weren't even plugged in. The songs weren't acoustic. LOL. We didn't care! I also think of the Caribbean island feel from some of his songs. My son H said earlier this week that some of his songs reminded him of The Talking Heads in some ways. It's true when you compare the island rhythms that can be quite prevalent in the material of both of these artists.

The disc has 13 tracks. Starts off with the rollicking "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor Doctor) from 1979. This is one of those songs that everyone knows the chorus once the song gets going. It's one of those drunken bonfire songs. "Doctor, doctor give me the news, I've got a bad case of loving you" being shouted at the top of one's lungs. Gets the vibe going that's for dang sure.

That's then followed by "Pride". A song with an African or Third World feel. Throw in some Jamaica, Bahamas, Trinidad steel drums and then sway. Then sway some more.

Track 3 is the one that opened the doors to his MTV fanbase and the young male fantasy life. It's "Addicted To Love". This song for many is the prototypical Robert Palmer song. It's pretty darn cool and still very listenable twenty-five years after its' original release.

Track 4 is "Sweet Lies" which was written for a soundtrack of a movie of the same name with Julianne Philipps, Joanna Pacula and Treat Williams. I've never heard of the movie. Lots of Treat Williams' movies went straight to the video store bypassing theatres. This may be one of them. This song is okay. It does feature his vocal stylings but it doesn't really stick out much.

Track 5 is another one of those islands fused type songs named "Woke Up Laughing". I know mentioned ealier H said Talking Heads; I think it sounds more like Johnny Clegg and Savuka. This is one of those songs that reminds me of that band.

Track 6 is "Looking For Clues". I think of this as one of those songs that I identify as being a key Robert Palmer track. It was released in 1980 just as new wave was breaking big stateside. I love the beat. I love the words. The phrasing. The synth sound. It even has a xylophone solo for gawd's sake. How many songs can claim that? Not too many I'm sure. This is a butt moving in the chair song. You can't help but tap your toes as you listen to it. If you don't perhaps meds are needed in the your very near future!

Track 7 is "Some Guys Have All The Luck". Turns out this was a hit back in 1973 by a band called The Persuaders. I heard it for the first time today. Hmmmm. I'm not sold on it. Rod Stewart also covered this song in 1984. I didn't like that version either. Robert Palmer's version is from 1982. Still not a fan of this song. Stewart's version isn't much different than Palmer's version which begs the question. Why Rod Why? Maxi Priest did a reggaefied version also. Not buying that one also. In conclusion it is quite accurate to say that I don't like this song at all. Doesn't make a diff the version; it isn't for me.

Track 8 is from the group Power Station which was called a supergroup at the time of their album release. The group was made up of Palmer on vocals, Tony Thompson from Chic ("Good Times" and "Le Freak") as well as John Taylor on bass and Andy Taylor (not related) on lead guitar. Both from Duran Duran. The track is "Some Like It Hot". The song has a great drum beat. A hard drum beat. One of those songs that you play the imaginary drums to when listening to it. Personally I would have loved them to include "Get It On (Bang on Gong) from the same album on this compilation. But alas we have to settle for this track which is pretty darn good anyways.

Track 9 is from the same album as "Bad Case .." and is called "What's It Take". It's another one of those new world, reggae feel songs sung and played at a faster clip. Once again you are tapping your toes even if you don't know the song. It just has that infectious beat.

Track 10 was Robert's first hit in the States from way back in 1978. The song is "Every Day People". It is one of those smooth songs. Great beat. Nice sax break. Great vocals. It has an upbeat Marvin Gaye feel to me. Another one of those swaying songs. Bravo.

Track 11 is so cool. "Johnny and Mary". Man oh man he did some great story songs. It sounds like "Looking For Clues". Same feel to the song. Not surprising as it came from the same album. Another toe-tapper. He did have that gift.

Track 12 to me is the second part or the continuation of "Addicted To Love". It's "Simply Irresistible". The video brought back the ladies from "Addicted" and the song has a similar structure in styling and structure. It has that same catchy feel to it. The video is brighter. More color. Lots more ladies and Robert Palmer is "oh so cool" in it.

The last track is "Style Kills". It makes me think of techno Simple Minds song but sung by Robert Palmer. It has a very funky feel. A wah-wah sound to it. I believe that this song was added to the compilation as one of those new songs that bands often add to induce people to buy to complete their collection. Okay that's a bit cynical. Sorry. LOL.

All in all I was glad to have "Addictions" volume one in the car this week. It's an excellent compilation!

Mixed CD Continuation...

Well I last left off after track #4 on Sunday evening. I didn't feel like typing after my workday, and my Costco run and my chauffering of the Prodigal Son. To be truthful I am not in a good mood right now. Just one of those days and I will refrain from divulging more because you just never know who reads my ramblings.

Here we go onto the next track on the CD...

5. Down By The Waterfront - Walter Rossi (1980)
One of my favorite homegrown talents. I remember being in my early 20s and at Phantasmagoria on Park Avenue putting on the headphones to listen to the 1st of Walter Rossi's greatest hits packages which was called "Picks". I have that one from 1982 on cassette. I also have a more recent compilation on CD that was released in 1990 called "All My Best". This song appears on both compilations. It's funny I have listened to this song for over 20 years and I've only come to realize now what the song is about. I never realized that it was song about the have nots that live on the wrong side of the tracks or the waterfront in this case. In particular it's about a lady named Babylon who turned tricks to get the money that she needed to leave that life and how one day something real bad happened. I only figured out the subject matter now after listening to the song three four times in a row. The tempo of the song is upbeat and the sax line is peppy. I never realized the sadness of the song.

6. The World I Know - Collective Soul (1995)
Holy eff I must have been really depressed the day I burned this CD. Another song laced with sadness. A song about disillusionment. Homelessness. Suicidal thoughts. Wow. Weird looking back several years after burning the CD. I must have been in a weird place. Song starts off with an acoustic guitar. Then strings. Then the sad, sad lyrics. Then right at the end a splash of contentment, realization and irony appears which I hope is the reason I am attracted to the song. That even in sad or dark times, there is light somewhere. Hope. Joy.

7. Estranged - Guns and Roses (1991)
Oh boy another happy song. Axl Rose wrote this song after his short marriage to Erin Everly was annulled. I started listening to this song when my marriage was breaking up. It's no wonder that I identified with this song right off the bat. I used to listen to the cassette version of this song while doing accounting homework late into the night at the kitchen table. I would listen to the almost 10 minute version of this song over and over. Rewind. Play. Rewind. Play. Rewind. Play. This song and the "So Fine" which was the track before on "Use Your Illusion II" were played over and over. Even today the lyrics touch something down deep inside of me. Isn't that what music is supposed to do? Even if it isn't always bringing you to a happy place.

8. Long Stick Goes Boom - Krokus (1982)
Okay not exactly a love song. LOL. To say the least. I'm thinking that this gives Def Leppard's stripper anthem "Pour Some Sugar On Me" a run for the money for the double entendres. The first line in the song "we all know about 69", Marc Storace was not talking about the year like in the Bryan Adams song. Anyways it is a 5 minute ditty about sex. When you're 20 years old like I was when the song came out that was a pretty big thing. Today singing "long stick goes boom" (LOL) is embarrassing I think. I still like the song so sue me. It's a good driving song. It isn't like I am about to start listening to Roger Whitaker sing "The Last Farewell" when I am driving to work. LOL.

9. Democracy - Leonard Cohen (1992)
So I must have felt guilty after the Krokus track because I went all intellectual with this song. I lived on St. Urbain St. after I got divorced. It's almost like I have to love Leonard Cohen as a result of this. How many songs refer to Tiananmen Square in the second line of a song? Probably no others. Even today 20 years after its' release the lyrics are as timely today as they were back then. I think even more so when you think of the attacks on the democratic process that are occurring on a daily basis in countries like my adopted land. "and I'm neither left or right I'm just staying home tonight." Truer words are hard to find.

10. It's Only Rock'n'Roll (But I Like It) - The Rolling Stones (1974)
Ah the Strolling Bones at their finest. Mick Jagger sneering away. Keith Richard's atypical dirty guitar. A memorable singalong chorus. Damn this song is 37 yrs. old. I'm listening to it now and it still rocks. It still sneers. And I like it, like it, yes I do.

11. Year Of The Knife - Tears For Fears (1989)
I first heard this song while living on Park Avenue with my middle brother Randolf, Shane from NS and Mark from England. I remember buying the cassette of "The Seeds of Love" and playing it in the kitchen and Mark coming by and asking me what the heck was playing. It was so catchy. It was Beatlesque. Very Sgt. Pepper-like especially the title track. Off this album came "Sowing The Seeds", "Woman In Chains" and "Year Of The Knife". The musicality of this album was not something we were hearing much from then. For Tears for Fears this was way more artistic that the sparser "Songs From The Big Chair" This song was never released as a single. CHOM played it though by request I believe. I love this song! No idea what it means. I just like it. Listen to the live version and I guarantee ya that you're bopping to the first minute or so. You can't help it. I swear!

12. Beck's Bolero - Jeff Beck (1967)
Okay time to travel on the way back machine to 1967 to an allstar instrumental rendition of Ravel's classic Bolero. Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John-Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Keith Moon. What a band. What players. What a version. Jeff makes that guitar cry. Jimmy fills in the gaps. Keith when he has the chance plays like the madman drummer he was. So cool. 44 yr old song. Effing incredible.

13. Thinking Of You - Harlequin (1981)
An under the radar band from Winnipeg. How many bands are from Winnipeg anyways? The Guess Who. That pretty much sums Winnipeg rock I think besides the boys that made up Harlequin. Okay their songs will never be mistaken for "Stairway To Heaven" or "C'est La Vie". What they wrote were catchy 3-4 minute songs that the average Canuck could relate to when they heard the song or songs from Harlequin. "Superstitious Feeling". "Innocence". "Sweet Things In Life". Or this song which was catchy. I loved that lyric "lit another cigarette and waited". I used to smoke. LOL.

14. Before The Dawn - April Wine (1979)
Oh another CanCon song. This one from another Montreal band. This track came from the classic "Harder...Faster" album. This was an album track. Never released as a single. One of the few songs that Brian Greenway sang lead on. He also did the classic King Crimson song "21st Century Schizoid Man" on this album. Many people think that "Before" is called "Laurie Laura Laurie Lorelei" due to the opening lyrics. A true power ballad. You know that genre that became super popular with the hair bands of the 80s. April Wine did it first. They did it well.

15. Double Vie - Richard Seguin (1985)
One of my favorite Quebecois chansonniers. This track taken from the 1985 album of the same name. I have this song from a live CD as well. I would love to see this guy live if they allow federalists to attend his shows. LOL. I always thought he looked like he was related to my Mom's side of the family. The Boules. With the dark hair and complexion he would have fit right in on "Jour de L'An". This song is catchy. I have had unilingual anglophones listen to this song in my car and they think it is pretty catchy even if they don't understand what the dang Frenchy is singing about. They call us Frenchies. LOL.

Okay that's it for this CD. Took me a while to finish this blog. I like the CD. A bit sad at times but quite eclectic. Rock on Rock on.

Mixed CD

So before I go off an a tangent right away, I'm going to talk about the CD I burned way back when...

1. Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden (1982)
Okay I guess I wanted to start off the CD with one of those songs that is best played loud and louder. Hide the women and children and bow to the masters of metal from 1982. This song appeared on one of the most classic heavy metal albums ever released. The album in question is "Number Of The Beast" which featured not only "Hallowed..." but also the better known title track from this album as well as "Run To The Hills". Being a heavy metal band they sure aren't singing a boy meets girls theme here. LOL. The lyrics are dark and foreboding and are about a prisoner on his way to the gallows all the while claiming his innocence. It starts off slow for the first minute and then the rest of the song is played hard and fast and Bruce Dickinson sings it, shouts it like there is no tomorrow. Definitely not a first date song unless your gf looks tougher than you in leather. O:)

2. Fall To Pieces - Velvet Revolver (2004)
Okay looks like I was continuing on the morbid theme the day I burned this CD. It must have been an early, early Monday morning. Track #2 is about Scott Weiland's heroin addiction and the effect on him as well as the effect on his relationship with his wife. This was a power ballad and the 1st single released by the band that was going to take over the hard rock mantle from the remnants of Guns'n'Roses. The band featured the great lead guitar of Slash as well as Duff McKagan on bass and Matt Sorum on drums. All three were key ex-Gunners. Throw in Dave Kushner and his punk credentials on rhythm guitar and the aforementioned ex-lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots Scott Weiland and this band was primed. The song is sad but pretty at the same time. It features what I would call the atypical Slash guitar which is weepy, bluesy and melodic all at the same time. Couple this with Scott's heartfelt lyrics it was destined to be song to get heavy rotation on FM rock stations.

3. Vertigo - U2 (2004)
Well at least I got happier on track #3. Maybe I had a couple of coffees by that point. "Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce". Huh. WTF. Bono was a child left behind. 1,2,3,14. LOL. I have no idea what this song is about. Try to catch all the words of this song and good luck with that while you are at it. The words that you are singing along to are probably not the words you think that you are singing along to. LOL. Honest to Gawd. Play the song. Put the lyric sheet up. Then you will know what I mean. Anyways the song has a great driving beat to it. Put it on loud. Sing whatever words you want. Yell out "hola" at the appropriate time and laugh to yourself. It is a feel good song. Well it is to me and "no one gets hurt". `

4. Simple Man - Shinedown (2003)
To use the words of one of one of the managers that I best worked with which was “I tell you what”; This CD review is taking forever because (a) I had chauffeur duties (b) I was watching the Tigers beat the Yankees and (c ) I started drinking some beers pretty dang early today. LOL. I remember the reason that I put this on the CD. I was driving up to Montreal to pick up the prodigal son and I was bringing his buddy Aaron with me on this trip. Aaron was H's best bud for the longest time. I brought him (Aaron) to Gatlinburg a week or so after my Mom died to help H deal with things. The next year I brought Aaron to Mtl with me to get H at his Mom's place. I have pictures from that trip. I have to get my printer set up to scan these pics. They tie in so well. Anyways Aaron loved this song so I burned it onto the CD just for him. At the time I liked the song. I didn't know that this was a Lynyrd Skynyrd song at the time. Hey I am Canadian. Shoot me. LOL.

Okay I need a break....I will follow up on the other 11 songs on this CD tomorrow...LOL...maybe

Morning Radio In The Upstate

So I started writing this blog about a half hour ago and then I had an oops moment and somehow inadvertently deleted everything that I had typed in this template. It was like "an oh eff" moment. LOL. So being the determined Schlewing that I am; I will rewrite what I wrote and go from there. Uh oh I forgot how I started the blog. I thought I was being quite witty actually. Well I usually think that I am being witty. I may be delusional. LOL. Now I have to try to remember what I wrote earlier.

I just added this paragraph before posting this blog. The original blog was going to be about the mixed CD that I am listening to as I type. All of a sudden it became a blog on morning radio in the Upstate. This is just my opinion. I know that lots of people listen to these stations here in Greenville. It is their right to do so. I'm going to explain in my own little way why I don't listen to morning radio here.

Okay here goes. I am not the 1st guy to jump on the new thing bandwagon. I didn't get a computer until 1999. I didn't have a cellphone until maybe five years ago. I still don't have a data plan on my phone. I don't have an IPod, an IPad or an IJag. Made that last one up. LOL. I don't have Sirius in my car. I still have an old-fashioned tube type tv. No flat screens except for my computer monitor. There are other things I can add to the list of I don'ts but I will save some for future blogs. O:)

This was going to be about what is in my CD player but it has now segued into something else altogether. When I leave for work in the morning there's no way I can listen to morning radio in the Upstate.

You have the Rise Guys on The Planet. Good music but I am almost 50 yrs old and I just can't relate to the blathering that they do. It all sounds like blah blah and then blah blah some more. More music less talk then perhaps I would listen. They've got 5 people working on their morning show. Good Gawd get rid of 'em all. LOL. Just play the new rock!

You have John Boy and Billy on Rock 101. I'm sorry but while my brain cells are still working I can not listen to what I think is the redneck Republican mindset of the people on this show. I'm embarrassed by some of the characters and subject matter passes for discourse in this part of the country on this radio station. This is the lowest of the low brow humor that I ever heard and personally I think it has some racial undertones and that really freaks me out. I probably lost a few friends and readers with this last paragraph.

Then you have Ellis and Bradley on WSSL. WSSL is the local country music station that originates in Gray Court. LOL. I always smile when I hear that it comes from Gray Court. This would be like a radio station in Pictou County coming from Hopewell (where my Mom lived before she passed) or in the Montreal area from St-Bruno de Montarville (where my ex-wife lives). Gray Court is a little town of 1021 people per Wikipedia located southbound from my house on I385. I actually like some country music now. I have a growing number of tracks listed on my favorites list on YouTube and when I am in a quiet mood I like listening to WSSL. Just not when Beth Bradley is on there though. For my ears her voice is grating. This is purely subjective and won't hold up in a court of law. LOL. That voice and Toby Keith in the morning. Sorry change the station please. TYVM.

Then we have two lite rock less talk stations. At least I think there are two of them. They may be the same station with different call letters at different places on the radio dial. I think they have the same play format just 15 minutes apart. If you hear it on one station you will hear it on the other station 15 minutes later. It just seems that way. They have John Tesh on one of these stations. John Tesh? I always wondered where he went after Entertainment Tonight. Maybe Robb Weller is on that station. I think that is his name. Anyways they play Celine Dion so therefore I can not listen to those stations because my head would explode. To top it off one or both of the stations goes all Christmas 24/7 at Thanksgiving (the American one for my Canadian friends or readers). Christmas music in the last week of November. Shoot me now. Figuratively not literally. LOL.

Okay I know that there is a all news radio station here but I am very wary of happening upon some right wing conservative nutjob viewpoint before I have my first cup of coffee. I can not be held responsible for the colorful verbage that would escape my lips in front of Plain Elementary at 715am if I heard the voices of doom and evil of Hannity, Ingraham or Limbaugh.

There is also a station called HisRadio. I could go off on a tangent or cosine here. Boy oh boy could I ever but I won't as the HisRadio listeners way outnumber little old me in the work parking lot. This is based on a non-scientific count of bumper stickers. LOL.

So this partly explains why I still listen to CDs. The next blog will be on one of those CDs I listen to.

Mixed CD meanderings...

So when I last left off I mentioned that I was going to write about the CD that I am listening to tonight. Let me preface all of this by stating that is just after midnight here and I am wide awake after sleeping a couple of hours on the couch earlier. I haven't slept a normal night's sleep in months. I mention this because sometimes when I'm blathering on here it seems to make perfect sense as I type but it may not to the typical person. Oh well I am stating a disclaimer as they do for drug ads on TV. At least reading my blogs do not lead to instances of death and/or strokes. LOL.

Onto the music we go. I think I am going to this in numerical form. Track by track. Here we go...

1. "Strange Dreams" Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush (1982)
I added this song to the CD that I burned way back when as I always have to have Canadian music on my CDs. Often these were burned to bring along on my rides up to the Great White North. Why this song? It has a cool synth line in the background. At least it sounds like a synth. LOL. Simple as that.

2. "Resurrection" Moist (1996)
Okay this song just rocks. At times it seems like David Usher is speaking or talking rather than singing but it is just the way the song goes. It's just an out and out rocker from an alternative rock band from Vancouver. I always thought of them as being from Montreal. Weird. The song comes the band's 2nd album. LOL. Showing my age here referring to albums. Hey I have the cassette version of this album. I am allowed.

3. "The Fly" U2 (1991)
This came off "Achtung Baby". The sounds on this album were completely new for U2 I think. The song has a great beat. Bono sings it normal and sometimes he goes falsetto. It showcases Edge's guitar playing and the different sounds he can get. I hear the song and it gets me moving in my chair. It is a chair dancing song! LOL.

4. "This Could Be The Right One" April Wine (1984)
Hmmmm I like this song. It is by far not the best song by April Wine. Another Canadian band. However it kind of has a catchy beat. Kind of formulaic at times. That being said though I am pretty sure that I may be one of the few that has this song playing loud in my car in Simpsonville. Hey at least it isn't Lynyrd Skynyrd for the millionth time. I do remember the video being kind of cheesy. I think the band members were wearing what was considered stylish at the time. Funny looking boots 20+ years later. Ha.

5. "Sledgehammer" BTO (1974)
Imagine that another Canadian band. This song is best listened to as loud as possible. Like the title of the song, the sound never lets up. It will never be confused with the Peter Gabriel song that has the same name. Starts out hard. Continues hard. Ends hard. Has a slow part right at the start but then batten down the hatches. You're like a sledgehammer! Randy Bachmann and Fred Turner take turns singing. It will never be mistaken for a love song!

6. "Trashed" Black Sabbath (1983)
The Ian Gillan version of Black Sabbath. This man has pipes. Another balls out rocker. This song does not let up. Bill Ward on the drums plays this song like he is possessed. One of the fastest and hardest beats I have ever heard. Turns out Ian Gillan wrote this song after getting drunk and taking Geezer Butler's car for a spin.

7. "Precious Declaration" Collective Soul (1997)
A song from one of my favorite bands that just happen to have originated about 150 miles of where I am sitting right now. Starts off with drums, then one guitar and then another guitar and here comes Ed Roland. For some strange reason I see this song as a hip preacher at a pulpit giving a real cool sermon. This song has religious connotations to me. That is too funny! It really isn't but some of the lyrics give me that imagery.

8. "Time Of Our Lives" David Usher (2003)
Well another Canadian rock song. This one is from the former lead singer of Moist who appear on this CD on track two. This is the first mellow song on the CD. The song has a nice acoustic sound to it and David's lyrics aren't run of the mill. It is a thinking song to me.

9. "Lust For Life" Iggy Pop (1977)
Co-written by David Bowie along with Iggy. Starts off with a 1m15s instrumental that just has you tapping your toes on the floor and your fingers on the table. Any song that has you dancing like hypnotized chickens can not be bad.

10. "All We Are" Kim Mitchell(1984)
Ah back to Canadian music from the former frontman of Max Webster. I always think of the best place to listen to this song is on a warm, cloudless, star-filled night laying down with a glass of wine or two staring at the sky with this song playing in the background. It is one of those atmospheric sounding songs. To me it is also a song that we question ourselves about our place and reason for being here. Isn't staring at the sky a perfect time and place to ask those kinds of questions? I think so.

11. "Stayed Awake All Night" Krokus (1983)
Okay with a name like Krokus, it has to be a hard rock song, doesn't it? When you think of Switzerland you think of chocolate, clocks, mountains and yodeling. LOL. Well I do. You don't think of a hard rock / heavy metal band that was very popular in the early 80s. Krokus often had covers of other popular rock songs on their albums and this is one of them. The song was written by Randy Bachmann and recorded originally with the Guess Who. This version is actually not much different than the original version. Perhaps the background sounds and echoes are a little more modern sounding than the original. One of those songs that if playing in my car, it is on loud and chances are my head is going up and down to the beat of the song. LOL. I am nearly 50 yr. old head banger. Hehe.

12. "Gasoline" Moist (1996)
The second song on this CD from the band Moist. This song is from the same album as "Resurrection" and the sound is completely different. It's a ballad. A sad ballad. I never really understood the lyrics or meaning to the song. It seems like a song where someone is hurting someone else. It just seems so sad.

13. "Woman In Chains" Tears For Fears (1989)
A beautiful song featuring the vocals of Oleta Adams along with Roland Orzabal. While the meaning behind the song points out that unfortunately man seems to hold the balance of power in many facets of life it also point that if woman did perhaps things would be a little calmer, a little nicer,a little serener. I think that the video to this song is too blunt. You tend to focus on the aggressivity of man vis-a-vis woman. The song ends on a high note with the refrain of "so free". Is it because man chose to look at his feminine side? Is it because the woman has left the man? It is in the thoughts of the listener I would think.

14. "Why Can't We Live Together" Steve Winwood (2003)
A beautiful remake of the Timmy Thomas one-hit wonder by the most soulful white man ever. The diction, the phrasing, the sound of Steve Winwood's honeyed voice is perfect for this song. Musically it isn't all different than the original. I believe that it is a homage to the original. A way of pointing out the greatness of the song originally released way back in 1972. I hear this song and I think of rippling waves or undulating shoulders. LOL. Don't try undulating shoulders if you have no rhythm like I. You can poke your eye out.

15. "Ahead By A Century" Tragically Hip (1996)
Ah more Canadian music. This song was on my summer playlist of the summer of 1996. This song brings back memories of my being on Melmerby Beach (NS) with Harrison spending time with my Mom and Blaine. On this beach I would bring a radio/ tape player and I would be able to pick up a top 40 station from across the water in Charlottetown, PEI. This song was in heavy rotation then. It is a pretty song. A song of memories and thoughts. "No dress rehearsal, this is our life". Great lyric.

16. "One" U2 (1991)
Off Achtung Baby as well just like track 3 on this mix CD. Much like the Moist song choices; this U2 song is the complete opposite of "The Fly". I saw U2 perform this live at the old Montreal Forum and the "Zoo TV" tour. This song like many U2 songs was a total sing-a-long when played live. It is simply a beautiful song. In latter years it was used to raise funds for AIDS research, it was used by Bono along with Starbucks to help in Africa. How many songs are there out there that have that kind of power? The remake done in 2006 with Mary K. Blige is pretty as well. This song is one of those bring tears of joy songs I think.

17. "Good Vibrations" Beach Boys (1966).
Isn't this song amazing? It is 45 years old and sounds as fresh as ever and it doesn't sound dated at all. Brian Wilson is and was an absolute musical genius when he came up with this song. I think that this song if listened when totally depressed has the power to erase all of those feelings at least for 3m37s of running time. It is that powerful! Praise the Lord for this joyful sound!

So that's it for this CD. Pretty darn eclectic. It was nice to write about as well as listen to it as it was played. I think it is time to search out some of these songs on YouTube.

JACK-fm

So lately I've been listening to different JACK-fm format stations out of the Great White North and the really cool thing is the amount of CanCon on these stations. CanCon being Canadian Content. The JACK stations I've been listening to have been out of Vancouver, Smith Falls and lately the Regina station.

If I had to rank them it would go Regina, Vancouver then Smith Falls. Smith Falls loses out because of the schmaltz factor. Too many drippy songs.

I love the JACK format as they go from decade to decade and from genre to genre with a very healthy dose of CanCon and I will espouse at greater length at a later time on my love of CanCon.

So far tonight I heard the following songs after watching SC take care of Clemson. Go Cocks!

...Bitch...Meredith Brooks
...Light My Fire...The Doors...
...Black Velvet...Allanah Myles (CC)...
...You Spin Me Round...Dead or Alive...
...Make Up Your Mind...Theory of a Deadman (CC)...
...Centerfield...John Fogerty...
...Teenland...Northern Pikes (CC)...
...Only The Good Die Young...Billy Joel...
...Don't It Make Ya Feel...Headpins (CC)...
...You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth...Meat Loaf...
...Where The Streets Have No Name...U2...
...Undun...Guess Who (CC)...
...Mr. Jones...Counting Crows...
...We Run...Strange Advance (CC)...
...Sweet Home Alabama...Lynyrd Skynyrd...
...Wild Horses...Gino Vannelli (CC)...
..."Dirty Laundry...Don Henley...

A pretty eclectic bumch of songs but lots of sing-alongs in my world!!!