George Michael and motor vehicles, a marriage made in heaven
He wasn’t wasted so he declares, but it has happened again. George Michael discovers more trouble behind the wheel.
“I’m never gonna drive again, wasted no but I’ve got no feeling”
“So I’m never gonna drive again, the way I drove with youuuu, hooo, hooo”
Why does a Bob Dylan X-mas album not do it for me…
I know he is a folk and rock legend who has influenced legions of artists and movements over the last four decades, but I don’t want to hear him sing holiday music. Even more strange that it’s in the news now?
I can’t help it, Dylan has never done much for me from an audibly pleasing standpoint.
A revolutionary, an artist in every sense of the word, and a staple in the folklore of popular music as we know it today.
Having said all that and knowing that Dylan is considered God (more so than Clapton)…I don’t want to hear an album of Bob Dylan X-mas music, which I hear will be released sometime this year (maybe around Christmas? Hahahaha)
Ironically, Dylan was Jewish who then became a Born Again Christian…beside the point.
Nat King Cole- Yes!
Sinatra -Yes!
Johnny Mathis- Yes!
Judy Garland- I can live with it…
Burl Ives – The man exudes X-mas music! (he was the snowman in Rudolph of course)
Bob Dylan – 68 years old, folk legend, still rocking and on tour (awesome)…do we need to hear Jingle Bells?…probably not.
Almost a week after his death, MJ is racking up the accolades!
The ongoing coverage of his death has almost over extended its welcome (well, actually this past weekend it did) but still amazing in its own right is how the public is rushing to buy or download his music. This is absolutely nuts! We all knew it would be a media bombardment and you have to admit it’s fascinating to watch stories about people. It keeps getting more hairy, more interesting, and if you are a fan of Entertainment Tonight, then you’ve hit the prime time jackpot!
Does this mean that for the last 10-15 years, nobody has given a rat’s “you know what” about his music until the dude dies? Just a sign that so many only know of MJ for what he has done outside of the studio, which is sad. Can you blame people?
Regardless of that crap, the numbers for MJ’s music is staggering and is unheard of in the digital era and Internet based music world of 2009.
Thanks to Yahoo for this information and thought I would share.
Collectively, Jackson’s solo albums sold 415,000 this past week. That’s extraordinary, given that his titles sold a combined 10,000 in the week ended June 21. Of the 415,000, 58 percent were digital downloads.
On the Top Digital Albums chart, Jackson has a record six out of the top 10 slots, including the top four. “The Essential Michael Jackson” leads the Top Digital Albums list with 80,000 downloads sold, while “Thriller” is No. 2 with 57,000.
Jackson places a record 25 songs on the 75-position Hot Digital Songs chart (21 solo hits and four with his siblings), smashing the mark of 14 charting titles established by David Cook in June 2008. Jackson’s Halloween radio staple, “Thriller,” moves 167,000, which is good for second place on the chart behind the 203,000 shifted by the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.”
OK! OK ! Is that enough proof positive the guy was a musical stud? Nothing else to say or blog about (unless something real news worthy pops up in the near future) Sadly, people like to hear about MJ whether it’s music related or garbage about his life. If they keep dishing crap on MJ, I am sure I’ll eat it up too.
No Doubt – the disfunctional band that functions well
They’ve been pounding the pavement since the late 1980’s but struck platinum success in 1995 with the album Tragic Kingdom. That’s when the world was formally introduced to Gwen Stefani and since that time, she has transcended into a stand alone goddess of the pop/punk/grunge music world. Personally, I liked her when she had pigtails and wore wild, skater chick clothes of the late 90’s. I hope No Doubt can get their “ska’dom” back this summer as they tour together for the first time in five years.
This band has interesting dynamics. Gwen and bass player Tony Kanalused to be a couple but split, or became friends, not really sure. Gwen, as did other members of the group, embarked on solo projects with Gwen’s being the most well known. She marries ex-Bush front man Gavin Rossdale (who now has new music, but not with Bush).
The band recently began work on a new album without Gwen, but are now close to finishing it and should be completed in early 2010, with Gwen.
Unlike a lot of other bands these days, they seem to function well together and still manage to function with the individual pieces separated.
Why do songs come to life more late at night when alcohol is involved?
I have been asking myself this for years. The low lights, the shuffling crowd, and the emotionally charged atmosphere. At times, it brings out the best or the beast in us, some guys fight, some girls fight, or sometimes fight each other. Alcohol makes you focus (accept behind the wheel!), it makes you think, it opens your mind to ideas you’ve never had before, you develop ambitions that have escaped you, your guard is down, you love the guy next to you, or the girl. Everyone goes deaf and voices get louder, more spit flies into your face as your buddy or BFF taunts and teases you about something you’d rather not talk about.
The environment takes on a different look and feel, your mind races and remembers every move and sound you hear. People seem more interesting, you bond more with people you normally wouldn’t, and groups of strangers converge under one roof in a solitary, intimate setting watching each other intently as if everyone has a specific purpose for being there.
The time when the hope of new love or flashes of old love run crazy in your head. People who are important to you become that much more important as the alcohol cast a veil of truth over your body and there is no escaping its pull. You reflect on how things are and how they could be. For a few hours of the evening (or the afternoon), the outside world is a mere shadow of itself and you are now lost in an amazing jazz piece from the trio, or maybe a 70’s classic rock song blaring from an old school jukebox, or the thumping of an R&B song from the loudspeakers which seems to take on a new meaning and you think to yourself “I actually like that!”
The music becomes more intense, your admiration for a beautiful person in your life becomes stronger, and the cares of the everyday are swept away and everyone shares the feeling either together or deeply tucked away in their hearts and souls.
One thing is always a constant, the music. The melody is more catchy and the lyrics are more deeply meaningful..and hurtful. You listen harder, you sulk into the moment, you wish for things that haven’t happened yet, you reflect on past events and try desperately to sort them out into a somewhat logical order, you realize you liked that kind of music but never confessed it to anyone.
You swear to yourself that after tonight, I’m gonna get better, look better, act better, be a better friend, call my folks, call my brother, make a move, call her, call him, play with my kids more, share something personal with someone…but most of all…your juices are flowing and you don’t know why!
Just a few of my favorites to hear in a bar (or anywhere for that matter):
Frank Sinatra- In the Wee Small Hours. The song is from a man’s viewpoint but equally tugs at the heart of both sexes. Sinatra’s version is by far the best. Rumored to be right around the time he was in the midst of ending a relationship with actress Eva Gardner, the album In the Wee Small Hours was recorded in 1955. This time period is by far one of my favorites in modern music. Many say the songwriting was over the top and lyrics overly poetic but I think it was perfect.
Dave Brubeck Quartet- Take Five. I heard a live version of this at a jazz bar about four years ago and was memorized. The song is in a catchy 5/4 time signature which forces you to move. The entire club was bobbing their heads and “digging it man”
Journey – Send Her My Love. Now that you have picked yourself off the floor and wiped your tears from your laughing outburst, bare with me. The band wrote some pretty damn good ballads in their prime. Total junior high dance for 30 somethings now but still a shit bar classic. I bet you’ll still find Journey tunes in some pool halls out there!!! Like I said, when it’s 1:30am and you have a glazed, half baked feeling as you lean against the dusty bar, then this song sounds like it was written for you, just yesterday.
Lily Allen- The Fear. Now jumping to the present and boy what is it about her that I can’t get enough of. She’s very normal appearing at first glance until you notice she dresses odd, wears strange wigs in public, and is not a nice gal to talk to as I’ve heard she can be quite frank and offensive when interviewed, mmmm I like her even more now. I’m not a big techno, club music guy but damn. I want to pour her thick, English accent all over myself like hot chocolate syrup and…well…I dig the song too…and it grows on you.
The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight. Well…not much to say…the song was written about this very topic and it’s cool too.
What an amazing resume of work in the music biz!
A 68 year old genius who is a pioneer record producer and one of the most influential men in the music business of the late 20th century. The originator of the “Wall of Sound”production technique, he was a pioneer of the 1960s’ girl group sound and clocked in over twenty-five Top 40 hits between 1960 and 1965. In later years he worked with such artists as Ike and Tina Turner, John Lennon, George Harrison and the Ramones with similar success, including production work on the Academy Award winning Let It Be and Grammy Award winning Concert for Bangladeshsoundtracks. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. He has produced albums for Connie Francis, Gene Pitney, The Ronettes, LaVerne Baker, The Righteous Brothers, The Beatles, John Lennon (most notably the Imagine album), George Harrison.
Albums which he’s produced:
1959: The Teddy Bears Sing – The Teddy Bears
1963: A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector– Various Artists
1963: Twist Uptown – The Crystals
1963: He’s A Rebel – The Crystals
1964: Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica – The Ronettes
1965: Ronettes – The Ronettes
1966: River Deep – Mountain High – Ike and Tina Turner
1970: Let It Be – The Beatles
1970: All Things Must Pass (co-producer) – George Harrison
1970: Plastic Ono Band (co-producer) – John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band
1971: Imagine (co-producer) – John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band with the Flux Fiddlers
1971: The Concert for Bangla Desh (co-producer) – George Harrison and friends
1972: Some Time in New York City (co-producer) – John Lennon and Yoko Ono with Elephant’s Memory plus Invisible Strings
1975: Rock N’ Roll (co-producer) – John Lennon
1975: Born To Be With You – Dion
1977: Death of a Ladies’ Man – Leonard Cohen
1980: End of the Century– Ramones
1981: Season of Glass (co-producer) – Yoko Ono
1986: Menlove Ave. (co-producer) – John Lennon
1991: Back to Mono (1958-1969) (Box set compilation) – Various Artists
2003: Silence Is Easy(co-producer) – Starsailor
Thank you Wikipedia for this great information!
And here is Phil Spector today….
Cue the circus music! “Yuuuu dat dat dada dada dat dat dudu”
*****OMG…what is that?******
I actually knew this would happen for some strange reason. Jacko (aka Michael Jackson) has hit the jackpot again by selling out all of his announced shows in London. A world tour? Hmm…
You have to admit, we all have (had) a soft spot for Mike. (or maybe his music) The jacket in the Thriller video, Billie Jean, the Neverland Ranch (should have been called NeverPaidTheMortage Ranch).
I’ve always had this theory of what happened to Michael Jackson and please chime if you want to. First of all, a lot of younger people forget that Jackson has been a mega star for nearly 40 years! Since the time he was in grade school in the late 60’s; he was a pop star singing with the Jackson Five. It wasn’t until the late 70’s that Jackson broke out on his own and established himself as a solo artist.
I laugh when I hear people say his career was short lived, um folks, when Thriller came out in 1983, he was already loaded and had been recording all through the 70’s. Thriller was a juggernaut of an album and this was during an era when there was no other media outlets for music besides radio, records, and MTV. The international success of Thriller tossed Jackson out of reality and into a world of seclusion and unimaginable wealth.
The last 10 years or so has been rough for him with all the oddball stuff he’s done and the charges against him. If you think about his life during the 80’s and early 90’s – he couldn’t go anywhere without an entourage of body guards and motorcades. Jackson never grew up. He lost his childhood years before he was a solo star and I think it seriously screwed with his head. He had no real friends besides Liz Taylor, Brooke Shields, and Emmanual Lewis (which teeters on the whole “child” thing which I find disturbing)…oh yeah and a monkey.
His life was not his own. He couldn’t go anywhere or maintain normal relationships with people. He was revered as a demi-God on an international level. Practically every non-english speaking country around the world adorned him as much as his fans in the States did. Same thing happened to Elvis and look what happened to him. That kind of attention and constant spotlight has to seriously jack with your perception of reality. Dude, I’m not a therapist but I try to stay open to all “possible” explanations of how humans behave. This is supposed to be bar talk, remember?
I have always thought Jackson sought some kind of personal solace in children because they posed no threat to his security or financial well being. His relationships with adults deteriorated as he fell deeper and deeper into a trench of lonely super-stardom. It’s like he’s still trying to recapture something that he lost years ago because his family thrusted the siblings into adulthood way before their time. I’ve read stories about Michael sharing hotel rooms with his older brothers, and having to sit idle as they “entertained” groupies. I’m sure life was not all lighted sidewalks and sequin gloves.
Here’s the part where I piss people off which is why I love writing a blog. I’m not totally 100% convinced that Jackson is a full fledged pedophile, but I am convinced that over time he developed a warped perception of who he attached himself too. A lot of it goes back to his status in the world, he was led to believe that he was God because he was treated like God. He rationalized everything he did as being “normal” and “socially acceptable” while the world saw it as freakish and criminal. His constant obsession with appearance and how his face has morphed into a Lord of the Rings, elfin magic looking thing from what was once a baby faced young man. It’s like he was in a perpetual state of hiding from the world by always changing his face and then having to overcorrect, again, again, and again, until he was so far gone that he ruined it.
I’m not undermining those families that brought charges against him, not in the slightest. He’s a fascinating case of someone who made a lot of odd and poor decisions some of which landed him in legal troubles. He should have never of involved himself with children the way he did and it ultimately hurt him professionally.
He has rendered himself old news because of his antics, but still an interesting subject who somehow still manages to wiggle his way back into the spotlight. He’s had a big impact on pop music and sadly the carnage transformed him into what he is today…that of which I’m not sure what.
Joaquin…please visit your local career counselor and re-think this
This is painful and I sure hope this is all just a really bad hobby for him. Would someone slap him out of this phase, now? He walked the line well and he’s now walking the credibility plank with aspirations of a hip hop career. Why?
Stairway to nowhere…a Plantless Zeppelin reunion?
With their alcohol induced history dating back to the late 1960’s, the London based classic rock quartet are not riding motorcycles down hotel hallways anymore, but they are minus a lead singer. Led Zeppelin, who’s name is rumored to have been coined by Who drummer Keith Moon’s comments regarding the success of the band floating over like one, have been toying with the media since early summer in regards to a potential reunion tour. This is fresh off the heels of a well received London concert last winter. What is even more nuts is that god knows how many eager fans tried to get tickets for this juggernaut performance only to fail and end up watching fuzzy, distorted snippets of it on the web.
Well, all you basement bongers and tie dye ruffians, you can kiss your favorite curly haired rock screamer goodbye. It has been once again announced…ahem…excuse me…confirmed…(whatever) that Robert Plant is not on board for the lead singing duties as the Zep prepares for a world tour in 2009. To make matters even more comical, and this is comical, the remaining or often referred to as “surviving” members (must be an age thing) are actively pursuing a replacement singer for Plant. (Oh Steve Perry…where art thou?) Give it a rest guys…
There could be a hidden message underneath all of this, and that would be that we all buy into this madness. The madness being the music biz and its ability to use name recognition to seduce millions of fans to throw money at something that they really can’t afford to begin with. I don’t know if it’s worth the hard earned loot to ride this 70’s wave considering a major puzzle piece is missing here. Would you settle for a peanut butter and guacamole sandwich? Spaghetti and chocolate balls? Peter Paul and Maggie? Hall and Olsen? We’ve seen this done before and it’s fallen flat on its black, leatherpanted rump (i.e. Journey, Van Halen w/ Gary Cherone). Okay…well maybe AC/DC is the exception.
Keep the sanctity of this prized classic rock band intact and please don’t set out on the road with a watered down version.
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