I’m needing a boost today. I need some music to lift my spirits up. Let’s see what I can find…
Ahhh…nothing brings a smile to my face faster than a cover tune by my favorite Canadian band, Walk Off The Earth. This one-take video is awesome.
I never wanted to like this song. I certainly never wanted to love it. But somehow, this little ditty about plastic drinking cups has turned me into one of the sheep. Oh well…I’ll just have to sing along, I guess.
This was a highlight of last weekend’s Bryan Adams concert for me. The crowd had been enjoying his show up until this song, but then for some reason he got everybody up for this one. Imagine this…almost ten thousand people all jumping up and down at the same time (not just dancing, but jumping) and clapping their hands in unison. I was blown away and every time I hear this song now, a smile comes to my face remembering that moment.
It’s Eddy Grant, people! Is that not enough for you? How about Eddy Grant LIVE playing on some weird French television show with male dancers and people all dressed up? Yeah…that’s fun for today.
And finally, you simply can’t go wrong with this classic from The Boss…
There…I’m feeling better already. Have a great weekend, everybody!
I was going to finally complete my thoughts on the cruise that Sunshine and I were on last month, but last night I was hit with some sad news. One of the musical icons that I grew up with, Dick Clark, passed away at the age of 82.
I say “musical icon” because I’m one of the people who actually remember growing up to American Bandstand and watching Dick Clark on my television every single Saturday afternoon.
Now mind you, I never really got to know him until the early 80′s…but man that was a VERY influential time for me. I don’t think any artist was truly BIG unless they were on American Bandstand.
It’s funny…there are always two performances that have always stuck out for me: one by Slade and one by Wang Chung. And wouldn’t you know it, I was able to find BOTH on YouTube!
The Wang Chung “performance” always stayed with me because they didn’t even attempt to make it appear they were performing live, like most of the other acts did on the show. No…they were 100% proud to be lip-syncing as they didn’t have any microphones. Years before Milli Vanilli would be vilified for doing the same thing, here is that very performance (with Dick doing a great job trying to get a good interview going with the band beforehand):
The Slade performance has always stood out to me as my all-time favorite. I remember (vividly, for some reason) staying up late the night before to watch Friday Night Videos and seeing “Run Runaway” for the first time. I was absolutely blown away. Then the very next afternoon, here was the same band jumping around and playing this incredible rock song that to this day is on my iPod “driving around the city” playlist. I’m so happy to have been able to find this American Bandstand performance (with Dick doing another great job interviewing in between songs):
Dick Clark will go down in history as one of the most important and influential men in the entertainment business over the course of the past 50 years. Remember the $20,000 Pyramid? Or better yet, can you imagine December 31st without a Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve? And no offense to Ryan Seacrest, but no amount of star power will ever take away from Dick Clark’s ability to host a show and make everybody feel welcome.
So goodbye, Mr. Clark. You will always be remembered for your amazing contributions. Rest in peace and enjoy the music wherever you are.
"It's got a good beat and you can dance to it."
I know a lot of you are waiting to read the conclusion to my vacation with Sunshine, but this past weekend I got the greatest surprise from the love of my life.
Y’see, a few months ago they announced that Bryan Adams was performing in his first full-scale rock concert tour of Canada in about 20 years. I know I’ve gone on about my love of KISS and how their music helped shape my life, but Bryan Adams is definitely a Top 5 all-time favorite performer (and is also on that list of albums).
I was fortunate enough to have seen him in concert 20 years ago, actually. It was a big-time concert by the beach with Sloan, Sass Jordan, Extreme, the Steve Miller Band, and then Adams as the headliner. It was during his Waking Up The Neighbors tour and I knew every word of every song of his set.
I never thought I’d be able to enjoy his music live and in person again.
With the possibility of going on a cruise coming so last minute, the possibility of us seeing Bryan Adams was next to zero. In fact, with Sunshine not being his biggest fan (she likes him and all, but isn’t a huge fan like I am), I had put the whole thought of seeing him in concert to bed…never to be thought of again.
Well…imagine my surprise to have been given this on Friday afternoon:
That’s right. My unbelievable, incredibly awesome new fiance bought two tickets to see Bryan Adams as a surprise gift for me!!
Because the concert was last night and was about five empty seats away from a sell-out, the fact she could even get tickets was surprising. The seats were about as far away from the stage as you could get (she said that she would have gotten better seats if they were available), but I didn’t care. The show was absolutely amazing and I couldn’t be happier to be engaged to the most thoughtful, amazing woman in the world.
So to kick-start the week, here are some of the songs that Adams performed last night. He’s still got an amazing voice and, quite frankly, probably sounds better now than he did twenty years ago!
Enjoy!!
I don’t know about you, but when I get off work on a Friday I just can’t wait to jump in the car and crank up some music.
Whether I’m off to pick up The Ankle-Biter or if I’m off to spend the weekend with Sunshine (as is the case today), music can totally set me free and get me ready for whatever lay ahead after a long work week.
So to get me geared-up for another weekend, I’ve found some music to get me into the spirit:
One of my favorite new bands is Walk Off The Earth. Most people have heard of them because of their amazing one-guitar version of “Somebody I Used To Know” that they recently performed on Ellen, but I’ve been a fan for about a year now. The thing I love most about them is their cover songs and how they can spin a song on its ear and make it their own. I could probably post five or six songs and just have a “Walk Off The Earth Music Friday”, but instead I’ll only show you one. Trust me, though…they’re definitely worth checking out:
I’ve always been a fan of the Foo Fighters. In fact (and I know I may be in the minority here), I actually prefer them to anything Dave Grohl may have done with Nirvana. This song inspires me…it motivates me…it speaks to me. Yes…I WILL walk again. I WILL break down whatever barrier stands in my way. I’m worth that much.
I’ve always enjoyed Train, while never a huge fan or anything. And while I think the dude wears pants that are WAAAAY too tight for him, Pat Monohan’s voice is simply incredible. This song is great in it’s cheesy goodness. I mean, the lyrics are REALLY cheesy…and sometimes that’s all I want to hear.
One of my favorite all-time bands is Van Halen. And I’m one of those fans who actually loved the Roth AND the Hagar years, so I’m not one to “choose sides”. I’m glad that the boys and Diamond Dave are back together, though, and the new single from their upcoming album is fantastic. The more I listen to it, the more I love it. Can’t say that about the video, though. This thing looks like they shot it a few months after recording the song and completely forgot most of the lyrics and simply didn’t care. Whatever…just close your eyes and turn up the song that has introduced the phrase “mouse-wife to mom-shell” to the English language:
Finally, how about a bit of Kelly Clarkson? Even though she performed at the Grammys with one of the most unfortunate haircuts I’ve ever seen, her music is still amazing and I’ve been a fan since the first season of American Idol.
*****
That’s it from me. Hope you all have a great weekend!
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