Pop Culture Reflection: The Beatles 50th Anniversary CBS Special

12 Feb
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My illustration tribute to The Beatles

Great moments took place during Sunday night’s CBS special for The Beatles 50th anniversary of their live appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Their performance on February 9th, 1964 changed America or known in popular culture as what started Beatlemania.

Surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr sat together during the show as the band’s history and bios got covered. The night featured big name artists paying tribute like Dave Grohl, Stevie Wonder, Katy Perry, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and many more.

Members of John Lennon and George Harrison’s family were there. Harrison’s widow Olivia was in the audience and Sean Lennon sported a shaggy spit in’ image look of his father while he stood next to his mother Yoko Ono.

A few notable artists that I felt delivered great performances of The Beatles classics were Maroon 5 who did a stellar cover of All my Loving as well as Alicia Keys and John Legend who delivered a nice rendition of Let it Be.

I thought it was cool that while artists were performing their tribute’s the camera would turn to McCartney and Starr whose faces seemed so honored as they clapped along and mouthed the words to their songs.

McCartney performed I Saw Her Standing There which is one of my favorite songs and I also enjoyed when Ringo played Boys and of course hearing him do Yellow Submarine was awesome.

The closing part of the night was the best when they performed together again doing With A Little Help From My Friends and then Ringo on drums for Hey Jude. Their whole performance gave me goosebumps.

The Beatles are my best friend’s favorite band and they are a classic iconic band that hold a special place in my heart too.  We each differ in who our favorite Beatle is and which album is our favorite but their brilliance as a band is never an argument.

For the record, Ringo is my favorite Beatle while Lennon is my best friends favorite. I also believe her favorite album is The White Album while mine is Magical Mystery Tour.

I found a link from The Beatles You Tube channel showing some of the The Ed Sullivan performance, enjoy.

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Gem of the Week: Top Five Albums Turning 20

5 Feb
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My tribute to the music of ’94

I got inspired to compile a top five list of great albums from 1994 after reading an article on Stereogum.com about how Green Day’s Dookie album just turned 20 years old.

Here are my top five albums from ’94 (of course I’m including Dookie) that are now 20 years old :

5. Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral 

I was one of those 14-year-old teen girls that loved Trent Reznor. I could care less about him now but this album was in my Walkman all the time. Songs like March of Pigs, Terrible Lie, Hurt and Closer make this album a gem. The Downward Spiral should become a requirement to  every grunge music fan’s collection from 1994.

4. The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die 

This is a great hip-hop album that came out during the time when west coast rappers like 2Pac  dominated the scene. Biggie put the east coast sound into mainstream with his hit single Juicy and then Big Poppa  (’95) from this debut album. I have mentioned before that I can’t get into todays hip-hop. When Biggie rapped it was real venting and he delivered with passion.  My favorite jam off the album is Gimme The Loot.

3. Live – Throwing Copper

Lead singer Ed Kowalczyk and myself share something in common and that is we both love R.E.M.  I listened to this album a lot and the hits from this album were all catchy: Selling the Drama, I Alone, Lightning Crashes and All Over You. Live writes songs that are awesome lyrically as well as musically.

2. Green Day – Dookie

This really was an influential breakthrough album with hits like Longview, Basket Case and When I Come Around.  While Green Day has matured and grown so much as a band over the past 20 years, I still carry that first impression of their goofy teen image in the video for Longview. Dookie is pure brilliance and to think of how lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong was only 18 years old at the time is crazy but then again he continues being a true talent.

1. R.E.M – Monster 

Aside from them being my favorite band, I felt this venture into a harder sound totally worked out making this a great album. Every single minute of this album rocks with big hits like: Whats The Frequency, Kenneth?, Star 69, Bang and Blame, Strange Currencies and my personal favorite song off the album, I Don’t Sleep, I Dream. I can still listen through Monster over and over again.

I narrowed my top five list to reflect what I listened to the most and I left off a few of my veteran favorites from the ’94 era like: Pear Jam, Nirvana, Sound Garden, Rancid and Tori Amos.

I’m happy those five gems are in my collection because they came from a great defining year in music.

I included a link from Greenday’s You Tube channel for the classic video Longview.

 

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Gem of the Week: Grammy Performance Highlights

29 Jan
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Grammy Love

Sunday nights 56th annual Grammy performance line- up included my favorite legends of rock from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to Metallica.

I felt this article written by David Bauder from the Huffington Post summed up the Grammys vibe best stating:

 “What makes music special is its seeming randomness, of magic moments coming from where you’d least expect them. Sunday night’s Grammy Awards proved that. In a room filled with music history and industry powerhouses, Lorde and Daft Punk took major awards. And there were other moments, too — some moving, some boring, some baffling, some just plain fun.”

I was looking forward to the finale rock performance with Nine Inch Nails (NIN), Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Queens of the Stone Age with Dave Grohl. I thought it was an interesting grunge combo and it was a great closing performance that was rudely cut short due to lack of time. That was unfortunate and NIN frontman Trent Reznor tweeted his frustration against the incident by cursing out the Grammys, I can’t say I blame him for his anger.

I enjoyed seeing respected artists from my 80s and 90s era in music and pop culture  like actor Neil Patrick Harris and 80s pop queen Cyndi Lauper presenting. My favorite presenter for the night was Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto who touched on the loss of rock legend Lou Reed before introducing Metallica.

While I liked Metallica’s performence overall, I felt the vocal sound quality was disappointing. The band was playing their hit One along with classical pianist Lang Lang. The chaotic piano with lead guitarist Kirk Hammett’s solo was cool but I could barely hear frontman James Hetfield’s vocals.

Some performances that deserve an honorable mention for being awesome were country music’s legendary trio Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard along with Blake Shelton doing Highway and other hits. Miranda Lambert and Greenday frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s performance of The Everly Brothers song, When Will I be Loved was a nice tribute to the late Phil Everly.

My main reason for tuning into the Grammys this year was to see Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunited on stage together. While It would have been cool if they did a Beatles song, their performance of McCartney’s song Queenie Eye was still awesome.

I am also looking forward to the Beatles tribute set to air February 9th on CBS for the 50th anniversary of their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

For the record I love Ringo Starr and it was cool to see him on drums with McCartney; not to mention he looks great for 73 years old!

 

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Gem of the Week: Beck’s New Single Blue Moon

22 Jan
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My ode to Beck Illustration

Beck is back with a new album called Morning Phase which I am anxious to listen to since he’s been out of the spotlight for so long.

This is his 12th studio album set to come out on February 25th. Beck’s last album was Modern Guilt. (2008)

After listening to the new single Blue Moon accessed though his official site the vibe is very acoustic-folk and I like it.

I am looking forward to picking up the new album and checking out the rest of the tracks.

According to Rolling Stone, Beck has been recovering from a back injury and he stated in the article :

“I was in bad shape. There were a number of years where I couldn’t pick up my guitar.”

I was definitely happy to hear that he is on the mend and making music again.

Rolling Stone is also comparing this new album to his 2002 album Sea Change. I haven’t listened through the entire new album yet to say that I agree but Sea Change is Beck’s gold album and my favorite song off it is  The Golden Age so we will see.

What I appreciate about Beck’s style is that he explores blending his influences from hip-hop, classic rock or country into his music. I also love that he releases his albums on vinyl.

I distinctly remember his debut as a new artist on MTV and when the music video for his breakthrough hit Loser first aired back in 1993. I have never forgotten that moment and the video and song had a lasting impression.

The glimpses of cheerleaders in a cemetery and that old man with the guitar was memorable along with lyrics that still ring in my head today like:

“Get crazy with the cheeze whiz.” and “Don’t believe everything that you breathe you’ll get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve.”

It’s been cool to see Beck transition over the years from his alternative grunge start to psychedelic and into the folksy mood he projects now and as a fan I love it all.

My heart mostly hangs on to his early 90s stuff from albums like Mellow Gold and Odelay and songs like Where It’s At and The New Pollution are still in my favorites list.

I found a link from BeckVEVO You Tube channel for the video to Loser enjoy flashin’ back to 1993!

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Gem of the Week: Frente!

15 Jan
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My Frente! Albums

Australian pop-acoustic-folk band Frente! is a gem I have dug out from my collection to highlight this week.

I remember the group gained popularity with their acoustic cover of Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order in 1994 and it was such an offbeat cover for the grunge era time.

According to a wiki search the band formed in 1989 and consisted of Simon Austin on guitar, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O’Connor on bass guitar, and Mark Picton on drums.

I haven’t heard anything new from the band since that time but they have a Facebook  band page and are still around and playing shows. However, I did not see anything confirming if the group recorded or released any new material.

My best friend and I loved their cover of Bizarre Love Triangle and we use to wait to hear it on the radio. The music video for the cover was kind of odd too with close up shots of Hart singing while her band members circle her playing their guitars.

I remember also liking Hart’s style. She sported short black hair, a nose ring and had a cool way of dressing by mixing the grunge look with vintage patterns and styles.

The band released one full length studio album titled Marvin The Album which I own but the first album I bought was Labor of Love on cassette.

The tape only had seven songs on it but I bought it then because Bizarre Love Triangle was one of the tracks. I ended up loving all of the songs on that album and it’s now a beat up old tape from listening to it so much. Some great  tracks from that album were Not Given Lightly, Oh Brilliance and of course my favorite song Labor of Love.

Frente! had released a music video for Labor of Love in 1994 too but MTV usually only aired it during  shows for alternative music like 120 minutes.

I think Labor of Love is truly a great song; I love everything about it from the lyrics, breezy soft vocals and lil’ flute solo. I especially love the line:

“And if you want to find me,  Call me, I’ll be far from The cars and guitars and Everybody.”

Marvin The Album is great and it includes Labor of Love too. My favorites from this album are Pretty Friend and Ordinary Angels.

Frente! is a quirky popish acoustic band that you have to listen to a few times to truly appreciate their offbeat strength.

Below is a link from XttraVid You Tube channel for the video of Labor of Love.

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Pop Culture Reflection: 90s Hit Sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

8 Jan
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I took this pic in 2008 because I saw the Fresh Prince on side of The Detroit People Mover

Paying tribute this week to 90s hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, after hearing that James Avery who played Uncle Phil on the show passed away December 31, 2013.

According to an article from CNN, Avery was 68 years old and suffered complications from an open-heart surgery.

Will Smith who gained his stardom playing Avery’s street smart nephew, posted a recent photo of the last time he was with Avery on his Facebook page and included this statement:

“Some of my greatest lessons in Acting, Living and being a respectable human being came through James Avery. Every young man needs an Uncle Phil. Rest In Peace.”

Alfonso Ribeiro who played Avery’s son Carlton on the show also included photos and tribute posts on his Facebook page stating:

 “Here’s another photo of James from our wedding. It is still hard to believe he is no longer with us. It feels like yesterday when I would drop by his dressing room and learn about some of the great Jazz music he would listen to. Such a warm, inspiring, wonderful man.”

I loved Avery’s memorable role as a stern but caring uncle who kept Smith’s wild character in place.

I remember at the time the show aired Will Smith was more known for being a rapper with his hip-hop duo as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince but after the first season The Fresh Prince blew up in popularity and the rest is history.

I also recall that at my school If you didn’t watch the show then you lived under a rock. The kids in my class would always talk about the show and repeat the jokes.

One of my favorite episodes with Avery is when Will gets himself in debt with a pool hustler and Avery has to come to the rescue. At first Avery acts like he can’t shoot pool to raise the ante on the bet before going into shark mode and getting even with the pool hall hustler.

The Fresh Prince ran from 1990 to 1996 and the show carries memories of an awesome cast filled with memorable scenes, catch phrases and of course one signature dance number by Ribeiro!

I am glad that I grew up watching it and carrying the memories of the 90s era.

Below is a link to my favorite clip of the pool scene from nub2sauce You Tube channel.

 

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Pop Culture Reflection: Beat Boxin’ Pioneers

1 Jan
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My props to the beatbox

One perk about growing up in the 80s is remembering and appreciating beat boxin’ skills from hip hop pioneers like The Fat Boys, Police Academy actor and comedian Michael Winslow and rap icon Doug E Fresh.

My description of human beat boxin’ is anyone who can create or mimic the sounds of a drum machine (a.k.a. beat box ) through vocal percussion. This is one of the coolest skills that I think anyone could have.

The Fat Boys were a popular hip hop trio in the mid 80s.  They covered the song Wipe Out and had a popular music video for it and they also filmed a comedy called Disorderlies in 1987. I loved this movie as a kid and my favorite part of the movie was when they sing Baby You’re a Rich Man.  Darren Robinson known as the human beat box of the trio was simply amazing to listen to and watch in his beat boxin’ action. Robinson sadly passed away in 1995 but his pioneering role in beat boxin’ lives on.

I also remember the first time I watched Police Academy and listening to all of the insane noises Michael Winslow could mimic with his mouth. He could even sound like a guitar and that blew me away as a kid.

My whole beat box reflection triggered after watching a recent episode of the The Arsenio Hall Show which I have been tuning into ever since Hall made a come back with his classic late show.

The show featured Doug E Fresh beat boxin’ and making his signature clicks sound that only his tongue can make. So many artists have covered his classic hit Lodi Dodi and it really doesn’t get any better than that song which sort of sums up the 80s beat boxin’ era for me.

Beat boxin’ has made a comeback with newer artists who are more in the spot light now than their 80s pioneers like Kenny Mohammed or french beat box great Alem.

My heart still hangs on to the 80s time of beat boxin’ and hip hop, after all it’s what I grew up listening to.

Below is a link from Adam Mcnasty You Tube channel showing my favorite beat box legend clip from the movie Disorderlies.

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Gem of the week: RUN DMC Christmas in Hollis

25 Dec

Wishing everyone in the blogosphere a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2014! Enjoy this gem of the week from RUN DMC in 1987! I promise this is the last Christmas video favorite I’ll share for the season! This link is from RUNDMCVEVO You Tube channel of a great classic.

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Legends of Rock: Bad Religion Release a Christmas Album

18 Dec

Punk icons Bad Religion released a Christmas album simply titled Christmas Songs.

The last thing I expected to hear this holiday season is that this band would put out a Christmas album.

I only say that because as far as I know lead singer Greg Graffin is an atheist and in general the band disagrees with organized religion.

According to their official site under the legacy tab it stated that:

“Bad Religion have threatened to record an album of seasonal classics for years, and now they’ve gone and done it, tackling eight chestnuts in their classic punk rock style.”

I would have thought  this sort of project would come from the punk rock cover band Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies, who are known to cover classic songs from any genre and give it a punk spin.

However weird it seems I listened through it and I’m hooked. The album is awesome with loud and fast rendition’s of the traditional Christmas classics. The album also includes a different recording of their well-known hit American Jesus too.

After listening to each song from the album on You Tube, I love Little Drummer Boy which isn’t even one of my favorites traditionally because the word rum-pah-pum-pum is ridiculous but Graffin gets away with saying it! I also loved God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman and this version now trumps any other one I thought I liked before it because it’s such a fierce and fueled rendition.

As if this new album wasn’t enough of a surprise treat, the band has also created a advent calendar on their official site that fans can click on each day and win a present. My click got one free download of What Child is This? from iTunes.

I got into Bad Religion when I was a teen and first heard 21st century Digital Boy over the radio. I started buying their albums with their 1996 release The Gray Race and the rest is history.

Their songs have a signature classic punk style with catchy guitar riffs and it’s infectious with one listen.

My favorite album is (1992) Generator. I love every song on that album especially Fertile Crescent and Atomic Garden.

I assure any hardcore punk fans this Christmas album will not disappoint and it’s consistent in the bands trademark speed and unique riffs. The album is also a nice break away from the traditional versions of Christmas music that play on the radio!

Bad Religion is set to appear on Conan O’Brien tonight.

I have a link below from the EpitaphRecords You Tube channel.

 

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Pop Culture Reflection: Less Overplayed Christmas Songs

11 Dec
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Sharing my favorite Christmas ornament and song lyric

Christmas songs become inescapable from hearing all day in December whether it’s blasting from the radio at the workplace or in malls and department stores.

During my holiday shopping I enjoy when I can hear the less overplayed gems such as: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan,  So This is Christmas by John Lennon,  Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby and The Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler.

I still have my favorite’s in the classic Christmas hits even though I know I’m going to hear the songs cycle through the radio five times throughout the day like: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee, Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano and The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole.

An article from Yahoo Music this week featured the top 20 most downloaded Christmas songs and it was an interesting list with the number one being,  All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey.

Despite what gets overplayed, I like listening to the Christmas classics and the updated versions  because it gets me into the holiday mood.

Here is a link from RoadCaptinEntertain’s You Tube channel for my favorite traditional Christmas song.

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