Gem of the Week: P.M. Dawn

25 Sep

“Reality used to be a friend of mine ‘Cause complete control I don’t take too kind,” Prince Be.

These classic lyrics from the 1991 song by P.M. Dawn, Set ADrift on Memory Bliss, still inspires me today as it did during the 90s.
 
The group comprised of brothers Prince Be (lead vocals) and DJ Minute Mix; they had a cool image from the bizarre way they dressed to the deep thought-provoking lyrics in their songs.
 
According to the fan site www.pmdawnonline.com, Prince Be stated the meaning of the group name was an the idea that in the darkest hour comes the light.

I researched to find updated news about them and I found this online article posted September 28, 2011 from The Stranger.com.

The article basically stated that DJ Minute Mix is pursuing a solo career and the groups cousin Doc  G stepped in his place.  Also, Prince Be has suffered from health issues after having three strokes and is still trying to recover.

I wish Prince Be full recovery and I only have fond memories listening to P.M. Dawn on the radio during my preteen middle school days!

Their classic 1991 album, Of The Heart, Of The Soul and Of The Cross: The Utopian Experience, set it off with the hits: Set Adrift on Memory Bliss and my favorite Reality Used To Be A Friend Of Mine.

All I know is that when I listened to P.M. Dawn I heard mellow and smooth vocals with lyrics that I could comprehend unlike the hip-hop/r&b music that I hear playing on the radio today!

P.M. Dawn wrote the type of songs that you could relate too and I will not forget them.

I have linked the classic video from Djbuddyloverootsrap You Tube channel below.

http://youtu.be/B9K3bTZgdHY

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Gem of the Week: The Pogues

18 Sep

The Pogues are pioneers for blending celtic irish folk and punk rock genres together.

In recent years bands like Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys have taken the irish/punk sound mainstream but before them was The Pogues!

I think The Pogues music has become overshadowed and their songs are a bit underrated too; but they are a great band.

One of The Pogues most well rated album is their 1985 release Rum, Sodomy and the Lash. They do a great cover of an anti-war song titled, The Band Played Waltzing Matilda.

Also, the 1991 movie My Own Private Idaho included the song The Old Main Drag on their soundtrack.

A couple noteworthy songs that I like are, Lorca’s Novena (featured in the 1997 movie Grosse Pointe Blank) and Dirty Old Town.

You can read more about the band from their official site, but in a nutshell they formed in 1982, Shane MacGowan is the frontman, who was notable for his trademark bad teeth until 2009 when he finally got dental work done. Here is a photo of his trademark teeth posted on TheGloss.com.

According to the statement on the official website, as of April 2012 guitarist Philip Chevron has revealed that his head and neck cancer has returned.

“The Pogues are on a prolonged time out, emerging only in support of matters relating to their 30th anniversary this year,” according to the statement.

I was sad to learn that Chevron is battling cancer and I hope he stays strong.

I have linked  a music video from Zinerytee You Tube channel below.

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Gem of the Week: Sufjan Stevens

11 Sep

I stumbled across an artist named Sufjan Stevens, who does a stellar R.E.M. cover of The One I Love!

Since R.E.M is my favorite band, I always click on any You Tube video involving R.E.M.

Good thing I clicked on this video otherwise I may have never discovered another lil’ gem.

Stevens is a mix of Indie/Pop/Folk style; he has a soft croon to his voice that reminds me of a young Bob Dylan.

According to his bio from Asthmatic Kitty Records, he is from Detroit, Michigan and his most well-known concept state albums are Illinois and Michigan released in 2004 and  2005.

I checked out other songs on You tube from him ; his version of the gospel song Holy, Holy, Holy is really good too.

Stevens covered The One I Love well and made it his own which is impressive!

Please check out the link below of The One I love cover from Pat Mcinnis You Tube channel.

Tags: , , , ,

Pop Culture Reflection: Former Bears QB and Super Bowl Shuffler Jim McMahon

4 Sep

My pop culture reflection goes to former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon. He was one of the big fun-loving personalities to come from the Super Bowl XX team during the mid 80s!

The first word that pops in my head when I see McMahon is, “Outrageousness,” as stated from the Honda Scooter commercial he did in the 80s.

According to an article from the Huffington Post, the 1985 Bears are  one of the greatest teams in NFL’s history. Even though it has been 26 years President Obama decided to host them for their formal White House visit in 2011; the team never got to have the traditional visit due to the 1986 space shuttle Challenger explosion.

I had to do a wiki search to get the exact year but the Chicago Bears recorded a big rap hit in 1985 called the Super Bowl Shuffle.  Of course McMahon is one of the rappers referring to himself as the, “Punky QB!”

I think that rap was so clever and successful and it obviously made its mark in pop culture.

I was reading a CBS sports article that mentioned McMahon’s recent appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. McMahon talked about his health issues with dementia and the $765 million settlement reached in the concussion lawsuit filed by former NFL players.

I was sad to learn he has suffered so much with his health and that he had even contemplated suicide! I think the lawsuit settlement did seem to shine a ray of hope for him.

I remember that Honda Scooter commercial he did because it was one of those commercials that aired a lot in the mid 80s.

The commercial held my interest as a kid because of the fast-moving clips of McMahon in different outfits, making silly faces and of course his sunglasses.

I especially liked when he said, “Wasn’t that fun.”

I use to even repeat it with him sometimes.  (nerdy kid that I was)

From my perspective watching him in those 80s commercials as a kid, he just seemed like this cool sports guy who had fun on a Honda Scooter and liked eating Taco Bell.

I linked commercials below after I happily found the Honda one from Commercials818 You Tube channel and I found a link to the Taco Bell one from Jason Harder’s You Tube channel.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Gem of the Week: Passenger

28 Aug

Passenger is a newer british artist who is definitely worthy of a listen.

The Facebook fan page stated that Passenger started out as a five piece band but in 2007 the members chose to go their separate ways.

Singer Mike Rosenberg decided to embark on his solo project and kept the Passenger stage name for himself.

I think he is a good songwriter and the solo gig is working out for him.

His vocals and folksy acoustic style remind me of Paul Simon.

I listened to a few songs from his 2012 release, All The Little Lights and I absolutely loved his lyrics.

He is simply a guy with his guitar and the songs, Keep on Walking and All The Little Lights are my favorite so far.

I look forward to exploring more new songs from Passenger.

You can check out the official website and listen to his music from the link below.

http://passengermusic.com

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Pop Culture Reflection: Remembering 80s cartoon theme Fraggle Rock

21 Aug

When a kids show has a catchy theme song you know it will linger in your mind. I remember the Fraggle Rock song lyrics like it was yesterday:

“Dance your cares away, worry’s for another day, let the music play, down at Fraggle Rock!”

After a recent conversation I had about The Smurfs 2 movie, I then started thinking about cartoons from the 80s that I watched like, The Jetsons, Gem, Transformers and for my pop culture reflection, Fraggle Rock!

I will always remember this show for it’s fun and catchy theme!

I did a wiki search to find out who wrote the song and it was written by Philip Balsam and Dennis Lee.

I loved watching Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies and afterwards I would wait for Fraggle Rock to start so I could rock out to that theme song!

I linked the clip from Retrowhiztv You Tube channel.  Please enjoy and sing along to one of my favorite childhood memories.

Tags: , , , ,

Gem of the Week: Philm

15 Aug

This band started off as the side project of Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.

I listened to the new single Held in Light and It was refreshing to hear a metal drummer
crossover to a mellow alternative style!

I like the clever name and the black and white music video.

I am not a big fan of Slayer or metal genre but I am very impressed with Philm.

I hope to hear more from them and I think rock fans will not be disappointed with their sound.

Philm has the right combo of talent and hardcore speed!

Check out their Facebook page and below is the link from 1rickkosick You Tube channel for the Held in Light video.

Tags: , , , ,

Gem of the Week: The Dead Milkmen

7 Aug

The Dead Milkmen popped into my head after I talked with my best friend about seeing a free show at Freedom Hill.

About twelve years ago my best friend and I use to love going to Freedom Hill and we attended this free show that will always stick out in our minds over the confusion it caused.

A flyer for the show listed a line up of a couple local bands and the main act as The Milkmen!

I somehow thought the flyer was referring to 80s punk band The Dead Milkmen and apparently I wasn’t alone in thinking that!

At the show I remember my best friend and I hung around to listen to the first couple bands as we waited for the main act.

There wasn’t a huge draw and I remember seeing one guy leaning against a post in a Dead Kennedy’s shirt. Another guy wearing a NOFX shirt was still moshing  even though the music had stopped.

I also recall  seeing this old hippie guy who was at least in his 70s. He wore a faded army jacket with patches on it along with a red bandana over his gray hair. The old guy kept slowly walking through trying to check out woman.

I then saw three high school age teens start setting up on stage.

When I first glanced at the band members I thought, wow they still look very young! Of course then it became clear, they were not The Dead Milkmen at all!

Even the band had to address this fact by specifying their band name was The Milkmen and not to confuse them with The Dead Milkmen!

The confusion got some eye rolls and whatever expressions from locals but I ended up staying for the show just to see if they were any good. I don’t really remember if The Milkmen were good but the mix up was funny and is filed in my mind!

I’m not sure if those teens chose a similar band name to draw people to their shows; If they did then it sure as hell worked!

Alas, I never got to see the real band! The memory made me nostalgic to listen to The Dead Milkmen’s music again.

After searching You Tube I stumbled across an HD upload of the music video for Punk Rock Girl!

Please enjoy the link from TimothyTim30 You Tube channel. For a full 80s experience you may want to whip up a glass of Tang and wear your old high tops.

Tags: , , ,

Gem of the Week: Lana Del Rey

29 Jul

Lana Del Rey is a newer artist that I am currently listening to and everything ties in well with her style, music and beautifully shot videos.

She reminds me a bit of Mazzy Star with her musical style and she kind of resembles actress Liv Tyler in looks.

According to her website  her sound is best described as cinematic with nostalgic references to the 60s era.

Her music videos on You Tube have received plenty of hits and it caught my attention too.

The video for Summertime Sadness has that melodramatic feel and the clips have a sepia lomography photo shoot tone.

The impression of the video and the song lyrics definitely linger in your head with the refrain:

 “I got that Summertime, Summertime Sadness.”

I have listened through her second release album Born to Die and I love it.

I especially liked the songs Blue Jeans and Born to Die.

Check out the link from Lana Del Ray’s You Tube channel for Summertime Saddness.

Tags: , , ,

Gem of the Week: Cake (Freedom Hill Amphitheatre show)

1 Jul

cake1Cake is one of my favorite bands that I have been listening to since the 90s and one that I never had the chance to see perform live.

When I heard they would be playing a free show in Detroit on June 29th, I was ecstatic.

The show was to celebrate the Stars and Stripes Festival at Freedom Hill.(Sterling Heights, MI)

Of course to prep for the upcoming show I dug out my favorite albums to listen to which are: Fashion Nugget (1996) and Comfort Eagle. (2001)

I forgot what gems songs like Race Car Ya Ya’s and The Distance are from Fashion Nugget.  My favorite song from Comfort Eagle is still Short Skirt/Long Jacket. 

In my quest to check out newer music from the band, I found out from their official website  that they recorded their sixth album using 100% solar energy! I guess they also started their own label called Upbeat Records so kudos to them!

I listened to some of their recent stuff from the album Showroom of Compassion (2011) and I really liked the track Long Time. The song kinda had an old school breakdance/freestyle beat but still kept classic Cake lyrics and style.

Another song called Got to Move was ok too but for some reason it reminded me of The Pretenders 1994 hit song I’ll Stand By You.

All in all my ears got pumped up with old and new ballads and I was ready for some Cake!

The evening show kicked off with lead singer John McCrea being interactive with the crowd and trying to give someone a tree.

I love when a frontman jokes with the audience but I think the whole tree bit dragged on way too long!

I’m big on efficiency and 10 minutes wasted could have fit in two more songs to the set! I would rather hear more music and less quirky jokes.

All is forgiven though since they sounded awesome.

I was happy to see that they are not a studio band and sounded as great live if not better than they do on their albums. They zipped through their classics like Short Skirt/Long Jacket.

They performed an awesome cover of War Pigs by Black Sabbath and they closed out strong with The Distance.

Tags: , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →