Charting the chart toppers

Listening to the most recent Current Geek Weekly this morning, they referenced this funny-sounding flowchart that maps out the Beatles classic "Hey Jude."

But then in looking it up so I could post it, I saw that whoever created it was inspired by this flowchart of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (click on it to see it bigger).

iPod inspection #4

Time for another iPod inspection.

I've been getting some odd mixes lately. The other day I was rocking out to a classic Van Halen song only to awkwardly segue into a much more easy listening James Taylor tune.

And the last time I went running I kept getting hit with slow songs like Billy Joel's "She's Always a Woman," which just goes to show I need to use a playlist for exercising instead of just shuffling everything.

Anyway, here's today's random 10 songs:

1. "Killer Queen" - Queen
2. "Every Breath You Take (Acoustic)" - Sting
3. "Mr. Pitiful" - The Commitments
4. "Imperial March" - John Williams (what, you all know I'm a giant geek)
5. "Paper In Fire" - John Mellancamp
6. "Black And Tan" - Hair of the Dog
7. "Where the Streets Have No Name" - U2
8. "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam
9. "Home by the Sea/Second Home by the Sea" - Genesis
10. "Frankestein" Edgar Winter

It seems like I get a U2 song and a Hair of the Dog song every time I do this. You'd think that's all I own, although I can assure you that's not the case.

What's got your ear these days?

iPod inspection

Time for another iPod inspection. I’ve been listening to a steady diet of podcasts lately (I’m hooked on Current Geek). But when we shuffle the tunes, here’s what comes out…

1. “The Scotsman” – Hair of the Dog
2. “Up on the Roof” – James Taylor (Live)
3. “One Year of Love” – Queen
4. “In ‘N’ Out” – Van Halen
5. “You May Be Right” – Billy Joel
6. Hard to Handle” – The Commitments
7. “Crash Course” – Crash Test Dummies
8. “Oliver’s Army” – Elvis Costello
9. “Bullet the Blue Sky” – U2
10. “Lonely Ol’ Night” – John Mellencamp

What are you listening to these days?

Hey Ya! It's Christmas again, Charlie Brown!

I first posted this on the blog three years ago. But a discussion today of Rolling Stone's list of the top 100 songs of the decade, where "Hey Ya" placed fourth, has prompted me to bring it back.

Enjoy...

iPod Inspection: Holiday edition

I've been wanting to do a Christmas version of the random 10, since I've loaded up so many holiday tunes. Time's running out. So here we go...

1. "Rock & Roll Christmas" - George Thorogood & the Destroyers
2. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - Mannheim Steamroller
3. "Coventry Carol" - John Denver
4. "O Holy Night" - Jewel
5. "Must Be Santa" - Bob Dylan
6. "Linus and Lucy" - Vince Guaraldi Trio
7. "Santa Baby" - Eartha Kitt
8. "Angels We Have Heard on High" - Aretha Franklin
9. "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" - Elmo & Patsy
10. "Sleigh Ride" - The Ventures

There you go. I should note that I omitted duplicate artists. So for example, if a second Mannheim Steamroller song came up (I have a lot of their CDs) I skipped over it to whatever was next. There were also duplicates of John Denver and Jewel that got skipped.

What holiday music are you listening to?

Wonderful world of 'Wicked'

On Monday night I joined the tens of thousands of people who will see “Wicked” at Proctors Theatre this month.

It was an amazing show, which tells the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of “The Wizard Oz.” It leaves you seeing the characters in a whole new light. Now I want to watch the movie again to see how well it all fits together.

As much as I liked the show, I don’t know if it quite rises to the level of “Phantom of the Opera.” I still think I liked that better.

Of course, maybe I would have enjoyed “Wicked” more had it not been for the family with giant heads sitting right and front of us and the dad who let his phone ring for about 30 seconds before finally shutting it off.

But it’s great to see shows like this come to Proctors and be successful. When “Wicked” first opened in Schenectady, WNYT reported that the theater had 82,000 seats available and had already sold 70,000 of them before the show’s run had even started. That’s impressive, and it’s great to see so many people enjoying downtown Schenectady.

Have you seen "Wicked" at Proctors? What did you think of it?

Joining iPod Nation

Although my birthday is still about a month away, I picked up an early gift over the weekend – a spiffy new iPod Nano (thanks mom and dad Chase).

I spent a good part of the day yesterday filling it up with music, and in the process rediscovering some CDs I forgot I owned.

The cool thing about the Nano, it also has a video camera and an FM radio that allows you to pause and rewind like a DVR.

Believe it or not, this is the first digital music player I’ve ever owned. The boys each have their own mp3 players, but I’ve never had one of my own before.

Anyway, this allows me to take part in a meme Sarah used to feature on her blog – the “Random 10.” I’ll shuffle the tunes and see what comes out. Here’s our first installment:

1.  “Everybody Has the Blues” – James Taylor
2. “Get Up Jack” – Hair of the Dog
3. “The Power of Love” – Huey Lewis & the News
4. “Spirit in the Sky” – Norman Greenbaum
5. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Paul Simon
6. “All or Nothing at All” – Frank Sinatra
7. “Shower the People” – James Taylor
8. “Pride (In the Name of Love)” – U2
9. “Not Even the Trees” – Hootie & the Blowfish
10. “Hannah Jane” – Hootie & the Blowfish

Surprised I got a couple of repeats with James Taylor and Hootie. I loaded up a ton of songs, so I thought my first Random 10 would be a little more…random.

Mashup mania

Here's another from the Too Much Free Time Department.

I don't know what the point of this video is. I just know that it's AWESOME!

Tape deck flashback

I fished out an old mix tape and popped it into the tape deck while driving home from work tonight. I made it in 1995. Here's what was on it:

• Blues Traveler: "Run-Around"
• Spin Doctors: "Jimmy Olsen's Blues"
• Sophie B. Hawkins: "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"
• Counting Crows: "Mr. Jones"
• Hootie and the Blowfish: "Drowning"
• 10,000 Maniacs: "These Are Days"
• R.E.M.: "Man on the Moon"
• Genesis: "Driving the Last Spike"
• Jan Hammer: "Too Far"

That was side A. Side B had Queen's Greatest Hits.

Where the music comes from

I mentioned on Twitter earlier today that I dig the music in the ads for the movie version of "Where the Wild Things Are."

Local writer, actor and blogger Kevin Marshall was quick to reply that the song is "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire.

Here's the video:



Thanks, Kevin! (Not to mention Shawn and Sarah who also chimed in with the info)

Actually, I'd be looking forward to "Where the Wild Things Are" either way. It looks like it could be a cool movie the whole family can enjoy without being strictly kiddie fare. I hope that turns out the be the case.

'4...3...2...1...'

I kind of dig that Lincoln MKZ commercial with the remake of Peter Schilling's "Major Tom (Coming Home)" just for the music.

So I sat down and searched for a video of the song on YouTube. I found lots of versions in the original German (dig those yellow jumpsuits!) and a few in English.

But I also stumbled across this really cool remix set to images from NASA. Unfortunately, it doesn't use all of the lyrics -- just the chorus over and over. But it's still cool anyway...



By the way, the remake is by Shiny Toy Guns. You can hear their full version here.

Merry music

Despite the gazillion radio stations playing non-stop Christmas music, I have yet to hear two of my favorites.  Here they are...





Whatever happened to Crash Test Dummies anyway?

John Williams tribute

This is just too darn awsome...

Trick-or-Treat

I'll watch anything with the irresistibly cute Zooey Deschanel (who doesn't love her in "Elf?"). So when I spotted this on Keyboard Krumbs, it seemed like the perfect Halloween treat. (Thanks, Rob!)

Tony Clifton rides again

When looking at a list of upcoming concerts and other performances in the Capital Region, I couldn't help but notice Tony Clifton was going to be at Revolution Hall in Troy on Friday night.

Wait a minute. Tony Clifton?!? As in the Andy Kaufman character?

A quick Google search confirmed it is in fact that Tony Clifton coming to our area.

Obviously, it's not Kaufman behind the dark sunglasses. Although some people were apparently duped into thinking Clifton was a real person, the belligerent and somewhat mysterious character was alternately portrayed by Kaufman's brother Michael and comedy partner Bob Zmuda (not to mention Jim Carrey in "Man on the Moon").

Anyway, my Google search also brought me to this video, which I just thought was too bizarre to not post...

It's Still Rock and Roll to Me

We headed over to Proctor's Theatre with the Brownells last night to see "Movin' Out."

The show was fantastic. It's essentially a "rock ballet" set to the music of Billy Joel. They quite cleverly tied together about two dozen Billy Joel songs to illustrate the story of a group of friends experiencing love, war, death and redemption during the turbulent 1960s and on into later years.

The dancing was amazing. There was little to no dialogue in the show. The story is entirely conveyed through the movement of the dancers and the lyrics of the songs.

Speaking of the lyrics…I've always been a big Billy Joel fan, but I admit it's been a while since I sat down and really listened to his music (it's been about 15 years since his last pop album was released). The show really helped remind me why I liked him so much back in the day and what an incredible songwriter he is.

You name the classic Billy Joel song and it's in there. With the exception of "Allentown" and (believe it or not) "Piano Man," most everything else is included - every hit from "Captain Jack" to "River of Dreams."

One of my favorite songs of his has always been "Goodnight Saigon," and the rendition of it here does not disappoint. It's haunting and almost moved me to tears.

Although most of the show is pretty dark, there is fun to be had with some of the more upbeat numbers like "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" and "Uptown Girl."

The show is actually heavy on Billy's better older stuff and doesn't have quite as much from his later albums. But that's ok. If you're a Billy Joel fan you should get yourself to Proctor's before the show closes on Sunday. You won't regret it.

The good, the bad and the merry

I love Christmas music of any variety. But there are some holiday tunes I just can’t handle – like anything by the Carpenters. There must be at least three radio stations in the Albany area that play non-stop Christmas music. But as soon as I hear Karen Carpenter’s voice I reach for the tuner. It’s like a reflex.

But there is one song that I think has the indisputable claim to the Worst Holiday Song of All Time title. I was working out the YMCA recently, listening to seasonal songs on the radio, when “The Christmas Shoes” came on. ARRGGHH!!! When you’re exercising you want energetic music that pumps you up. This song makes you want to slit your wrists. I don’t condone censorship, but I’ll make an exception in this case. This song should be banned from the airwaves forever!

I think my favorite Christmas song on the radio right now is Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan performing “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

Bare Naked Ladies & Sarah Mclachlan - Christmas medley from http://fellowshipofthestrings.vox.com/

One of my all-time favorites is “O Holy Night.” I’m a sucker for any version of it – except Mariah Carey’s. I always worry the glass in the windows is going to shatter when she shrieks the high notes.

On another note, while thinking about Christmas music recently it dawned on me that the ongoing writers strike is going to rob all of us of one of my favorite holiday traditions: the “Late Show with David Letterman” Christmas episode. You can count on this episode every year for three things:

• Paul Shaffer will do his impression of Cher singing the aforementioned “O Holy Night” (“OOOooooo HOOOOooooolllly Night, the stars are brightly shiiiiiiiiining!”).
• Jay Thomas will come out, as he has every year since 1998, and tell his classic Lone Ranger story and then he and Dave will take part in the Late Show Quarterback Challenge (you can read the story and an explanation of the QB Challenge in this recap of last year’s show).
• And last, but certainly not least, the great Darlene Love comes out to blow the lid off the dump with a rousing rendition of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”

Darlene first performed the song for Letterman in 1986 on “Late Night” on NBC. She appeared on “Late Show” on CBS to do the song in 1994 and has returned every year since (except this year).

Of her 14 Letterman appearances singing this song, I found six on YouTube. I wanted to pick one to post here and narrowed it down to two. When I couldn’t decide further, I figured what the hell, let’s post them both. You decide which one is better.

First up is the 2000 appearance. Darlene is backed up by the Singing Sergeants of the U.S. Air Force and the performance was broadcast live to service members overseas.

Next up is last year’s appearance. This slightly extended version (compared to the other clips I found) is another show-stopper, complete with a sleigh on stage and a brief appearance by Late Show’s Grinder Girl and Hula Hoop Girl.

Might as well 'Jump'...off a cliff

You know how when you drive by a car wreck, you just can't help but slow down and gawk at it? Well, if you'd like to see a wreck in progress, check out this clip from Van Halen's current tour...



For an in-depth discussion of what might have gone wrong, check out EW's Pop Watch blog.

Another sign we're getting old...

The baby on the cover of Nirvana's hugely successful 1991 album "Nevermind" is now a 17-year-old high school student in California.

Spencer Elden says he feels like a porn star because so many people have seen him naked.

Plugging into 'Unplugged'

I know I just blogged the other day that the MTV Movie Awards are the only thing I watch on that channel (I'm not exactly in their key demographic anymore).

But that may change this summer. MTV's "Unplugged" franchise is returning. Apparently, someone reminded the people at MTV that the "M" stands for music.

The show will return on June 22 with Bon Jovi. Also on tap for this summer is
The Police, which should be awesome to see.

"Unplugged" was an MTV staple in my college days, with great performances from the likes of Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Elton John, 10,000 Maniacs, R.E.M. and of course Tony Bennett.

This time the show will also be shown other Viacom properties like VH1 and CMT.