From 45s to Digital...

Bad Connection...

2011-03-11T13:04:00.000-09:00

Yaz. My love of Yazoo aka Yaz began with Erasure. Discovering that one member of Erasure had been in a band before, intrigued me. Then I decided to find out more about Yazoo. Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet created a unique sound in the early 1980s. Clarke was formally the keyboardist for Depeche Mode.

Alison Moyet's voice blew me away! I quickly became addicted to their music. It was number one on my favorites list for a time. Like all bands, this period of obsession fades a bit for me, but Yaz still remains one of my favorite bands. It ranks up there with ABBA, DM, the Killers, and No Doubt.

This song is about a phone call. Trying to call her love on the telephone, Alison is getting frustrated. It never made a dent on the Billboard charts, but I love it! :)

Over The Hills And Far Away

2011-02-13T18:30:00.001-09:00

Led Zeppelin. "Over The Hills and Far Away" from the Houses of the Holy album. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. John Bonham. John Paul Jones. The original heavy metal band.

This song does not start as many other Led Zeppelin songs do. It is an amazingly beautiful acoustic guitar introduction that makes this song worth listening to. Add to it, Zeppelin's usual excellent lyrics and it became a perennial favorite of mine.

Released in 1973, it only reached 51 on the Billboard charts. For the song Page started with an acoustic six string guitar and then repeats the theme with an acoustic twelve string guitar. "Lady, got the love on me, maybe, more than enough. Oh darlin', darlin', darlin', walk a while with me..."

Listen to it!

Tu Es Partout

2011-02-10T17:36:00.000-09:00

Perhaps the greatest torch singer of the 1940s and 1950s Edith Piaf's best remembered songs are: La Vie En Rose, Les Trois Cloches, and Je Ne Regrette Rien. Tu Es Partout was prominently featured in "Saving Private Ryan." It's haunting refrain stayed with me long after I left the theater. (Yes, I know the movie is from 1998.)

Piaf's life mirrored the tragic music she sang. Her personal heartaches may have led her music to take on a more poignant quality. Whatever the cause, it stirs my soul every time I listen to something she recorded. If you do not understand French fluently, do not worry. Her voice transcends language. So raw, so melancholy, so beautiful, one cannot help but feel the pull of the music.

Tu Es Partout interested me in Edith Piaf. I fell in love with her voice, as I often do with beautiful music. I urge you to listen and appreciate a different era of music. A time when the world was at war. When Big Band/Swing was the highlight of the dance halls and nobody's jukebox had been touched by "Rock 'N Roll."

Glory Days...

2011-02-09T20:30:00.000-09:00

Bruce Springsteen. 1985. Born in the USA album. #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Teaching high school and middle school reminds me of the value others place upon athletic success. I love this song cause it talks about how some folks want to recapture their past victories. My students, my players are making lifetime memories right now. I just hope they realize one can only remember the past, not actually relive it. :)

What's Left of the Flag...

2011-01-29T13:15:00.000-09:00

Flogging Molly. What a wonderful name for an Irish band. The song most listeners have heard by this band is "If I Ever Leave This World Alive." Featured in the movie "P.S. I Love You" it is a feel good tune. "What's Left of the Flag" is darker and more poignant.

As a lapsed Catholic of Irish (among other things) descent, it saddens me knowing my relatives have fought a war with one another for centuries now. This Irish - Celtic Punk Band laments the war fought among countrymen in "What's Left of the Flag." One of my favorite line starts, "And the rosary beads count 'em one two three fell apart as they hit the floor..."

In June 2009 the album "Drunken Lullabies" by Flogging Molly went gold. The band has a new album scheduled to come out in May 2011. Check them out when you get the chance.

Take A Chance On Me...

2011-01-28T23:33:00.000-09:00

ABBA has two songs that they begin by harmonizing alone. No big, sweeping instrumental introduction, just Agnetha, Anni-Frid aka Frida, Benny, and Bjorn using their combined voices. "Super Trouper" and my song of the day "Take A Chance On Me."

"Take A Chance On Me" was originally released on "The Album" in 1978. It hit number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 later that year. Amazingly, it outsold "Dancing Queen" in the United States. DQ is the only ABBA song to hit number one in the U.S.

This song was released on several other ABBA albums over the years. The most recent one is "ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits." My personal favorite album it was included on is 'The Magic of ABBA." My tape of this one is nearly worn out, as is the 8 track. The vinyl version of it still sounds great! I appreciate the digital sound too, but nothing is as good as vinyl. :)

Alejandro...

2011-01-27T21:22:00.000-09:00

Lady Gaga was actually introduced to me by one of my students. She liked Gaga's songs' "Poker Face" and "Just Dance." The beat and the crazy way she dressed hooked me on her videos and her songs.

"Alejandro" reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has been compared to many other musical artists. Gaga might have been influenced by ABBA and Ace of Base. I lean toward this assessment due to something in its stanzas, other than just the name, that reminds me of several ABBA songs. There is also the use of the name "Fernando," which was what started ABBA's rise to fame.

I LOVE the how she got her nickname. I do not see or hear any resemblance to the late great Freddy Mercury of Queen. Yet the nickname derives from the Queen song "Radio Gaga." An autocorrected text led Rob Fusari, Gaga's producer, to text her with Lady Gaga instead of Radio. Fusari thinks her vocal harmonies resemble Mercury. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta gave us a few earwig tunes in the past few years. What will be next?

Summer House...

2011-01-26T20:00:00.000-09:00

Gold Motel's "Summer House" sprang into my head today. This Indy effort is excellent! Once I heard it, I could not get it out of my head. The words, the beat, the rhythm of Greta Morgan while she sings all make it delicious.

A huge thanks to Olive Hayes! Without her, I would have never discovered such an unforgettable song. She is a beautiful person with terrific musical tastes and a rare talent. I hope to see her name as a part of the country music scene someday soon, either as a singer or a songwriter.

It's My Life...

2011-01-25T12:06:00.000-09:00

Today's song once inspired me to name this blog after it. "It's My Life" has the distinction of being recorded by two bands. This is not to be confused with the song that Bon Jovi recorded.

Talk Talk originally released this song in January 1984. It reached #31 on the Billboard charts in the United States. The band re-released this song in 1985 and 1990. It went to #3 on the British charts in 1990. It made it's biggest impact on the Billboard Dance Charts, where it reached #1.

In 2003 No Doubt released a version of the song on their Greatest Hits Album. The song was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 47th Grammy Awards. No Doubt's cover of the song reached number 10 on the Billboard charts in the United States. The video version they released featured a Jean Harlow-esque theme.

Both versions of the song are among my favorites. I am unsure I would know about it at all if it wasn't for No Doubt's choosing to record it instead of INXS's "Don't Change." Do what I would do, look for it on YouTube and buy it if you like it.