We are the World...Again

Last night as were gearing up for the start of the olympics, NBC aired a portion of a music video for a new version of the 80's stars feeling good about themselves song "We are the World." This one is to help with the relief effort in Haiti. I guess I had heard about it a week or so ago but hadn't paid real close attention to the story. Just like how 20+ years ago when stars like Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Rogers, and so on got together to sing on one single...this time we have the likes of Miley Cyrus, The Black Eyed Peas and Celine Dion. And once again, they are all under the direction of Quincy Jones. Both versions of the song represent interesting moments in pop culture history and no matter what you think of the celebrities involved, it is a good thing they're doing.

I remember the album cover of the original "We are the World" which featured a group photo of the stars involved and an alphabetical listing of their names beneath. What always stuck out in my mind is that the first name on that alphabetical list was someone we don't think of as a singer...Dan Aykroyd!?!? Now Aykroyd had done some singing as a part of the Blues Brothers, but I always kind of wondered how Aykroyd ended up among all the chart toppers who gathered to record that song.



As I'm watching the video for the new song last night, I noticed a few more famous faces carrying on the "huh?" tradition of Dan Aykroyd singing on the original. I was surprised to see "the dude" himself, Jeff Bridges, among the crowd. Even more surprising was seeing that musical hit-machine Vince Vaughn (that's sarcasm campers). No disrespect to these two, I mean bravo for helping...but it's still a bit of a "huh" moment.

Space Invaders

This is one cool video. That is all...


Happy Up Here from Röyksopp on Vimeo.

Prog Rock and the Hall of Fame

Last night was the annual induction ceremony for the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame. I watched most of the broadcast and let me tell you, the Oscars got nuthin' on these guys. The show was over 4 hours long.

It was very interesting to watch as quite a diverse group of musicians were ushered into the hall. The inductions of Metallica and Run D.M.C. were the focal points of the night but also inducted were the likes of Jeff Beck, Little Anthony & the Imperials, and rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson (who I thought was the highlight of the night).

I love the way the hall of fame includes so many diverse style of music that fall under this umbrella of Rock N' Roll. Though, one of my favorite styles, progressive rock, is sadly underrepresented in the hall. I can only think of two acts that can really be considered progressive rock that have been inducted into the hall...Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa, and Zappa is pretty much in his own genre. Of course, I would like to see my favorite band, Genesis, make the cut someday, but I'm not sure if they'd be considered "influential" enough. I actually think their former frontman, Peter Gabriel, stands a better chance of making it in as a solo artist. He's always been a bit more respected than his former band mates, while they have consistently outsold him.

So...Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, it was a fun evening...but let's try to get some prog on the bill soon, ok.

Songs with a Girls' Names in the Title

I was thinking the other day about how many great songs there are with a girls name in the title. Yes, these are the sort of things that go through my mind. I tried to come up with a top 10 list but it was too difficult. It ended up being a list of 40 songs!

I decided to share my list with my blogisphere friends, so here are the top 40 songs with a girls name in the title...as decided by me.

40. Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners



From the days when jumping around in overalls was in style comes Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Come to think of it, what that every in style? I digress. Despite strong accents and mumbled lyrics conspiring to keep us in the dark as to what Eileen could actually see in this guy, “Come on Eileen” is one of those just so darn catchy tunes that makes for a perfect one-hit wonder, which is just what Dexy and his pals ended up being.

More to come later...

Christmas Playlist

I love Christmas music, especially strange Christmas music. So, if you have the courage to experience my musical taste, try out my Christmas playlist from Project Playlist. Among the songs are a Porky Pig version of "Blue Christmas," The Ramones with "Merry Christmas, I don't Want to Fight," and the Cheech and Chong classic "Santa Claus and His Old Lady."

Click here for the tunes.

MTV Plays Music!?!?!

MTV has just launched a new website called mtvmusic.com. This is strange because not only is the name kind of like talking about an ATM Machine...you know, Automatic Teller Machine Machine, so now we have Music Television Music...but MTV hasn't had anything to do with music for what like 14 years now. But this website is really a cool idea, they have pretty much every video in their library up on the site for viewing, plus your can embed the code on your own site. So, way to go MTV!

Now enjoy one of the greatest videos of all time...not only does it have puppets, but it's my all-time favorite band!

Land of Confusion by Genesis!

Genesis MTV Music

Genesis: Live Over Europe 2007

I've mentioned before that my favorite band of all-time is Genesis, so I just had to offer up a review of their newly released live album, "Live Over Europe 2007."

I think Genesis may have released more live albums than just about anyone: Genesis Live (1973), Seconds Out (1977), Three Sides Live (1982), The Way We Walk Vol. 1: The Shorts (1992), and The Way We Walk Vol. 2: The Longs (1993). It's kind of interesting that a band with it's roots in the progressive rock genre would have so many live albums. Prog bands don't tent to have a lot of variation between the album versions and live versions of songs. But from the days when Peter Gabriel would wear fox heads and flower costumes in concert, Genesis has always been a great live band.

The new album features songs from all stages of the band's history, recorded at various venues across Europe last summer. Most of the songs have appeared in other live incarnations, still, it's great to hear new recordings of these classics. For me, the highlight of the album "Ripples," a beautiful song from the 1976 album "A Trick of the Tail" which has never made an appearance on one of the band's previous live efforts. Another favorite was "Conversations with Two Stools," which is a recording of the Phil Collins / Chester Thompson drum duet, which has been a Genesis tradition since Collins took over lead singing duties in the mid 70's. The duet flows directly into the classic instrumental piece "Los Endos," which at least features part of my namesake song, "Squonk."

It doesn't exactly break new ground, but "Live Over Europe 2007" is great chance to hear a classic band together again.

iPod Favorites

Last winter I finally got myself an iPod, and I've got to say I'm having a lot of fun with it. What's great is I get to take my albums, download the songs that I really enjoy, and leave the filler material sitting on the shelf. Or even better yet only purchase the songs I like from a place like iTunes and not even bother with the rest. So if I should feel a strange yearning to listen to the song "99 Luftballoons," in German I might add, I need not shell out $15 for the one track I want.

Don't get me wrong, though, there are some albums that are worth having the whole thing in your MP3 player. It's a pretty rare thing to find such an album. Even some of the greatest records of all time have their weak spots. I mean come on, you can't tell me that you haven't ever skipped over "Within You, Without You" when spinning Sgt. Peppers.

So, here are a few favorites I keep tucked away in my iPod in their entirety.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Genesis

This is the final Genesis album to feature the five piece lineup of Tony Banks (Keyboard), Mike Rutherford (Bass), Phil Collins (Drums), Steve Hackett (Guitar), and Peter Gabriel (Vocals). It's a concept album that tells the story of a street kid named Rael and his adventures in subterranean New York City. The story is weird, disturbing, and you won't have a clue what is going on unless you read the synopsis in the album's jacket. Some true Genesis classics are featured here, including the title track, "The Carpet Crawlers," and "In the Cage"...a song which had an even better incarnation in the live portion of the "Three Sides Live" album. Some of the band's most unique compositions appear on this album as well, such as the instrumental piece "The Waiting Room." Even though there are some elements of the story I don't care for, I find "The Lamb" to be one of the best examples of the progressive rock genre.

Abbey Road - The Beatles

If there's any band who's entire body of work deserves a spot in your iPod, it's The Beatles, but if I had to single out one album, I'd have to go with "Abbey Road." I enjoy the entire album, but there are four songs in particular that jump out for me..."Come Together" written primarily by John, "Oh, Darling" written primarily by Paul, "Here comes the Sun" written by George, and "Octopus' Garden" written by Ringo. In these four songs, I think the listener gets and interesting picture of the personalities of the four Beatles at a time when their partnership was reaching it's end.

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips

I've heard that the band claims this is not a concept album, however, apparently there are plans in the works to turn this into a Broadway musical. Even if there is no story line, the more I listened to this psychedelic/alternative/prog album, the more a story began to form in my head. Favorite tracks include "Fight Test," "Do You Realize??," and the instrumental "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 2."


Testimony - Neal Morse

I've blogged about Neal Morse's awesome double album "Testimony" before. It is, I feel, the best Christian rock album ever, and ranks up there in the list of all-time great Prog albums as well. Morse was one of the driving forces of Spock's Beard before God moved his life in a new direction. This album tells the story of Morse's coming to the faith. It's an extremely original and moving work that is best enjoyed when listened to in it's entirety.

Across the Universe

The new movie "Across the Universe" opens in limited release next week. This film builds a story using Beatles songs as the framework. Even the character names are taken from Beatles songs: Jude, Lucy, Prudence, JoJo, etc.



I've been intrigued by this film since I first heard it announced. For one thing, it's directed by Julie Taymor, the person who brought puppetry to Broadway in a big way with the stage version of "The Lion King." I'm also intrigued because this idea of creating a movie storyline out of Beatles tunes has been tried before. It was called "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," and it ranks among the worst movies ever made. Here you have folks like Peter Frampton, The Bee Gees, and George Burns playing characters mentioned in Beatles songs...Billy Shears, The Hendersons, Mr. Kite.



I have to admit having a special place in my movie-geek heart for really bad movies. "Sgt. Pepper's" is one of those that's so bad that I highly recommend it. I mean it's got George Burns singing "Fixing a Hole," what more could you ask for?

Let's hope that Taymor's film fares better.