Lindsey Graham is the Drama Queen (Rocky Mountain Mike Song Parody)

With Sen. Lindsey Graham's pre-announcement of his announcement to announce to be a presidential candidate, I thought now was as good a time as any to replay one of my favorite Rocky Mountain Mike parodies.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, Drama Queen (Rocky Mountain Mike Song Parody)
[Originally appeared May 9, 2013]

This may be my new favorite Rocky Mountain Mike (of The Stephanie Miller Show) song parody. For years, people on the left and the right have noticed something a little off about confirmed bachelor Senator Lindsey Graham (R-Fainting Couch). I'd leave well enough alone, were it not for Graham's propensity to be an insufferable media whore, appearing on the Sunday morning political shows almost every week. Worse, he's a talking point regurgitator, to the point of answering direct questions with unrelated, scripted answers. Plus, of course, he's a drama queen. So to me, this song is spot on.

[Editor's Note:] And for any concern trolls out there, yes, I realize that making fun of a person by pointing out that he seems gay can be bad form. I'll even agree that it's in questionable taste. But when said person is running for the absolute top of a political party which has anti-gay planks in its platform--load-bearing planks, mind you--my give-a-shit meter barely registers a shit. Get me? This nearly 60-year-old confirmed bachelor talks like Blanche Devereaux from The Golden Girls, is prone to political histrionics that only need a few hand-flaps and hair-tosses to complete the stereotype. I'm not making fun of his likely homosexuality, I'm making fun of Lindsey Graham himself. The fact that he belongs in a category with Paul Lynde, Charles Nelson Reilly, Liberace and Marcus Bachmann only serves to make it funnier.

Blast from the Past: Positively Perfect Pop Songs!

Pop music gets very little respect from music fans. For those of us who like it, it's just a fun confection, an enjoyable lark. From "real" music fans, pop music is disposable, meaningless, without artistic merit. The equivalent of Stephen King or Dean Koontz in the fiction genre. Well, you know what? I dig King and Koontz! And I dig pop music too!

There are numerous pop songs that just strike me as pop confection perfection. And this is my list of some of the best of the best.

1. Misery - Maroon 5 - This group, headlined by The Voice's Adam Levine, is one of the most successful acts at crafting pure pop perfection. Usually, they include a little profanity to add a little street cred. But their songs are just little balls of perfectly crafted song candy. Misery is one of the best, making an abusive relationship sound fun and bouncy! Yay! I'm in misery!

2. Express Yourself - Madonna - It would be impossible to narrow down Madonna's discography to find the best, most perfect pop song. That's why I didn't, and there is more than one. This one isn't just perfect, it has alternate versions that are equally perfect! And that shouldn't be possible!



3. Mony Mony - Billy Idol - This is an eighties version of a sixties song, that is largely meaningless. But it is absolute perfection in what it sets out to do: set dance floors on fire, and make people happy for no reason. Its recent inclusion in a Nissan Sentra ad is just proof.

4. Steal My Sunshine - Len - Usually, when an act samples parts of another song to put into their own, the result is derivative, uninspired and something of a retread. In this case, one-hit-wonder Len achieves pop perfection, using Andrea True's More, More, More disco tune as a foundation.



5. Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode - You can tell when even an "alternative" band has become mainstream when their old tunes not only get mixed in on "80s and More!" radio stations, but get put into GAP ads. This song might be from a band with a heavy artistic cred, but the song is a pop meringue.

6. Vogue - Madonna - Leave it to Madonna to take an underground gay dance craze, and turn it into mainstream success. And then, make it enough of a classic that if you played it on any dance floor 20+ years later, it would still draw a crowd.



7. Waterloo - ABBA - I am of the opinion that ABBA's catalog--almost all of it--could be released today, and be successful. Many, if not most of their hit songs are masterpieces of pop music. Songs like Ring, Ring and On and On and On should be re-released, just to see what happens. But Waterloo, to me, is a perfect pop song.

8. A Little More Love - Olivia Newton-John - This one might seem like a stretch, but hear me out. Pay attention to Olivia's change-ups in melody. Notice that she changes the note structure in each lead-in to the chorus, and each chorus itself. Much like Adam Levine does in Maroon 5, Olivia plays with the notes, going all over the place, but always in tune, and sounding perfect.




Okay, kids, that's my bit for this week. Hope you had a great Easter and/or Walking Dead finale weekend! Have a great week, and happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: Songs that Should have Been Hits

Yes, this is a rerun, but I've added two new "shoulda beens" to the end!

For this week's Blast from the Past, I'm going to see how many songs I can find that are examples of great songs that either barely hit the Billboard charts, or didn't even break through at all. And I'm sure I'll only crack the surface here. These are the kinds of songs that you either know because they were on an album you played a lot, sometimes on a Greatest Hits collection with some "extras" that really weren't. Or it's an attempt at a comeback from an established star that just didn't do the trick. Whatever it is, these songs all have the makings of a hit, but just. . .weren't for some reason. See how many you know.



1. Ring Ring by ABBA (1973) - This early tune by the Swedish quartet managed to make several world-wide charts, some to number one. But it didn't chart in the states at all. It should have.

2. On and On and On by ABBA (1980) - A later track by the same group had all the makings of a hit (and the by now standard repeating title of many of their others), but only hit #90 in the US. It was still very catchy, and should have been a hit.



3. I'm Gonna Be Strong by Cyndi Lauper (1994) - According to Lauper, this is the song that got her a recording contract. Small wonder. I've always wondered what could have happened if Lauper had been a contestant on American Idol, and belted this out. It's amazing.

4. You Don't Know by Cyndi Lauper (1997) - As you can now tell, I have some favorite artists who have several songs I think should have been hits. This one was probably hampered by an album track that was slow and languid. This dance version is one of my favorites, a song about the stupidity of bigotry.



5. Quantum Mechanic by Thomas Dolby and Dr. Fiorella Terenzi (1994) - This great tune from the Gate to the Mind's Eye soundtrack always made me happy. And should have been released.

6. UMF by Duran Duran (1993) - One of several tracks from "The Wedding Album," something of a comeback album that did have a couple of hits. UMF stands for "ultimate mind f**k," thought the profanity is never uttered.



7. Only You by Pat Benatar (1997) - Again, a great album, chock full of great tunes, but it still couldn't revive Benatar's hit-making career.

8. Try by Billy Pilgrim (1994) - I saw this band when they opened for Melissa Etheridge on tour. I bought their album, and totally dug it. This is one of their best songs, and it turned up on a compilation or two, but didn't really go anywhere. Great harmonies.



9. Rock D.J. by Robbie Williams (2000) - This incredibly catchy dance tune was a hit around the world, but didn't manage more than #24 on the dance chart in the US. Maybe it had something to do with the gory, out-of-left-field video.

10. Little Bird by Annie Lennox (1993) - This is (along with a couple of other tracks that didn't chart) one of my favorite Lennox tunes. Amazing that I didn't do better.



11. One by One by Cher (1996) - Like the Cyndi Lauper tune, You Don't Know above, this one had a down-tempo album version, and this spirited dance version. The dance version charted at #6, the album version at #52. I'm fairly certain it was this song's performance that made Cher go straight for dance releases like Believe after this.

12. That's What I Think by Cyndi Lauper (1993) - Another Lauper tune, I can't help myself. I think she's been criminally overlooked. This one she even plays the recorder. I remember her blowing David Letterman away when she performed it on his show.

And that will wrap it up for now. I realized as I was writing that there are many, many songs I listen to that were never hits but seemingly could have been. Give these a listen, and look forward to another edition. This one is worth a sequel. (or a rerun, heh)

Happy Monday!

BONUS: Here's the Letterman clip.

Blast from the Past: Remade in the 80s (and 90s)

I have a friend who first heard the song Ticket to Ride as The Carpenters' version, and to him it's the "real" version of the song. The Beatles' original version is to him the lesser of the two. That's crazy, I know, but it really does seem to be the one you heard first that sticks and feels "real" to you. As a consequence, lots of people alive in the 1980s are far more familiar with remakes made of earlier songs, and think it is the 80s cheese that reigns supreme.

1. & 2. You Keep Me Hangin' On - Kim Wilde vs. Diana Ross & The Supremes
 

3. & 4. Venus - Bananarama vs. Shocking Blue
 

5. & 6. Hazy Shade of Winter - The Bangles vs. Simon & Garfunkel
 

7. & 8. Lean on Me - Club Nouveau vs. Bill Withers
 

9. & 10. Take a Chance on Me - Erasure vs. ABBA
 

I really saved the best for last there, didn't I? I could watch those two over and over!

Happy Monday, everybody.

Blast from the Past: Songs That Should Have Been Hits

For this week's Blast from the Past, I'm going to see how many songs I can find that are examples of great songs that either barely hit the Billboard charts, or didn't even break through at all. And I'm sure I'll only crack the surface here. These are the kinds of songs that you either know because they were on an album you played a lot, sometimes on a Greatest Hits collection with some "extras" that really weren't. Or it's an attempt at a comeback from an established star that just didn't do the trick. Whatever it is, these songs all have the makings of a hit, but just. . .weren't for some reason. See how many you know.



1. Ring Ring by ABBA (1973) - This early tune by the Swedish quartet managed to make several world-wide charts, some to number 1. But it didn't chart in the states at all. It should have.

2. On and On and On by ABBA (1980) - A later track by the same group had all the makings of a hit (and the by now standard repeating title of many of their others), but only hit #90 in the US.



3. I'm Gonna Be Strong by Cyndi Lauper (1994) - According to Lauper, this is the song that got her a recording contract. Small wonder. I've always wondered what could have happened if Lauper had been a contestant on American Idol, and belted this out. It's amazing.

4. You Don't Know by Cyndi Lauper (1997) - As you can now tell, I have some favorite artists who have several songs I think should have been hits. This one was probably hampered by an album track that was slow and languid. This dance version is one of my favorites, a song about the stupidity of bigotry.



5. Quantum Mechanic by Thomas Dolby and Dr. Fiorella Terenzi (1994) - This great tune from the Gate to the Mind's Eye soundtrack always made me happy. And should have been released.

6. UMF by Duran Duran (1993) - One of several tracks from "The Wedding Album," something of a comeback album that did have a couple of hits. UMF stands for "ultimate mind f**k," thought the profanity is never uttered.



7. Only You by Pat Benatar (1997) - Again, a great album, chock full of great tunes, but it still couldn't revive Benatar's hit-making career.

8. Try by Billy Pilgrim (1994) - I saw this band when they opened for Melissa Etheridge on tour. I bought their album, and totally dug it. This is one of their best songs, and it turned up on a compilation or two, but didn't really go anywhere. Great harmonies.



9. Rock D.J. by Robbie Williams (2000) - This incredibly catchy dance tune was a hit around the world, but didn't manage more than #24 on the dance chart in the US. Maybe it had something to do with the gory, out-of-left-field video.

10. Little Bird by Annie Lennox (1993) - This is (along with a couple of other tracks that didn't chart) one of my favorite Lennox tunes. Amazing that I didn't do better.

And that will wrap it up for now. I realized as I was writing that there are many, many songs I listen to that were never hits but seemingly could have been. Give these a listen, and look forward to another edition. This one is worth a sequel.

Happy Monday!

ABBA's Happy New Year

I can't let the countdown start without posting the classic ABBA's Happy New Year, can I? It's hard to believe this song was released at the end of the 1970s, with ponderings about what the 1980s would bring. There have been recent rumblings that ABBA might finally reunite, and all I can say is, they'd better hurry! Good grief, we're getting old waiting!

Blast from the Past: Remade in the 80s

I have a friend who first heard the song Ticket to Ride as The Carpenters' version, and to him it's the "real" version of the song. The Beatles' original version is to him the lesser of the two. That's crazy, I know, but it really does seem to be the one you heard first that sticks and feels "real" to you. As a consequence, lots of people alive in the 1980s are far more familiar with remakes made of earlier songs, and think it is the 80s cheese that reigns supreme.

1. & 2. You Keep Me Hangin' On - Kim Wilde vs. Diana Ross & The Supremes
 

3. & 4. Venus - Bananarama vs. Shocking Blue
 

5. & 6. Hazy Shade of Winter - The Bangles vs. Simon & Garfunkel
 

7. & 8. Lean on Me - Club Nouveau vs. Bill Withers
 

9. & 10. Take a Chance on Me - Erasure vs. ABBA
 

I really saved the best for last there, didn't I? I could watch those two over and over!

Happy Monday, everybody.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, Drama Queen (Rocky Mountain Mike Song Parody)

This may be my new favorite Rocky Mountain Mike (of The Stephanie Miller Show) song parody. For years, people on the left an d the right have noticed something a little off about confirmed bachelor Senator Lindsey Graham (R-Fainting Couch). I'd leave well enough alone, were it not for Graham's propensity to be an insufferable media whore, appearing on the Sunday morning political shows almost every week. Worse, he's a talking point regurgitator, to the point of answering direct questions with unrelated, scripted answers. Plus, of course, he's a drama queen. So to me, this song is spot on.

Blast from the Past: Perfect Pop Songs

Pop music gets very little respect from music fans. For those of us who like it, it's just a fun confection, an enjoyable lark. From "real" music fans, pop music is disposable, meaningless, without artistic merit. The equivalent of Stephen King or Dean Koontz in the fiction genre. Well, you know what? I dig King and Koontz! And I dig pop music too!

There are numerous pop songs that just strike me as pop confection perfection. And this is my list of some of the best of the best.

1. Misery - Maroon 5 - This group, headlined by The Voice's Adam Levine, is one of the most successful acts at crafting pure pop perfection. Usually, they include a little profanity to add a little street cred. But their songs are just little balls of perfectly crafted song candy. Misery is one of the best, making an abusive relationship sound fun and bouncy! Yay! I'm in misery!

2. Express Yourself - Madonna - It would be impossible to narrow down Madonna's discography to find the best, most perfect pop song. That's why I didn't, and there is more than one. This one isn't just perfect, it has alternate versions that are equally perfect! And that shouldn't be possible!



3. Mony Mony - Billy Idol - This is an eighties version of a sixties song, that is largely meaningless. But it is absolute perfection in what it sets out to do: set dance floors on fire, and make people happy for no reason.

4. Steal My Sunshine - Len - Usually, when an act samples parts of another song to put into their own, the result is derivative, uninspired and something of a retread. In this case, one-hit-wonder Len achieves pop perfection, using Andrea True's More, More, More disco tune as a foundation.



5. Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode - You can tell when even an "alternative" band has become mainstream when their old tunes not only get mixed in on "80s and More!" radio stations, but get put into GAP ads. This song might be from a band with a heavy artistic cred, but the song is a pop confection.

6. Vogue - Madonna - Leave it to Madonna to take an underground gay dance craze, and turn it into mainstream success. And then, make it enough of a classic that if you played it on any dance floor 20+ years later, it would still draw a crowd.



7. Waterloo - ABBA - I am of the opinion that ABBA's catalog--almost all of it--could be released today, and be successful. Many, if not most of their hit songs are masterpieces of pop music. Songs like Ring, Ring and On and On and On should be re-released, just to see what happens. But Waterloo, to me, is a perfect pop song.

8. A Little More Love - Olivia Newton-John - This one might seem like a stretch, but hear me out. Pay attention to Olivia's change-ups in melody. Notice that she changes the note structure in each lead-in to the chorus, and each chorus itself. Much like Adam Levine does in Maroon 5, Olivia plays with the notes, going all over the place, but always in tune, and sounding perfect.




Okay, kids, that's my bit for this week. Hope you had a great Easter and/or Walking Dead finale weekend! Have a great week, and happy Monday!

Happy New Year!

Obviously, I've been neglecting the blog over my extended holiday break. Wouldn't you? 12 days off, and only three or four with planned events? That's good relaxing time! And dammit, wouldn't you know it, there are only two days left. It's been nice, sort of like four sets of weekends bookended. And I have gotten a few things done around the house. But it's never enough, is it?

So, we head into a new year, this one with a 13 on the end, which should freak some people out. I have at least a year to wait to get such an extended break again, though we do have a couple of trips planned. The blog will get back to normal, assuming anyone is still reading it. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll be blogging regardless. It's just always the way of things that when I have (seemingly) limitless time to blog, I find other distractions! So, Happy New Year, everybody. It's almost time to get back to work.

Blast from the Past: ABBA Gold, Pt. 2

As the long Memorial Day weekend comes to a close, I've reluctantly dragged myself back to the computer for my (day late) weekly installment of Blast from the Past. Back in early April, I ran the first part of an ABBA discography. I'm finally getting back to part two. In the meantime, YouTube has changed something, and my old method of posting these clips has been muddied up. If you followed that link, you see what I mean. So, I will simultaneously write part two while figuring out how to post them! Here we go. . .

After SOS, the biggest ABBA song for me was. . .

1. Bang-a-Boomarang, which wasn't a hit song anywhere. But it was on the Greatest Hits album I got at 10 years old, and became one of my favorites. It's actually pretty amazing that it wasn't a hit. The "dum-de-dum-dum" may have been lazy lyrically, but it sure was catchy.

2. Mama Mia followed, and I thought it was a hit, probably because of that album, but also because my babysitter had the 45 and played it endlessly. It was a hit around the world, but barely cracked the top 40 in the United States, maxxing out at 32.



3. Fernando did quite a bit better, but surprisingly still only hit number 12.

4. But the blew the doors off with Dancing Queen. This one is a huge hit, and is often included--oddly enough--on disco compilations from the 70s. ABBA wasn't really disco, but whatever.

5. Money, Money, Money continued ABBA's fascination with repetitive titles, and also again crashed and burned on the US charts, though it was a hit everywhere else.

6. Knowing Me, Knowing You brought ABBA back to the US top twenty.



7. The Name of the Game did just as well, and the song that followed. . .

8. Take a Chance on Me was almost as popular as Dancing Queen.



And with that one, we've really hit ABBA's heyday. The next installment will bring the decline.  But the songs were always good! Meanwhile, welcome back to work everybody! At least we get to start on a Tuesday!

Blast from the Past: ABBA Gold, Part 1

As is common when doing Blast from the Past (especially then), the Blogger program ate my homework. Enormously frustrating as you can imagine. So, I'm starting over. I was listening to ABBA on my way home from Easter dinner, and I thought I was overdue for a post about them. They're a perennial favorite of mine, and I'm surprised they don't get more attention. Remakes if nothing else. And since ABBA's first chart hits are approaching forty years old, why wait?

ABBA had a unique sound that is set apart from its 1970s-80s time frame. Because it sounded so different from everything else, many of their songs would lend themselves to remakes or re-release, at least in my opinion. But then, I also believed they were more popular here than they actually were. I was surprised to find out that they'd only had four top 10 hits in the states. They did manage about 14 top 40 hits, but several just barely. Still, they remain one of the most successful bands in the world, so maybe America has bad taste. Listen to some of these, see what you think.



1. People Need Love - This song was their first chart hit as a group, but only in Europe. But it was on their Greatest Hits album, and has remained a favorite of mine since I was a kid.

2. He is Your Brother - Another non-charter that was for some reason on the Greatest Hits album.



3. Ring Ring - A song about waiting for a phone call? What could be more natural as a remake? And the original is pretty good on its own. The lyrics would need updating for the smart phone age, however.
4. Nina, Pretty Ballerina - My brother used to tease me for liking this one, but damned if it would get stuck in his head too.




5. Waterloo - By far the biggest splash they'd yet had in America, this video also set the ABBA style in people's consciousness.
6. Honey Honey - This one sounds all innocent, but if you listen to the lyrics it sounds pretty sexy.



7. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do - Certainly a wedding favorite in certain quarters, this one cements ABBA's penchant for repeated words in their titles. And it was a decent-sized hit here.
8. SOS - For me, this one is right up there with Waterloo in my ABBA top five, and certainly made its mark on the charts.

And we've barely scratched the surface! ABBA Gold was a two-CD set, but I think this is going to be three or four posts. To be continued. . . In the mean time, happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: Roxette!

There are a lot of acts from the 80s and 90s who were huge, but only for a little while. Some were flash-in-the-pan one-hit wonders. Some eked out two or even three hits before fading into obscurity. Then there are groups like Ace of Base or Roxette, coincidentally both from Sweden, and sort of heirs to supergroup ABBA.  Ace of Base had one smash album, followed by a weaker one, and then nothing, at least not much here in the states. Roxette--to my knowledge--only had two hit albums, but they were chock full of hits. They also managed a hit song on the Pretty Woman soundtrack, and to this day are probably identified with that as much as anything. Roxette has always been a favorite of mine though, so they are past due for a feature on Blast from the Past.

Blast from the Past: Albums to do Chores by

My idea for this post came from trying to pick a CD to listen to while I did some chores around the house on Sunday. I know, how old school is listening to CDs, and all the way through! Most of the time, I listen to the CD jukebox on random, or make a play list on my computer (which has a blue tooth connection to my stereo). I have an iPod, but I've never found much use for it. Anyway, sometimes, I just want to listen to one artist, and I want a nice and simple "play all," rather than picking out tunes.

If you've ever done this, you might find that it isn't as easy as you think. Unless you're playing a greatest hits compilation, it's a rare album that is good all the way through. But there are several "go tos" I have that feature no songs that need to be skipped. Here are selections from my favorites:






1. Out of Time by REM (1991) - I picked Shiny Happy People, but every song on this album is a good one, from Radio Song to Losing My Religion to the instrumental End Game.
2. Cosmic Thing by The B-52's (1989) - Roam is one of two big hits (the other being Love Shack), but any track from this album (Junebug, the title track Cosmic Thing and Deadbeat Club) is just as kicky and fun.
3. Xanadu (Soundtrack) by Olivia Newton-John & ELO (1980) - Yes, it's from one of the worst movie musicals of all time (but a guilty pleasure, and hey, they made a Broadway musical out of it!), but I love the soundtrack to this day. The mix of Electric Light Orchestra and ONJ are a nice contrast, and they come together at the end. And did you know that Fee Waybill of The Tubes is the singer of one track?
4. Private Dancer by Tina Turner (1984) - There's not a bum track on this one, which is amazing. Consider that Tina Turner hadn't had a hit in many years, and that--if legend is to be believed--this album was sort of slapped together. It was Tina's big comeback, and she deserved it.
5. Diva by Annie Lennox (1992) - The lead singer of Eurythmics never sounded better than on this solo album. My favorite track--Little Bird--wasn't a hit here, and I can't find a usable version to post. No matter though, because every track is a classic. This one, Why? is one of the biggest hits from the album.
6. Get Nervous by Pat Benatar (1982) - The amazingly talented (and under appreciated Benatar has a lot of good music, and more hit songs than you remember. Get Nervous has a big hit (Shadows of  Night), a couple of minor hits (Looking for a Stranger and this one, It's a Little Too Late), not to mention favorites like the title track. Benatar is one of the more deserving singers to have a comeback, in my opinion.

Those are some of my favorite non-"best of" albums to play all the way through. Others include "Once More with Feeling. . ." (Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast soundtrack), Dangerous (Michael Jackson) and Grease (Soundtrack). For best ofs, you can't beat Journey, Blondie, The Bangles, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Mama Cass, and of course ABBA (Gold I & II). And now that you can see what a big, old, gay guy I am, I'll call it quits. Happy Monday!

Frivolity Break: Blondie/ABBA Mashup, Hanging on the Ring Ring

I think I would have called it "Ring Ring on the Telephone," But maybe they thought it was too obvious.  [Note: when you click this, you'll get a black screen. Just press "watch on YouTube." It works]



Found at: Kenneth in the (212)

OMG! ABBA to Reunite in 2011?

Image from source, Guardian

I had this as a new year's wish a couple of years ago. Could it really happen? My good friend Mark would have an ABBAgasm!  Crossing fingers. . .

[Excerpt]

Agnetha comments fuel rise in Abba reunion rumours

Could Abba reunite for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding? Rumours are swirling after singer Agnetha Fältskog said the group "could consider" getting together for a one-off concert next year, with bookmakers posting new odds for a royal wedding performance. "It would be fun to get together," Fältskog said. "It is just a feeling I have. . ."


Read more at: Guardian

ABBA's Happy New Year

I can't let the countdown start without posting the classic ABBA's Happy New Year, can I? And though it is the end of a decade, just pretend the "end of '89" line (not really the end of a decade) is "end of 2020." Mmkay?

ABBA Finally Gets Into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Image from Kenneth in the (212)

I'm pretty sure I commented on this back when it was announced, but it's hard to resist an ABBA post. Especially when you're friends with the world's biggest ABBA fan (hi, Mark!).

[Excerpt]

Jimmy Cliff, ABBA among rock hall inductees

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday was welcoming its newest inductees:Jimmy Cliff, ABBA, Genesis, The Hollies and the Stooges.

Other inductees this year include individual recipients of the Ahmet Ertegun Award -- record executive David Geffen and songwriters Jeff Barry, Otis Blackwell, Ellie Greenwich, Barry Mann, Mort Shuman, Jesse Stone and Cynthia Weil. . .

Read more at: CNN (Via Kenneth in the 212)

ABBA to Be Inducted to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Joo can dance! Joo can yi-ive! Who cares if they (allegedly) sang in phonetic English, I loved and still love ABBA. I never get tired of their music, and their sound was so unique, it only pegs as "70s" if you were there. Before we get to the excerpted article, here are a few of my favorite ABBA songs, not the typical ones, but great songs just the same.




And for the hell of it, here are the two big US solo hits by Agnetha and Frida, Can't Shake Loose and I Know There's Something Going on.



[Excerpt]

ABBA, Stooges to Join Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gave a big "Thank You For The Music" to ABBA on Tuesday, announcing that the Swedish pop group would be among its 2010 inductees.

British rock band Genesis, reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff, rockers The Stooges, and The Hollies are also among the legends who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony on March 15 in New York. . .

Read more at: ABC News

Holiday Cheer: Favorite "Contemporary" Christmas Songs

Another one from the vaults. . .

These are some of my favorite Christmas songs, the "contemporary" kind. And kids, I know to you these are "old school" songs, but to we 40-plussers, these are modern songs. Enjoy.

[From Original post]

I noted in a previous (also frivolous) post that I'm not big on traditional Christmas music. Choirs and churchy stuff just don't do it for me. I like the funny stuff, and the more modern tunes. Of course, some of the modern songs have become almost traditional, haven't they? Here are some of my favorites. . .




#1 - Feels Like Christmas - Cyndi Lauper: This song is from Cyndi's outstanding Merry Christmas. . .Have a Nice Life album from several years ago. The album is chock-full of great songs. This is a good one, but not the best one on the album. Unfortunately, finding video clips of these songs is more difficult than I thought!

#2 - Step into Christmas - Elton John: This is one of my favorite "modern" Christmas songs. Modern is in quotes because this is clearly from Elton's 70s heyday. But whatever, I love it!

#3 - Put a Little Love in Your Heart - Annie Lennox & Al Green: Sadly, this song is another substitution, for Eurythmics' superb Winter Wonderland, which is unavailable. This may not seem like a Christmas song on its face, but it's from the movie Scrooged, and is very much a Christmas video. And it gives me that same chill Winter Wonderland does.

#4 - Happy New Year - ABBA: OK, officially this is an after Christmas song, but it belongs at the end of your Christmas mix CD. And it beats the crap out of Dan Fogleburp's Auld Lang Syne, doesn't it? Now, if they could just go in and re-dub the "end of a decade" and "1989" parts, it would be perfect.

Here's a bonus, the still unavailable Winter Wonderland from Eurythmics. . .audio only.