Author: Joe Parker

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 75 – “Ah! Leah!”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 75: Your favorite song beginning with the letter A.

“Ah! Leah!” – Donnie Iris

donnie-iris-ah-leah-mca-4There was a time in the not-long-distant past where you couldn’t just go to Google or Shazam and instantly find out what a song was or who it was by. Back in the day when you heard a song on the radio that you didn’t know, you had to hope that the DJ would actually tell you.

The problem, of course, was that the DJ’s sucked and they would only ever tell you what the last song was. Of course, that was always the song you already knew, the one that had been all over the radio for months.

That was “Dancing In The Dark” by Bruce Springsteen, wrapping up 24 in a row commercial free on WSCK. Now it’s time for another 3 hours of uninterrupted music. We’ll kick it off with “Jump” from Van Halen.

Wait! What about that song right before “Dancing In The Dark” that I’ve never heard? The one that sounds like it could be The Scorpions, but probably isn’t? That was good. Tell me what it was! I said tell… me… what… it… was.


Not familiar with a song I’ve mentioned?
Click the > button above to hear samples.

But they never listened.

Such was the case with “Ah! Leah!” I had heard it a reasonable number times on the radio—although not a ridiculous number of times—and never knew any of the words. I couldn’t even tell what it was they were singing when they harmonized in the chorus. (Which, in retrospect was very understandable. The lyrics were complex and cryptic. Who could ever expect to decipher them? You know the ones I mean: “Ah! Leah!” Oh, shaddap. What do you know, anyway?)

Anyway, it wasn’t until the mid-aughts (’00s) when I finally learned what the song was, thanks to two designers I worked with. They worked in their own little room, which they liked to keep very dim, and they always had music on back there, courtesy of iTunes Radio. I happened to be there checking up on the status of some projects when “Ah! Leah!” came on. I immediately went over to see what (and who) it was. When I read the title, it all immediately made sense.

It didn’t take me very long to acquire it. And once I got it, I played it a lot. Perhaps it was because it’s such a good song. Perhaps it’s because, right around that same time, the company hired a girl named Leah and every time I passed her, it made me think of the song. Either way, it’s become a favorite. (It currently resides at #4 on my most-played list.) I like it for its layered backing vocals, its bass line, and the impassioned lead vocals of Donnie Iris. From what I hear, it’s written about his ex-wife (who—get this—was named—wait for it—Leah”) and… well… the lyrics pretty much sum up the story. Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version: Great physical relationship. Not-so-great everything else relationship.)

Thankfully the days of being in the dark are over. It’s easy now to find out who a song is almost instantly. In fact, there’s a song on right now that I like.

What is it? Wait. Find my phone! Open it!
Damn it, I mistyped my passcode. Gah! I did it again!
Now open Shazam… Come on. Connect! Damn it! The song is over.
It would be so much simpler if there was just some guy who could tell me what it was…

Ah! Technology!

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 74 – “Hung Up”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 74: The song that you most recently downloaded.

“Hung Up” – Madonna

Hung UpI’m a little embarrassed about this one. Had I thought ahead, I probably could have rigged it so that my most recent download was a much cooler song, like “Stairway To Heaven” or “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or even “We Built This City.” But no, it’s this song by Madonna.

And it’s not even “Boy-Toy”-era Madonna when there might have been a shred of credibility about it. No, it’s “Converted-to-Kabbalah, suddenly-talks-with-a-British-accent, adopting-babies-from-countries-you-never-heard-of”-era Madonna.

What’s even worse? “Hung Up” samples an Abba song. Now, I like me a bit of Abba, but the song that she sampled isn’t even a very good one. It’s not “Waterloo” or “Take A Chance On Me” or something reasonably listenable, it’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).”

Not familiar with a song I’ve mentioned?
Click the > button above to hear samples.

This song is the bastard child of the Greatest Hits family. You know what I mean: the song they recorded for the Greatest Hits album just so there would be something new on it, hoping it actually becomes a hit so that they don’t look like idiots. (Oddly enough, while it was a hit seemingly everywhere else in the world, it did not chart in the US. Which obviously means I’m right. Or something.) Late-era Madonna sampling a questionable Abba song has to drop the whole thing down into the middle reaches of credibility at best. Doesn’t it?

Now, having said all that, the sample that Madonna chose is, in my opinion, better suited to her song than to Abba’s original. Overall, “Hung Up” is a better song than “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).” But the whole affair is still embarrassing. So why did I download it?

It’s Marisa’s fault.

Marisa used to be the Saturday morning spin instructor at the Y. (I wish she was still the Saturday morning spin instructor, but that’s a different story.) And she used to use “Hung Up.” A lot.

And it was a killer.

And I hated it.

When she moved on to greener pastures, I decided I would spin at home instead for various reasons (read: the new instructor sucks).

Now, I rode 3698.5 miles last year for charity. During that time, I started making my own spinning mixes. I finished that ride on December 30. Since December 30th, I have been on my bike exactly… none times. (Bad Joe! BAD JOE!) But the callouses on my butt have finally healed (and the ice cream is catching up with me) so it’s time to get back on.

And that means I need mixes. And, much to my surprise (and chagrin), I missed “Hung Up.” So, I needed to get it. The rest is history. History I would have preferred remain private. But there it is.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take this opportunity to spin up a much cooler song.

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll…

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 73 – “Shopping”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 73: A song from a band that you wish you could hang out with.

“Shopping” – Barenaked Ladies

ShoppingToday’s post didn’t take much thought. Although I would love to hang out with Genesis, they seem like they’d be on the serious side outside their inner circle. I love Tony Banks, but I think that he’d be pretty stoic until he got to know you, and that could take years.

In some cases, there are people who would be very interesting to watch doing their work in the studio, but that’s not the same as hanging out. For example, I think it would be a great learning experience to be in the studio with Jeff Lynne (from ELO) or Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), but I’m not sure it would be fun.

When it comes to fun, I think of bands like Rush and Fountains of Wayne. I certainly don’t know these guys, but based on what I’ve seen and read, they seem like they’d be fun to hang with. But who knows? Maybe they wouldn’t. It’s difficult to really know how people are outside of their public personas (personae?).

Not familiar with a song I’ve mentioned?
Click the > button above to hear samples.

Having said that, I do think it would be a blast to hang out with the guys from BNL. They all seem to have great senses of humor and they all seem just goofy enough that I’d be able to fit in with them sorta-kinda (in a way I probably couldn’t with Genesis or Rush). They joke around on stage, they joke around in interviews, and they joke around in the studio (this video is really what convinced me to pick them; I think it’s freakin’ hilarious).

They take their work seriously, even when the subject matter is lighthearted, but they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously, and I think that’s the key. It’s a good combination. It would prevent the whole experience from being a drag.

“Shopping” is an example of a tune that seems to showcase this light-heartedness. It comes from their 2003 album Everything To Everyone. The germ of the idea for the song came when, immediately after 9/11, George W. Bush said that people should keep going with their lives, like going shopping and so on. Everything will be all right, when we go shopping.

The lyrics are a bit silly, and the music goes along with it; it’s happy and silly, too. And I like that. I’ve liked it since I first heard it. But for those who can only handle so much silly, fear not, the rest of the album isn’t really like that. Songs like “Aluminum” and “Take It Outside” (which are also favorites from this album) have more serious topics to discuss, even if their veneer has some humor.

So, that’s my pick for today. And on the off-chance that someone from BNL reads this and wants to take me up on it, just let me know. I’m available.

Ty preps for “Shopping” backing vocals…

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 72 – “Drive”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 72: A song someone has said reminds them of you.

“Drive” – The Cars

If you’re reading this, you probably already know, but I had to go out and ask people what song reminds them of me. Because no one has specifically said, that I remember anyway.  Realistically, who walks up to someone, even a close friend, and says, “Hey, you know that song? Yeah, that reminds me of you.”

I suppose if it’s something like “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen, you’re okay. But what if it’s “American Idiot” by Green Day or “Stupid Girls” by Pink (depending on your gender)? Not so nice anymore.


Not familiar with a song I’ve mentioned?
Click the > button above to hear samples.

Anyway, the results of my ad hoc poll were limited and mixed. But one person said “any Cars tune” and another actually specified “Drive.” Ding! Ding! Ding! There you have it, today’s winner.

The ironic thing about this? I’m not a huge fan of the song. I’m not saying I don’t like it, or that it’s not a good song, or that it’s not pretty. It’s just not one of my favorites.

I remember back in 1984 when this album was released. Late ’83 and ’84 was a big music discovery time for me, and the Heartbeat City album was part of that discovery. I’d already been hooked on “You Might Think” and “Magic” from that album and I knew “Shake It Up” from their previous album of the same name. But despite my early exposure to The Cars’ debut album, I was by no means an expert on the band at that time.

In the summer of ’84, there was this other song getting played on the radio, but I had no idea who it was. It was a ballad, and frankly, I thought it was just okay. And then one day, I found out it was The Cars! (It was “Drive” in case you didn’t get that.) I couldn’t believe it was the same band. (Now who’s the American Idiot?)

Sure, it was probably dumb of me not to know, but to be fair, the three songs I mentioned above were all sung by Ric Ocasek, whereas “Drive” was sung by Benjamin Orr. And The Cars had not been previously known for their ballads. “Drive” had a totally different sound—both vocally and musically—than any song of theirs I was familiar with. So I’m giving myself a pass, even if you don’t.

So yes, my fondness for The Cars is well-known. It makes sense that the people who know me would make some sort of association when the hear those songs. Fair enough.

In case you’re wondering, the other songs that were specifically named are:

  • “Land Of Confusion”—Genesis. Perfectly understandable given my well-documented fondness for Genesis, as well.
  • “Subdivisions”—Rush. Great song. I’m surprised the person who said “any Cars tune” didn’t say something about Rush, since we used to talk about them.
  • “Thirty Miles of Railroad Track”—Hammond Brothers. I had never heard of this song before it was mentioned. But given my love of trains, it, too, makes sense.
  • “Wind Beneath My Wings—Bette Midler. This was a very nice sentiment. Too bad I absolutely abhor this song.
  • “Tush”—ZZ Top. I’m not exactly sure why this one got mentioned. But it is undeniable that I do not have one. Tush, that is. I hope that’s the reason, because anything else I can think of goes downhill really quickly.

So that’s it. The songs that remind people of me. Not a bad haul. And no “A**hole” (by Denis Leary) in the bunch. I’m going to take that as a victory.

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 71 – “Slow Train”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 71: A song that you love that you first heard on a mixed CD made for you.

“Slow Train” – Shooter Jennings

Shooter JennignsI like trains. Both full-size and model. I actually have another long-neglected blog where I talk about the portable HO scale layout I’m building. This is not Sheldon-Cooper-stick-locomotives-in-your-mouth stuff. It’s serious, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s art. (And, as you may have discerned, I have some strong opinions on the topic.)

In addition to my modeling, every other year a group (consisting of me, my brother, my nephew, and a friend of mine) packs up and head out to Pennsylvania to watch trains. For the uninitiated (which I suspect is most of you), this is called railfanning. Most people don’t understand the draw of it, but that’s okay. It just means I don’t have to fight you for the best photo spots.

About a year after Laura and I met, the time came for one of these trips. (She doesn’t get it, either, but she humors me.) Being the nice person that she is (even though she suspected I was a loon) she went to considerable trouble to compile 3 mix CDs containing various train-related songs for the trip. She even grouped the songs so that each CD had its own category. That’s love right there. (Or insanity, which would explain why we get along so well.)

Not familiar with a song I’ve mentioned?
Click the > button above to hear samples.

While I was a little skeptical of the songs as a whole, we did make a point of listening to the CDs in their entirety during the trip.

There were a few songs I already knew (like “Train Kept a Rollin'” by Aerosmith), but most I did not. A few were intentionally god-awful. (Like “Railroad Names” by James Brian Coffey. It’s supposed to be a kid’s song but the guy doesn’t even have the nuances of rhyming down. What’s up with that?) Most were just okay.

And then there were the couple of standouts.

“Slow Train” was one of those standouts. I’d never heard of the song—or Shooter Jennings—before that (which is why it qualifies for today’s topic). And while I don’t think I’m going to be seeking out much more of Shooter’s catalog, I do really enjoy this song for some reason. Maybe it’s the train reference, I don’t know. All I know is I like its vibe. Enough that it’s in the top 2% in my most played list.

The other standout was “I Like Trains” by Fred Eaglesmith. It’s got an understated, driving power to it that I like. But “Slow Train” is the clear winner for this particular category.

Incidentally (and here’s your trivia for the day), Shooter Jennings is the son of Waylon Jennings, who may be best known to non-country-listening audiences as the guy who narrated and sang the theme song from “The Dukes Of Hazzard.” (The TV show, not that atrocity of a movie they put out.)

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to educate the public that most people who like trains don’t put locomotives in their mouth. (That should be easy.) And that all model railroaders are not wackadoodles. (That one’s admittedly tougher.)