Author: Joe Parker

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 35 – “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 35. Your favorite cover song.

“I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”
Mike + The Mechanics

There are a lot of cover songs out there. (Um, duh! Could you be more obvious?) And there are a lot of them that I like. (Okay, I guess you could.)

So when thinking of a candidate for today’s post, one of my personal criterion was that I like the cover better than the original. So, as I tend to do, I started going through my iTunes list to help me whittle down the field.

I was originally thinking “Shout” by Otis Day and the Knights (from Animal House). It’s a classic, but I think I’m going to keep that one in my pocket for a little while longer.

MikeLandOfcConfusion

Then I came to this song. For those that don’t know, “Mike” of Mike + The Mechanics happens to be Mike Rutherford of Genesis. Or for those that know Genesis only by the “Land Of Confusion” video, the guy to the left. And yes, Mike + The Mechanics released more albums than just the one with “All I Need Is A Miracle” and the one with “The Living Years” on it. (Which is called Living Years, but did you even know that? Educate yourselves people!)

So, to be clear, when this album (Beggar on a Beach of Gold) was released in 1995, I had never heard Stevie Wonder’s original version. Thus, the Mike + The Mechanics version was my introduction to the song, and my theory is that the version of any song you that you first hear (and like) is most often the version that becomes your favorite. And that is the case here.

This is another one of those songs (this version, anyway) that you’ve probably never heard before. And that’s because, even though Atlantic Records ostensibly released it in the United States they decided to promote it… well… not at all. As a result I’ve heard “Over My Shoulder” and “Another Cup Of Coffee” (both good songs from the album) on the loudspeaker at the grocery store way more often than I’ve ever heard them on the radio.

And that is why I’ve given you the link to a YouTube video (which is not a video, but the song with various images in a slide show format) here. It is not my video. Please don’t shoot the messenger. But, you’ll at least get to hear the song.

Now, Eddie Murphy says Stevie Wonder is a musical genius, and actually, I agree with him, so don’t start sending me death threats about this. (I’d have to try to separate them from the others that I get, and, honestly, I don’t have time right now for death threat categorization.) But the way Paul Carrack sings this song gives it some punch (especially the part at 2:30, I love that part) that the Stevie Wonder version just doesn’t have. Plus I don’t like the change in style at the end of the original.

Don’t get me wrong, Stevie’s version is good, but I think Mike and crew have one up on him in this case. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

So, out of curiosity, what is your favorite cover? (And/or did you know Mike + The Mechanics’ second album was called Living Years? Be honest!)

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 34 – “Odds Are”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 34. A song that you try to get stuck in your head to replace the one that’s currently stuck there

“Odds Are” – Barenaked Ladies

Earworms. We all get them. Songs that you hear and they get stuck in your head, no matter what you try to do. And more often than not, it’s a song you don’t even like.

Wait a minute… That seems awfully familiar…

Oh yeah, yesterday’s post was a lot like this. So, now that you’ve got a song you hate stuck in your head and need to get it out? As a I mentioned in yesterday’s post you need to pass it on to someone else. But what if no one is around? Then what?

Well, since I feel bad about getting yesterday’s song stuck in your head, I’m going to give you a good song to replace it.

Actually, I still don’t feel bad about yesterday, because I continue to be “Lovin’ You”-free, but I will honor my promise to give you a good song to replace it. Because I’m nice like that. All right, fine, it’s because I have to for today’s post. Be that way.

The easiest choice, of course, is the theme to “I Dream Of Jeannie.” You laugh, but I guarantee it’s already stuck in your head. But you’re really no better off, are you? So the key, then, is to find something catchy but not annoying.

In truth, there are a lot of choices. But one I’ve come across recently is “Odds Are” by Barenaked Ladies.

Some quick answers to your questions about BNL:

  • Yes, they’re still around.
  • No Stephen Page isn’t with them anymore.
  • Yes, they still do the songs that Stephen Page used to sing lead on. Other band members, like keyboardist Kevin Hearn, have taken over vocal duties on those.
  • No, Kevin Hearn can’t sing.

And with that, let’s talk about “Odds Are.” (Rest easy, Kevin Hearn does not sing lead.) I was first introduced to it via the video, which is hilarious. BNL’s humor is one of the things that drew me to them in the first place. Songs like “If I had $1,000,000, “Pinch Me,” “Who Needs Sleep?” and “Shopping” always make me chuckle, but their last few albums (after 2003’s Everything for Everyone) were full of bland songs with bad melodies. It was like they were in a bit of a funk. And I suppose if you’re not getting along with one of your band members, your output will suffer. Their previous album (their first post-Stephen Page) was a Wings-esque democratic exercise trying to show they were a band, but it was uneven. But with their most recent effort, Grinning Streak, they seemed to have righted the ship.

“Odds Are” is a catchy tune with lyrics that talk about how terrible certain deadly possibilities (being struck by lightning, plane crashes, etc) are, but the whole point is that odds are in our favor that those things are just never going to happen to the average person. “Sure things go wrong, but I’ll take my chances/Odds are long, so why not play?”

It’s a nice counterpoint to the doom and gloom we hear from the media every day in the name of ratings. (Hmm… seems like I also wrote another post about a song that sends up the media.) And it’s catchy. A good song to replace “The Macarena,” “Lovin’ You” or whatever horrendous song happens to be stuck there.

Buy it (I give you a handy linkabove), listen to it, let it get stuck in your head for a little while.

Or you can stick with “Lovin’ You” or go with “I Dream of Jeannie.” Your choice.

For a chuckle or two:


365 Day Song Challenge: Day 33 – “Lovin’ You”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 33. A song that you can’t even think of without it getting stuck in your head

“Lovin’ You” – Minnie Riperton

Earworms.We all get them. Songs that you hear and they get stuck in your head, no matter what you try to do. And more often than not, it’s a song you don’t even like.

Such is the case here. I find this to be a very good example of a song from the 70s. I could stop there, but that’s not the whole thought. This is: I find this to be a very good example of a song from the 70s that is simply terrible. Just awful.

And yet, all it takes is a few notes to get it stuck in my head. And the worst part is, it’s not even the whole song that gets stuck there. It’s just this part:

La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la laa
Laa laaa la laaa la la.


If you’re good, and you happen to not be familiar with the song by name or artist, you might be able to place the song just from that. But probably not. That’s like trying to figure out a song by simply tapping out the notes. Possible but unlikely. So I suggest you click on the play button to the right. You’ll know what I mean. (It’s the last part of the sample.)

I should probably say I’m sorry for planting that in your head. But I’m not. Sorry that is. The fact is that this &$@!ing song has been stuck in my head for days now in preparation for this post. So the sooner I can pass it on to someone else and get it the hell out of my head, the better.

You see, that’s the other part of the earworm phenomenon: you have to pass it to someone else to truly get it out of your head.

And this one is evil. All it takes is for Laura to sing “La la la la la” and it’s over. Five notes. Hours of torture. This is now your fate.

So, now that I’ve been mean and planted this insidious beast on you, I can also pass along some interesting trivia about the song. Because it seems to have a little more than the average.

  • Minnie Riperton was the mother of Maya Rudolph (of SNL, Bridesmaids, that awful show with Christina Applegate and Gob Bluth).
  • Maya Rudolph was in the studio when this song was recorded. (The amount of therapy she had to undergo afterward is unknown.)
  • The song went to #1 in 1975 (probably only because it was stuck in everyone else’s heads, too; an earworm is a powerful force). It was the 400th #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
  • According to Wikipedia, “Lovin’ You” was among the first several songs to top the U.S. pop chart without the help of a percussion instrument. Prior examples of percussionless #1s include “Time In A Bottle” by Jim Croce (maybe I should have used that song yesterday) and (ha!) “Yesterday” by The Beatles.

On a sad and serious note, Minnie Riperton died in 1979 (at only 31 years old) of breast cancer, mostly because she didn’t get diagnosed until it had metastasized. Once diagnosed, she was given only about six months to live. It’s hard to believe in this day and age, but in the 70s, talk of breast cancer was still sort of taboo, and she was one of the first celebrities to publicly talk about her diagnosis. Now football players wear pink to continue to raise awareness. How far we’ve come (in a very good direction). I don’t joke about cancer. I do crazy things to help fight cancer instead. Donations are still open. Consider donating. The proceeds go to Dana Farber.

Or else I’ll get another song stuck in your head.

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 32 – “All Of Me”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 32. A song that plays to your inner hopeless-romantic.

“All Of Me” – John Legend

Y’know, I had this post all figured out until the Grammys came along and screwed everything up. I was all set to talk about Jim Croce’s “Time In A Bottle” which is about as good as a sappy hopeless-romantic songs as you get, and then John Legend plays “All Of Me” live and I had to scrap it. How dare he introduce me to such a pretty song and make me change my well-laid plans? The big jerk.

Actually, it’s probably for the best. It wasn’t that long ago that I wrote about another Jim Croce song and since my selections thus far have trended old, I needed a recent song to prove that I’m still relevant and hip.  Or something. (Just to show you how hip I am, I’d never even heard of John Legend before last year’s Grammys. At least I can still learn.)

While “Time In A Bottle” is mostly about stopping time and shutting out the world to spend every second with the one you love, “All Of Me” is more about sharing everything you have with the person you love. Not in a “hey, I just farted under the covers” sort of way. But in a “even when you’re being a little crazy or even when we fight, you’re still my soul mate” kind of way (which is much nicer sentiment than the first one, at least for most people).

Both songs are minimalist, with voice and very little instrumentation. These guys can pull this off, unlike some other people we know. They’re both “nice” songs and a bit sappy. And from time to time I like sappy and mooshy. I’m a romantic at heart, so these types of songs kinda get me right there. Big deal. You wanna fight about it? (Points if you get the reference.)

I do have to say, the album version of “All Of Me” doesn’t quite have the life of the version John Legend performed at the Grammys.There was a live recording available, too, but even that wasn’t quite up to par with the Grammys. I guess he just keeps getting better at performing it. At any rate, the album version does the job.

On a complete side note, I may need to reconsider my position on going to live shows. It seems like the music that has grabbed me the most lately are things that I’ve seen live (as in, they were being performed live, and not just on an album, even if it wasn’t me actually being there to see them live.) I’ll just have to keep weighing the pros and cons of this “being a shut-in” thing.

Okay, back to less sappy things now.

(Who else is impressed that I’ve made it to month #2 without missing a day? Cool huh? Give me time.)

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 31 – “Don’t Forget My Name”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 31. Your class song (or what you want your class song to be).

“Don’t Forget My Name”

I’m going to assume that by “class song” they mean “prom theme.” Because otherwise, I have no clue what to put here.

I barely remember my Senior Prom. And it has nothing to do with alcohol. It’s more that, much like a wedding, it’s there and then it’s gone. If you don’t actually remind yourself to take it in, it sort of happens in spite of you and it’s all a big blur. I have a few pictures, but given the cameras of the time (remember film?) most of those are even more blurry than my memories. I have one photo that’s so blurry you can’t tell if it’s my friend Kris or George Burns. It wasn’t like it is today where you can take 600 pictures. And video. And instantly post them on social media. And then instantly regret that you posted them on social media because of all the incriminating things you’re doing in said photos and videos.

On second thought, thank God it wasn’t like it is today.

I barely remember our prom theme either. You see, today’s post is a little difficult, because outside of the just-shy-of-500 people who graduated from Cathedral High School in 1989, there probably aren’t too many people who have heard this song.

We were given the “normal” choices. (I seem to remember “Angel” by Aerosmith and “Forever Young” by Rod Stewart being choices. There were others on the list, but damned if I can remember them.) But in a slightly different move, some members of our class wrote and recorded the song that became our prom theme.

There are pros and cons to this.

Pros:

  • It’s pretty cool that someone had enough talent and drive to write and record a song.
  • I’m sure lots of classes had “Angel” or “Forever Young” as their theme, but one and only one school in the United States had ours. And that is also really cool.
  • It was a pretty good song if I remember correctly.

Cons:

  • If you didn’t buy the tape you had no way to hear it outside the prom.
  • I haven’t heard the song in 25 years. (I didn’t buy the tape.)

In this particular case, it’s too bad it wasn’t like it is today. The song would be available as MP3 and probably on iTunes. Which would be pretty cool.

Anyway, as a result of Facebook, I’m in contact with more people from my high school class than I ever would have thought possible even 10 years ago. In fact, there are people I’m in contact with on Facebook that I didn’t even talk to in high school. (I’ll count this as a good thing.)

So there’s hope. I recently got in touch with the composer of the song and asked about a digital copy. He didn’t have one, but he said it had been on his to-do list for some time, and that he would try to get me a copy. So maybe I’ll be able to revisit this post shortly. It’ll be like a little time capsule on the Internet.

Maybe it’ll make it on iTunes yet.