365 Day Song Challenge

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).”

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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?).

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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.


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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.)

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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.)

365 Day Song Challenge: Day 70 – “Emotions”

Posted on by Joe Parker

Day 70: A song that gives you a headache.

“Emotions” – Mariah Carey

EmotionsI considered picking a Metallica song for today’s post, but then I realized it was only Lars Ulrich that gave me a headache. Not his drumming. Him. He’s a douchebag.

So then I had to think about an actual song that made my head hurt. It didn’t take long to land on this one by Mariah Carey.

There are three things I know about Mariah Carey:

  • She has a five-octave range, which is extremely rare.
  • The rumor about her saying “When I… see those poor starving kids… I can’t help but cry…. I’d love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff.” is not true. (But was plausible.)
  • I don’t like her.

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Sure, she’s a diva and that has its own ball of crap that goes along with it, but that’s all par for the course. I can live with that. What really bugs me is that she has to “prove” she has that five-octave range, especially with what they call the whistle register. Which is really just a fancy term for “those notes so high your dog can’t even hear them.” And this song is a prime example.

If you don’t know what I mean, take a quick look at this video:

  • I might be able to buy throwing it into a song one time, just to say “Hey, check out what I can do.” Alright, that’s impressive.
  • Two times in one song is showboating. Yeah, yeah, okay. Your voice is the real deal. That’s enough.
  • The part that really hurts my head is the stretch in the video from 1:18 on. Is that really necessary? That’s just full-on “Nyah, nyah. I’m so much better than you are!” Hey, Mariah, do you mind leaving at least one window in my house intact? Thanks.

This song—specifically that one part of the song—destroyed any possibility of me listening to anything else she did. Ever. For eternity. Because it’s just… so… freaking… annoying.

That was it. I wanted nothing to do with her after that.

It’s a shame, because on the face of it, “Emotions” isn’t a bad tune. And then she goes all supersonic on you. Your natural reaction is to cringe and duck like a gunshot went off. “What was that!?”

And then things get normal again. Her voice is below the threshold of pain, so you think you must have just imagined it, because, who would do that? Until the second time. “There it is again! What is that?”

Now you’re on the defensive. You’re thinking, obviously someone has infiltrated the music industry and is trying to kill people using a sophisticated supersonic weapon.

So you’re waiting for that phrase to happen again. You’re ready for it this time. But they’re way ahead of you, because that last progression she does is just thrown in as filler, not part of the verse. So you don’t see it coming. It comes on, your eardrums burst, and blood trickles down the side of your head. Game over. And that’s if you’re lucky. Some people’s heads just explode completely.

When all is said and done, maybe listening to Lars Ulrich isn’t so bad after all?

No, it’s worse. Because with him, you don’t get the benefit of your eardrums bursting halfway through.