To Hilly, My Loyal Follower

Hilly my good man. Thanks for staying loyal. I've pretty much abandoned this blog - there is simply no time. I've got a new blog about wine (I still love music though) - that is a front for a wine business I'm running now - it's currently at http://homewinetastinghq.wordpress.com

But it is moving over to Blogger soon.

As for music, I fear the Who will flop at the SB - they haven't aged gracefully like the Stones or Bruce. Hopefully they'll give us a good show at the Super Bowl.

Hope all is well with you and your people!
Thanks for checking back every once in a while...hopefully we can catch up soon.

Best, Chief!

JOURNEY OF A BADLY COVERED SONG

Across the street from me lives a man whose living is made as part of a Journey cover band. And when I say living - I mean this is what he does, no day job, no million dollar inheritance. The running joke we all make is the big van that is parked in his driveway 24/7 save for when the band has gigs. To try and visualize this, just think "Winnebago meets Mystery Machine."

But wait, this is unfair, he's a nice guy and his son-in-law has done a great job in working on my house.

Oddly enough this morning, I had digital music channel 60000 on and heard the song "Don't Stop Believin'" by none other than...you guessed it....Journey. Kind of made me laugh and immediately think of my neighbor.

But hang on, it wasn't Journey. The voice sounded like a cross between Bob Dylan and Mark "Sultans of Swing" Knoffler.

Now put these two voices together and try to imagine them even attempting to match the vocals of Steve Perry. OK, you haven't even heard the song and your ears are already melting.

But yeah, my feeling exactly.

I just had to know who sang this 10th grade biology lab experiment gone horribly awry. The TV went on and up came the artist's name.....BADLY DRAWN BOY. It was just too appropriate. They could have probably just listed the artist as BADLY (fill in the blanks)" and I have also thought it just too appropriate.

I've said it before a thousand times on this blog, if you're going to cover a song, make it your friggin' own! Remake it, don't re-sing it! And for the love of G-d, don't even get into the same ballpark as Journey - you will lose and you will lose hard.

I'm not the hugest Journey fan but does anyone disagree that Steve Perry's vocals can easily bring down The Great Wall? If you're not ready to bring down the Great Wall, or even Pink Floyd's The Wall (while you're at it, don't go there either), then either change the song completely or no trespassing.

If you trespass, then I'm afraid we're going to have to go our separate ways. (Oh man, did I just actually write that?)

Welcome to the Terror Dome

Hi...if this is your first time on this blog, welcome.

The title of this article has no bearing on what is written here. Just couldn't think of anything more clever to say.

There is no terror dome and you won't find Flava Flav or Chuck D singing about it here - unless Fight the Power holds a special place in your heart - like when cops broke up a party you were at.

There's music for any situation. There's music that's come up just at the right time - there are situations that you only remember because of the music that was playing. That's why we're here - to celebrate everyone's relationship with music, how it affects you, how it makes you happy, sad, how it makes you laugh, rock out and do the duck walk and air guitar simultaneously, and how it makes you cross your arms and say "Yo" or "Peace."

You get the picture. Enjoy

BEST SONGS: THE ULTIMATE OSCAR SNUB

Say what you will about the Oscar ceremony, it is still the most sought after award ceremony in existence, and still very entertaining. I saw only a handful of movies from the past year, had little idea of the actors/actresses and how good they were etc. but I still enjoyed what I saw.

But there's one category that has completely gone to the realm of "who gives a shit" after always being one of my favorites: The Best Song category.

The performances and songs that have been nominated over the past several years look way more like broadway show numbers than movie songs. What the hell happened to movies having well known artists perform orignial songs? Do we as moviegoers no longer demand a Streets of Philadelphia, or to be more mushy, a Ghostbusters, Shakedown, or This Used to be My Playground?

Remember when original songs from movies got radio play? What's with this crud that the Academy insists on throwing in front of us thinking we want to see it? C'mon...you'd rather see Amy Adams singing like Mary Poppins versus her girating up and down and acting like the vixen that she is a la Wedding Crashers or Talladegha Nights? (If you're a guy anyway).

Boys on the Side, Garden State, etc... where are these songs? The Oscars have lost me on this category. And they continue to drop the ball. What still kills me to this day is that no James Bond theme has ever been in the forefront of the Oscars. The category now has the same merit as best Sound Editing Short Subject.

You always see those lists about who got left out and all that. I say, when we're subjected to fodder like this, it's us, the fans who get the ultimate Oscar snub.

REMOVE YOUR HATS AND PLEASE VOMIT FOR THE SINGING OF...

ROCK ANTHEMS!

A phrase used to describe a rock song, usually of the fist pumping persuasion that everyone in all cultures and music tastes recognizes and radio stations play 60 times a day. A term commonly used by moronic complitation album executives and schmucks on those Time/Life commercials selling "History of Rock Anthem" type sets.

Let's add to this that whatever band sings the anthem, they must be a descendant of glitter rock and have no qualms about stuffing sex in your face with it.

When I think Rock Anthem, I think overplayed radio rock that just makes me numb when I hear it for the 50th time that day. I think songs with abolutely no artisitc drive or hidden meanings. Just huge dicks and bare hairy chests that eminate from the 7 sizes too tight clad outfits they wore when glam rock was in.

Let's start the bidding folks....do I hear Aerosmith Dreaming on....can I get a Gary Glitter Rocking and Rolling, I've got Queen and it's SOLD to the KISS in the front row who likes to Rock and Roll all Night with their Fat Bottomed Girls.

Can anyone tell me anything substantial that Alice Cooper has done since School's Out For Summer that doesn't involve appearing on a VH1 retro show? Let's just take comfort in the fact that no station has completely dedicated itself to playing hair bands (save for Bon Jovi) 24 hours a day.

Listening to radio these days is like listening to the Beatles Revolution Number 9 24 hours a day 365 days a year. It's just background noise and ocassionaly my ear will shift when I hear Pearl Jam.

With so many music options these days, why are Rock Anthems still a huge part of our life? You're telling me that there are people out there that would still rather listen to the same regurgitated songs that have been in the mainstream for 45 years and everyone has heard 40 million times a day for their life? There's a reason why TV stations UPDATE their programming and why cable systems dedicate Channel 1200 to throwback TV.

Rock Anthems are old news and if I want to hear Peter Frampton AGAIN, I'll head to the internet. Because I guarantee, the answer to the question "Do You Feel Like I Do? I can safely say no.

RANDOM HUGHES-INGS

Lately I’ve been in a retro kind of music mood. It could be because on the digital cable system, there is a channel that plays nothing but early to mid 80’s new wave and punk. In other words, a perennial gold mine of music to satisfy my childhood memories.

Two groups that have gotten lots of play lately are ironically enough, two groups that have had recognizable songs in a couple of John Hughes films. They are The English Beat, and The Psychedelic Furs.

Many of you (or none of you depending on your age and interest level), may remember The Furs’ song “Pretty in Pink” which is the title song of the movie with the same name with teen queen Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy (later of Mannequin and Weekend at Bernie’s fame), and Jon Cryer (now of Two and a Half Men). This one is more well known than The English Beat’s “Rotating Heads” from Ferris Beuller’s Day Off.

But It’s funny how you remember a band for being known for a song or two and then when you tap into their complete repertoire, you find that they made several more songs that you actually know. When you hear the song, you do one of those “Oh, these guys sang that song?” or some variation thereof.

Case in point, I had been hearing the Beat’s “Save it for Later” several times over the last few weeks, and the song was in my head constantly and then that was it. I had to hit ITunes and get that song and while I was at it, listen to some other 30 second clips of their stuff. I ended up downloading the entire album “Special Beat Service.” Among the songs, “Rotating Heads” sounded too familiar.

I bought the song and after playing it from beginning to end, I then imagined a young Ferris Beuller (Matthew Broderick) running through the streets of his Chicago suburb trying to beat his sister Jeannie (Jennifer Grey in a polar opposite role to her Baby in Dirty Dancing) home before she reveals that he was never sick.

And finally coming to the part in the song where he hits the trampoline in slow motion and lands feet first only to be met by his nemesis, Principal Edward Rooney. Have you seen the movie? Is it starting to sound familiar now? “How would feel about another yeeeeeear of high school?”

As for the Furs’, Pretty in Pink sealed their fate as the quintessential 80’s prom rock band with other familiar songs like “The Ghost in You” “Heartbreak Beat” and “All that Money Wants.”

Whatever the members of these two bands are doing now, they should dedicate a little time every now and then to thanking John Hughes for their immortality.

THE BABA O'REILY FACTOR

OK OK, so I've been gone for a while. I left you with that Big Man on Bleecker Street piece and then I disappeared. First thing's first. Sorry about that.

I've since moved from the big city and my new role as Bob Vila has taken up much of my time. But I'd be dead without constant music bellowing through the rafters of my 100 year old house. The house Gods have tried to tear out my spirit and keep me occupied thinking that if I don't tend to and think about the house 24/7 then it's going to fall down.

But, lately I've deviated from that attitude and wandered back into my comfort zone. It's been hard to find time but thanks to The Who and 9/11, I'm back in the game. On 9/11, Q104.3 played excerpts from the The Concert for New York City. I remember the Who, after all those years, completely sending 25,000 firemen, cops, and fans into a complete frenzy when Baba O'Reily, perhaps the best "turn up the volume when it begins" song began with it's famous keyboard intro. To put the icing on the cake, those same 25,000 kept up with Pete Townsend word for word when he cut into the "Don't Cryyyy, don't raise your eyeeee, it's on-leeeeee teen-age waste-laaaaand" interlude. Chills, tears, thoughts of what it was like to be in a completely changed New York and country in the weeks and months following 9/11, you name it, I had the feelings.

Thank you Roger, Pete, John, and Keith for getting me back to what I love.

STAGE ONE: BIG MAN ON BLEECKER STREET

Taking a day off from work after a holiday weekend is something everyone should do at some point in their life. And I don't mean staying out of town a couple of days after. I mean just taking the day off in your own part of town and acting like the complete tourist you wish you could be when you rush to and from work and race to stay with your daily routine.

Living in one of New York's most tourista neighborhoods,and only blocks from about 10 others, I find myself on this Tuesday after Memorial Day enjoying a morning sitting at a wobbly table outside an overpriced cafe on Bleecker and MacDougal Streets in the West Village, eating stale scones, drinking bitter coffee and loving every second of it (I hope the cafe manager doesn't monitor this 'cause this is their wireless service I'm using).

When I got here, the manager had something resembling 9 inch nails going on the speakers. It quickly changed to someone resembling Roy Orbison singing in the style of Johnny Cash. I was able to hear it until a table full of ladies who must meet here on a regular basis, showed up simulataneously and started exchanging holiday weekend stories. No matter, I never do this and I will soak up the Johnny Orbison while the loud trucks and street sweepers barrel by to help the ladies drown out the music until I stop writing this entry.

Today, or this morning anyway, I am the Big Man on Bleecker Street. Not Mulberry Street, like the Billy Joel song - come to think of it, that's another great street to do this. Yes I'm huddling around my laptop (pause for deafening street sweeper - ok I can think again) staying low profile, and according to all who pass, another pretentious tourist who must seem starved to feel important. But what they don't know will be their downfall. Today, I blend into the neighborhood as an out of towner even though I live 100 feet from this cafe. But nobody will know. I will keep my secret identity and roam the streets fighting crime and....oh wait, jeez, I gotta cut down on the comic books.

Johnny Orbison sounds more like Dean Martin now. Perhaps the cafe has run its course. Coffee done, scone done - hey wait, did I even eat it? No big deal friends. Stage one of the day after Memorial Day is complete. What does the day have in store? Perhaps a restaurant playing Symphonic Queen with a bunch of construction workers on break?

Stay tuned to find out.

59th STREET SMACKDOWN: 50 CENT VS. RUSH

The following is an account of events that took place at a watering hole on 59th Street aptly named "Bar" following Serenity Now's one run softball victory about 30 minutes earlier.

WECLOME FANS TO THE MUSIC EVENT OF THE CENTURY!

It all comes down to this, it's the end all be all of civilization as we on the music circuit know it. It's the war to settle the score, the whole 9 yards, kit and kabudle, shootin' match, and enchilada in one.

WHOA NELLY, wait I mean 50 Cent, wait I mean Ludacris. Honestly folks I don't know what I mean. The euphoria has just taken over.

Where is Popeye Doyle when you need him because this place looks like a scene right out of The French Connection or maybe The Pope of Greenich Village! The black and white tile floors, no beer on the tap, the Yeungling as the most appealing bottled beer on the shelf. I tell ya, the only thing missing folks are the sweathogs from Welcome Back Kotter.

OK, and now the teams seem ready to face off at the juke box. The home team gets first dibbs.

Oh, what a move, regular lonely single guy at end of bar, whiskey sour in hand, inserts 5 dollars - this guy means business folks - and he starts off with 50 Cent. Hey, you want a little drink with your ice there my friend? He grips the straw tightly and ohhhhhh, it's 50 Cent again. The softballers look shaken, I don't know, will they be able to counter this magnificent display of music selection, so far away from their home turf? In the meantime, it looks like a clean sweep of 50 Cent -dollars spent and Mr. Whiskey Sour goes back to his corner. The bartender and patrons shake and move to the sounds of 50 Cent while the newcomers aren't even in it eating pizza and watching baseball. Looks like it's over before it starts. BUT WAIT, what's this?

Jason, Will and Chris approach the middle - the patrons look on in disbelief. In goes the money and the softballers put their faith in Jason to counter the horrific blows they just took.

We wait patiently.....and, what's this? IT SEEMS THE GAME IS AFOOT! CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? NEVER IN MY YEARS DID I EVER THINK I'D SEE SUCH BOLDNESS! ESPECIALLY FROM NEWCOMERS.

It's AC/DC folks and Hells Bells, and it puts the softballers back in the game. What a counter but ohhhhhh my lord....the comeback is almost complete.....it's BECK baby....BECK with Where It's At.....oh this isn't fair....where did these guys learn how to do this......? OH NO....the bartender looks scared now. Whiskey Sour lonely man is now sucking on the watered down $10 drinks for dear life now! And while we....oh wait...no it cant' be, where did they the brass ones big enough to....could it be folks....YES! It's the Trump Card I never thought would be played again but the softballers have done it!

That is Neal Purtz and yes that is RUSH I hear, and YYZ no less. And wait, that's it! The Ref has stepped in and is stopping the match! 50 Cent is down! Down I tell you, sprawled out like a bully who took one too many lunch moneys!

It's over and Rush with the help of AC/DC and Beck has helped the softballers get a key victory on the road.

But what's this now?

The crowd is going wild! The softballers are up and leaving now ladies and gents. They are just leaving with police escorts....the bottles and napkins come in from every which way. I wouldn't want to be them now. Here come the mounties...ohhhhh there'll be retribution for this, but in the end, this cinderella story will be one for the ages.

For now, we sign off, but we'll back on June 4th. Will the softballers go to 2-0?

Be there to find out!

COOL THOUGHTS IN THE HEAT OF DAY

Man oh man how the weather changes here in a hurry!

Just a few days ago I was freezing my butt off thinking of beaches and steel drums. Now, just a few days removed, the weather is bright, the sun feels warm and my IPod finally randomly selected more than 2 songs in a row that I was in the mood to hear!

Going for a casual walk and running errands on the back streets of New York's Meat Packing district, The Cowboy Junkies' Anniversary Song quietly moves me along Hudson Street. Turning left onto West 13th, Johnny Cash's only known collaboration with U2 - The Wanderer - lights up the headphones. As I turn right onto 9th Avenue towards Chelsea Market, the view of New York's newest "Most Trendiest Area" is in full view. Restaurants galore, sidewalk cafe's packed with brunchgoers, I laugh as Rod Stewart's Some Guys Have All the Luck finds its way into the random selection (how many guys do you know that would admit they have this song in their collection).

Random Thought: 5 Years ago, this area was deserted. The Old Homestead and the Western Beef supermarket were the only reasons you came to this area, other than Hogs n' Heffers. Now it's another place. Stella McCartney opens a store here and now its Rodeo Drive. No matter, the sun and the music have me on another planet.

At Western Beef I head straight for the freezer - it's a walk in room where the temperature is like 12 degrees but feels great coming in out of the sun. You can take it for 5 minutes before growing frost on your mouth.

Random thought: The register lines at this place are legendary. The prices are cheap so people load up. If it takes less than a solid 15-20 minutes to be checked out, you've won.

It was right then that Phish's You Enjoy Myself makes a cameo. The song is 11 minutes in length and gets me through the line in fine fashion. Back to West 4th, and this is no joke, John Denver's Take Me Home Country Roads chimes in.

Random thought: This is my least favorite part about going to Western Beef...West 4th is narrow and brunch is all of a sudden the new "dinner." Why did NY restauranteurs think it was a good idea to put restaurants on the sidewalk that accommodate huge groups when there is no room on the sidewalk in the first place? Or better yet, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

The world may never know.

WARM THOUGHTS IN EYE OF THE STORM

Let's just get this out of the way: I despise the word "NOREASTER."

Not only because it's a corny fashionable word used by cheesy weather people, not only because it translates into: "Don't leave your house because you will perish," but mostly because they are cold, raw storms that happen right when you think the weather is going to turn warm. It's like mother nature saying "Ah ah ah, spring isn't here yet, I've still got 2 blizzards to unload!"

The other night I was out with a friend who was more than happy to share her suggestions for future podcasts and other things for the blog. But the one that stood out was the Steel Drums version of Brown Eyed Girl. With this latest wave of crappy weather more fit for inhabitants of Mount Doom, producing more "Calgon, take me away" moments than I'd like to admit, the thought of this song done to island music, immediately put me on a beach in the Caribbean, mixed drink in hand and not caring about anything except how to keep it going.

Thanks M (first initial of nameless friend because I don't have her consent).

In summary, Steel Drums, Cover of Brown Eyed Girl, Warm thoughts, good times. Check into it.

FUN SONG TITLES, FUN SOUNDS, DEPRESSING SONGS

The song Peace Frog by Jim Morrison and Co. (aka The Doors) is a terrific party song. OR IS IT?

While the song title is kooky and the song's tempo is upbeat and great to listen to after a couple of beers while socializing with your peers, this song is really a cry to end bloodshed and violence. Knowing this, why do we still start pseudo-dancing, drink in hand when we hear this song at bars? Consider it WRONG Music for the Situatino. And why stop here.

There are tons of songs out there that people party to and even have as a first dance song at their wedding that couldn't be further from appropriate. Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U," sounds like a love song, right? Sure. But the song is more anti-love than a get together at Darth Vader's place. Sinead was basically saying that she'll come across lot's of mean people in her life but Nothing Compares to you, the one who caused me more pain and suffering than anyone I've ever met.

One line that most folks know from The Pretender's "My City Was Gone," is "Ayy oh way to go Ohio." A tribute to the Chrissy Hynde's home state - because she's so proud to be from there right? Guess again. Until I listened closely to the words, I had no idea this song was even called "My City Was Gone." The song is a tribute, but it's a tribute to how the state of Ohio had lost it's character after she came back from living in Sheffield, England. Not so upbeat - even though I turn up the radio every time I hear it.

So is it us, the fans, or the musicians? Are we bad people for not listening to the words, or are the musicians just that twisted to sing about depressing things while surrounding them upbeat tunes? We may never know, but one thing's for certain, I won't stop pseudo-dancing.

THE TRUTH ABOUT RADIO EDITS

When I'm not listening to an IPod or Internet Radio, I listen to New York City's classic rock station Q104.3(WAXQ).

I stopped listening to top 40 stations the minute after I heard The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," perhaps one of the greatest rock songs ever made, on a local top 40 station. Why? You ask?

Because they play the edited version from The Who's Greatest Hits which cuts out the most amazing 1 minute of music ever recorded. I'm talking about the keyboard solo, which as far as I'm concerned, can be the whole song and they can cut out the other 7 minutes.

How can you make that song a radio edit? The Who is one of the greatest international rock bands ever (as I wrote that, Who Are You came on Q104), and editing any of there music is like allowing the Vatican to put advertising billboards on St. Peter's square. Sac-relig to the fullest extent. Radio edits are reserved for the one hit wonders, or the ones who don't write their own material and get contracts courtesy of American Idol, or by marrying record execs. What stinks is that radio stations have no idea how to edit songs.

Billy Joel's "Pressure," a prime example of a song that gets the greatest hits treatment on top 40 stations, never includes the "Two Men Out and Three Men On" verse. Classic rock stations like Q104 play The Nylon Curtain version as it was meant to be played. Even Joan Osbourne's "One of Us" is edited badly - The album verion starts with a sweet old lady singing a gospel tune followed by an instrumental lead in - I heard the radio edit first and when I heard the album version, it completely changed the face of the song.

Bottom line is, the truth about radio edits is that they are unnecessary, and folks who want to hear good music will never know that other versions of songs exist if all they listen to is top 40. If you happen to be reading this and your name is Casey Casem, no disrespect.

PODCAST 3 - COVER SONGS

Guess what folks - Podcast 3 Cover Songs is now ready to go. I decided to take this one on myself because I love doing this so much so enjoy and let's hear some feedback. It's always welcome.

Some show highlights:
FEATURED ARTISTS: The Beatles, Our Lady Peace (Tomorrow Never Knows), The Clash, Annie Lennox (Train in Vain), Black Sabbath, The Cardigans (Iron Man) LISTEN HERE

VIRGIN RADIO UK - WORLD RADIO SUPERPOWER

One of the best innovations of the past decade for music lovers - only second to the IPod - is no doubt Internet Radio.

Some of you may have no idea what I'm talking about, but if you were a child of the 1980's when leg warmers, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Pac Man Fever ruled the earth, you had a boom box - you know the kind you could either carry around as one unit or use as a stereo when you detached the speakers, and waited desperately to hit play and record on your tape deck when a great song came on the top 40 stations. Lot's of times you were pissed because the DJ would talk over the music.

Then Internet Radio comes along in the mid 90's and all of a sudden you start listening to radio stations from cities across the world from Budapest to Dublin to Fresno. And when you listen to the commericals and the DJ's, they talk about local happenings, advertising local TV and local businesses, as if you lived there. Not sure about you but when I hooked onto this, I stopped listening to local radio all together. But through all the stations that became known through the internet, the undisputed heavyweight champion that has set the standard in internet radio becoming the world's most listened to station, is no doubt, VIRGIN RADIO UK. Yeah, the company that Richard Branson owns. In the words of Kelly LeBrock, don't hate him because he's beautiful!

Listening to this station has meant many things for me. It's meant a whole new level of great rock and pop music that you almost never hear in the US. It's meant revisiting all those bands from my childhood, who made it here for 15 minutes in the early 80's but continued on to great things in the UK. It's meant a whole new fresh perspective on music not readily available on local top 40 hit stations that have libraries the size of my hand. It's meant realizing just how many points the UK is above us on the hip and happening scale (A recent article in New York magazine totally supports this point).

Most of all it's meant a large expansion of my music horizon - which consisted of top 40 until the arrival of the world radio superpower that is Virgin Radio UK.

A LILY IN THE FIELD

I'm a big fan of Saturday Night Live and have been for years. But I hate to say that my love for SNL has diminished a good amount because let's face it, the writing just sucks. Tina Fey leaves and the writing goes to garbage.

I've therefore concetrated my viewership of each show to the musical guest. I've found that SNL's musical guests are mainly in sync with that of the British Music Scene and what you can hear on Virgin Radio UK - http://www.virginradio.co.uk.

Some bands that have been on both include Franz Ferdinand, The Scissor Sisters, Keane, and Snow Patrol. But the one act I recently caught on the episode with Drew Barrymore (which was hilarious by the way), was a very fresh and original sound by the name of Lily Allen. She performed her pop hit "Smile" and I did one of those "Oh that's who sings this?" when she started playing. How to characterize her?

Think Nora Jones meets Sid Vicious.

After seeing her, I went to ITunes the next day and sampled her music. I loved it so much that I downloaded the album. I look for original sounding stuff all the time and lemme tell you, if you're into off the wall and out of the ordinary, Lily Allen is a great alternative. Her voice is sweet but she herself is anything but. She's kind of strange looking and has that ska Sex Pistols underground Bri-ish way about her and also sings with a British accent. She doesn't hide it like many other rock stars. The beats are original and even though the songs are fun sounding, the words are completely depressing. NO WEDDING SONGS HERE!

The bottom line about Lily Allen is, she's found a way to take many approaches to music and create one sound. She's also probably very self accomplished, unlike the American Idolers who are told what to sing and when. If you listen to songs like LDN and Take What You Take, you'll know right off that these songs were not created by record execs.

I just hope she's not a one album wonder. I'd love to see her around for years to come.

THIS IS DEFINITELY OUR COUNTRY - MELLENCAMP'S REBIRTH

As a big reader of ESPN's Page 2, I am always intrigued how columnist opinions sway the millions who can't think for themselves towards their own opinions. Ever since the Chevy ads sporting John Mellencamp's "This is our Country" came out, every columnist on this site has been calling Mellencamp a sellout, and saying things like, "the official passing of John Mellencamp." Some more than once.

I've now been hearing this song on the radio quite a bit, and guess what - this is a GREAT song! Not only that, I'ts a welcomed return for Mellencamp to the raw grass roots music we all love him for. Even if you hate this song because of what it was done originally for, you can't hate the song itself. And ONLY John Mellencamp can sing it. PAGE 2 ers need to develop their own opinions and tell those overhyped morons just looking to get a response, "Hey, you're way off base. You wouldn't know good music if it swam up and bit you in the ASS!"

Compare this "Anthem" type song to a similar song written by Paul McCartney specifically for the 9/11 Concert for New York City. Country flows nicely, and is great to listen to and it took more than 7 minutes to write. As a New Yorker, I was totally embarrassed by that McCartney song "Freedom," the supposed anthem we should all sing when we band together for 9/11. Everyone praised McCartney for writing such a great song that embodied our very souls and made us proud to be Americans and blahdee blahdee blahhhhshut the bleep up!

Everyone crucifies Mellencamp for doing the Chevy ad. But why? I don't know why Chevy didn't get him as the spokesperson years ago. Springsteen would have been the only person more perfect.

My advice for Page 2 folks whether you're a columnist or a reader, if you're so hung up on Mellencamp the sellout, then turn off your TV and put on the radio for a change, and listen up!

CORNERSHOPPING THE MARKET ON ROCKY BALBOA

Back in the mid 90's, an Indian-British Alternative Rock act emerged from under the wing of the immortal Oasis and combined rock with ska with rap. The band: Cornershop.

Many of their songs I would only recommend for personal listening pleasure. They are a weird group with a host of different sounds. They're a great escape from all the one dimensional sounds out there. If you're in the mood for funky and different, these guys are perfect.

But I'd love to know where these guys get their album and song titles.

My favorite song of Cornershop's is a fast moving southern rock sounding number called "Lessons Learned from Rocky I to Rocky III." The album it came from? "Handcream for a Generation."

I've listened to the song easily 20 times. Not only will I never be able to figure out what this song even remotely means, but I still can't understand every word sung, even by listening closely (and don't give me that lyrics.com shit - you're a bunch of sell out cheaters!).

Some lines I do know are "Super Models and they can't get enough of it, oooooh, the over grown super shit," or "Lesson 3 is to ignore 4." I think that's my favorite. Rocky III was the peak of the Rocky franchise. Rocky IV was just a video game. So heed the lesson all of you who will see Rocky Balboa and have not seen any of the first 5. Ignore 4, and 5 for that matter because neither of them happened.

As for the song, it's great to listen to get yourself going, and especially before a sporting event. With the Super Bowl coming up and all, give it a shot. If it doesn't float your boat, then lesson 4 is to ignore ME!

THE MYSTERIOUS ANNIE LENNOX - COVER DIVA

Ever since her debut as the buzz cut red head from Eurythmics in the "Sweet Dreams" video, I had always been on the fence about Annie Lennox. She has to great a voice to ignore her talent but for some reason, her music didn't do it for me.

Maybe it was because of her mass "girl power" appeal or maybe it was just that as a solo act, she just didn't appear enough in the public eye to make me notice.

It wasn't until I heard the album MEDUSA that I finally got over the fence and became an Annie Lennox fan. MEDUSA for those of you who haven't heard it, contains a collection of covers (and some of her own) by a an eclectic group of artists, beautifully transformed by Lennox into her own artistic realm.

Among the covers are The Animals "Whiter Shade of Pale," The Talking Heads "Take Me to the River," and my personal favorite, The Clash's "Train in Vain." On this one, she takes it down about 10 notches and creates a classy and catchy tune that could easily be mistaken for a new song. It's also as if she's winking at you saying "Yes, I know it's the Clash but nothing's out of my league."

If Joe Strummer were still alive he would surely give his blessing.

WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED

Like filmmakers of recent years, musicians have lost originality and have run out of ideas for new music sounds. When this happens, we hear music that is regenerated by new artists, and this is known as COVERING.

Now I love cover songs. I love hearing how artists can take and old song and modernize it or make it more lively than the original. But there are also too many times that an artist covers a song in a “Why the hell did they remake that song” light. If you’re going to cover it, remake it. Don’t sing it and play it exactly as the original…otherwise, what was the point of taking the time to remake it?

You’re going to start seeing a lot of entries here having to do with covers, mainly because it’s the way of the world now. Original ideas are few and far between and there’s a big risk in artists killing the legacy of once cherished bands and excellent songs.

But, I will be the first to say that there’s nothing like hearing a song completely re-done in a way you never thought a song can be heard. Those are the cover songs we will be covering in this blog, the good ones.

But be forewarned: In order to put the good covers in a good light, I can’t do that without making reference to the bad ones. So let’s get on with it….

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL...AND LUCINDA WILLIAMS?

Does my image of watching football on Sunday's match yours? Let's see......

-10 guys in a living room all with Packer/Steeler/Giants/Cowboys jerseys
-All guys are overweight
-Beer and artery clogging food as far as the eye could see
-Tailgates at 10am in the parking lot of your team's stadium
-High fiving when your team makes a great play
-Bratwursts, sausages, big strong burly guys with their last name on the back of their favorite team's jersey (IE a Giants jersey with 56 and my last name on the back)
-Getting pumped for a bone crunching bloodbath....YEAH BABY YEA BABY YEEEEEEEA!

OK, did I hit at least some similarities as to what your Football Sunday looks like? Doesn't matter because I left one out. My image of football is forever changed. I now add the immortal LUCINDA WILLIAMS to my stereotypical image of football. The country/pop/adult contemporary artist is now my pump up music before a Giants game. You've think I've gone crazy? Well, let me tell you....

I was in line behind someone who looked like The Rock waiting to get my Chicken Cheese Steak (not really a steak because it's chicken), and I noticed he was wearing one of those black concert tshirts that seem so Molly Hatchet nowadays.

Anyway, I look and do a double take. This guy is easily 6-4, 230 pounds and on his shirt it says "LUCINDA WILLIAMS" US TOUR 2005 - and then goes on to list the cities. LUCINDA WILLIAMS? The country singer turned pop star back to country? Since when is she stimulating music for a Sunday of football? And not to mention for a guy who looks like a football player? Wacky I tell you. Not so wacky as my friends, The Berkley All Blues Women's Rugby team who listen to Brandi Carlisle before each game (not music to pump you up - I do a tribute to these ladies in my second Podcast), but not far from it.

Thank you sir, whoever you are for giving me something to write about and changing my preparations for Sunday football forever. Are you ready for some football? After Lucinda Williams, I'm ready for anything.