Christmas Music: Taylor Hicks

Still my favorite Idol Taylor Hicks sings "White Christmas."

Related articles by Zemanta

• Top 10 Gadgets for Christmas 2008
• Futuristic Festive Fun
• Christmas mix
• A Family Christmas Tradition

Old School Fridays: Christmas Songs

At first I was going to try and find some obscure Christmas song done by someone you wouldn't think of doing a Christmas song, but than I realized how much I love this version done by Bruce Springsteen and decided that it was the song to post. This is an early clip, I'm not sure of the year, but it's from an early Bruce. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!



This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. The rules are simple:

1. Anyone can participate; any music genre
2. Old School is defined as music created before 1999
3. No offensive words allowed, please use edited radio version
4. Post a video of your favorite Old School song to take us back down memory lane
5. Add your name to the meme list so that others can check you out
6. Have fun & don't forget to leave comments for other participants

Ramones Christmas

Merry Christmas Baby by the Ramones.

Desert Island Meme

I've come up with a Meme. It started with a book. The book was "Stranded" and edited by Greil Marcus. The premise was simple: Twenty rock and roll writers pick the one album they would take with them if they were stranded on a Desert Island. So the purpose of this meme is also fairly simple: pick one album that you would take with you if you were stranded on a Desert Island.

I've given this a lot of thought. After I read the book twenty some years ago I tried to think of what one album I couldn't live without. What one album would I want to have with me and to be the only album I would be able to listen to.

Immediately I thought of the albums of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the Beatles. These three I always go back to. They are my Holy Trinity. Pretty much any of their albums I could listen to over and over. But which one of theirs do I pick?

Or do I decide to go with a newer choice? Newer musicians that have come to mean so much to me like Wilco or Lucinda Williams. Is there a way to pick just one to listen to for the rest of my life? Or do I chose something from a more obscure artist like Theresa Anderson or Shannon McNally.

In the end I went with my first love and something that I never grow tired of listening to.

When I was a kid the first music I remember listening to and making an impression on me was the Beatles. My cousin Debbie was about a decade older than me and was a teenager during the years of the Beatles' popularity and I always remember thinking how cool that would have been. I really didn't get into music until the end of their career. I was eleven when they broke up.

The first piece of music I ever owned was the 45 single of the Beatles' "Eight Days A Week" with the B-Side "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party." Later the first album I purchased was Beatles VI with those two songs on it. At first all I bought was Beatles music. I had a friend at the time that was a big fan of the Monkees and I remember how we'd call each other up whenever we'd buy a new album of our favorites. Of course I was buying older albums of the Beatles since they had already came out.

I remember finding out that there was a Beatles song that wasn't on any of their American albums and calling the radio station constantly asking for the song. They never played it. I also discovered that the American versions of their albums were different from the ones they released in England. It wasn't until the release of "Rubber Soul" that the two sides of the Atlantic started releasing the same versions. The American versions were stripped down affairs of what they originally released.

As a kid I championed the Beatles music while to most of the kids my age they were yesterday's news. I grew up out of step with my generation, they were listening to Grand Funk Railroad while I was listening to John, Paul, George and Ringo.

I can go months without listening to a Beatles song, but whenever I hear one I am entranced by their voices and their music. I'm not one that thinks their childhood as the best time of their life and want to hold onto and cherish their memories from that age, my love of the Beatles isn't nostalgia. I still think they created some of the greatest and freshest music of the last forty years. Their music still holds up today.

But what album would I bring? That's when I realized the album was "1" the greatest hits that was released in 2000. The track list is:

1. "Love Me Do" – 2:20
   • Released in the UK on October 5, 1962, and in the U.S. on April 27, 1964, where it reached #1 in the U.S. for 1 week on May 30. This is the version released in the U.S. with Andy White on drums and Ringo Starr on tambourine.
2. "From Me to You" – 1:56
   • Released on April 11, 1963 in the UK and reached #1 on May 2, where it stayed for 7 weeks.
3. "She Loves You" – 2:21
   • Released in the UK on August 23, 1963, where it stayed at #1 for 6 weeks, then again on November 28. Released in the U.S. on September 16, 1963, and went to #1 for two weeks on March 21, 1964.
4. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" – 2:24
   • Released in the U.S. on December 26, 1963, it reached #1 for 7 weeks between February 1 and March 20, 1964. Released in the UK on November 29, 1963 and stayed at #1 for 5 weeks.
5. "Can't Buy Me Love" – 2:11
   • Released on March 20, 1964 in the UK and on March 16, 1964 in the U.S.. The song reached #1 for three weeks in the UK on April 2, 1964. The song went to #1 in the U.S. for 5 weeks on April 4, 1964.
6. "A Hard Day's Night" – 2:33
   • The song reached #1 in the UK for 3 weeks on July 23, 1964 and was #1 for 2 weeks in the U.S. on August 1, 1964.
7. "I Feel Fine" – 2:18
   • The song stayed at #1 for 5 weeks in the UK starting on December 10, 1964, and reached #1 in the U.S. on December 26, 1964.
8. "Eight Days a Week" – 2:44
   • Released on February 15, 1965 in the U.S., where it went to #1 for 2 weeks on March 13, 1965.
9. "Ticket to Ride" – 3:10
   • The song, released there on April 9, 1965 in the UK, was #1 for 3 weeks on April 22, 1965. The song was released in the U.S. on April 19, 1965, reaching #1 for 1 week on May 22, 1965.
10. "Help!" – 2:18
    • Released on July 23, 1965 in the UK, it reached #1 for 3 weeks on August 5, 1965. In the U.S., it was released on July 19, 1965, reaching #1 for 3 weeks on September 4, 1965.
11. "Yesterday" – 2:05
    • The song was released on September 13, 1965 in the U.S., attaining #1 for 4 weeks on October 9, 1965.
12. "Day Tripper" – 2:48
    • Released on December 3 in the UK, reaching #1 for 5 weeks on December 16, 1965. A tape drop-out that appears in previous stereo releases of this song has been corrected here.
13. "We Can Work It Out" – 2:15
    • Released in the UK on December 3, 1965 and reached #1 for 5 weeks on December 16, 1965. The song was released on December 6, 1965 in the U.S., and reached #1 for 3 weeks on January 8, 1966.
14. "Paperback Writer" – 2:18
    • Released on June 10, 1966 in the UK and on May 30, 1966 in the U.S.. The song reached #1 for 2 weeks in the UK on June 23, and for 2 weeks in the U.S. on June 25, 1966.
15. "Yellow Submarine" – 2:38
    • The song was released on August 5, 1966 in the UK, where it reached #1 for 4 weeks on August 18.
16. "Eleanor Rigby" – 2:06
    • Released on August 5, 1966 in the UK, reaching #1 for 4 weeks on August 18.
17. "Penny Lane" – 2:59
    • Released on February 17, 1967 in the UK, and on February 13, 1967 in the U.S.. The song reached #1 in the U.S. on March 18 for 1 week.
18. "All You Need Is Love" – 3:47
    • Released on July 7, 1967 in the UK, it reached #1 for 3 weeks on July 19. In the U.S., it attained #1 for 1 week on August 19, 1967.
19. "Hello, Goodbye" – 3:27
    • Released on November 24 in the UK, it reached #1 for 7 weeks on December 6, 1967. In the U.S., the song was released on November 27, 1967, and reached #1 for 3 weeks on December 30, 1967.
20. "Lady Madonna" – 2:16
    • Released on March 15, 1968 in the UK, reaching #1 for 2 weeks on March 27.
21. "Hey Jude" – 7:04
    • Released on August 26, 1968 in the U.S. and on August 30 in the UK. It reached #1 in the UK for 2 weeks on September 11 and was #1 for 9 weeks in the U.S., starting on September 28, 1968.
22. "Get Back" – 3:12
    • Released on April 11, 1969 in the UK and on May 5, 1969 in the U. S.. It reached #1 in the UK for 6 weeks on April 23, and in the U.S. for 5 weeks on May 24, 1969.
23. "The Ballad of John and Yoko" – 2:59
    • Released in the UK on May 30, 1969 reaching #1 for 3 weeks on June 11.
24. "Something" (George Harrison) – 3:01
    • Released on October 31, 1969 in the UK, and on October 6 in the U.S. It reached #1 for 1 week in the U.S. on November 29, 1969.
25. "Come Together" – 4:18
    • Released on October 31, 1969 in the UK, and on October 6 in the U.S.. It reached #1 in the U.S. on November 29, and stayed there for 1 week.
26. "Let It Be" – 3:50
    • Released on March 6, 1970 in the UK, and on March 11, 1970 in the U, S., reaching #1 for 2 weeks on April 11, 1970.
27. "The Long and Winding Road" – 3:37
    • Released in the U.S. on May 11, 1970 and reached #1 for 2 weeks on June 13, 1970. This version has the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn. Produced by Phil Spector, it is the only track not produced by George Martin.

It covers their entire career and has songs I could listen to over and over. It has the pop songs of their beginning like "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and than their more adventurous music such as "Hey Jude" and "Revolution." To me it's like a brief history of pop music on one album.

I know the tradition of a meme is to tag someone but I never know who to tag, so I'll tag anyone reading this that would like to take their try at picking one album. I'm hoping Travis, Bond, Malcom and Starrlight give it a go because I am very curious to see what their pick would be.

A New Orleans Christmas Song

Now a local Christmas song from Benny Grunch and the Bunch "The 12 Yats of Christmas."

Christmas Music

Little more than a week and Christmas will be here. Being in retail I can't stress how much I look forward to that day. I thought I'd try and post some Christmas music over the next week. Today is Faith Hill doing "O Holy Night" from her Christmas album.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Faith Hill - Joy To The World
• Faith Hill Brings Christmas Early

Duck The Flying Shoes

By now pretty much everyone in the world that has a television or internet connection has seen the video of the Iraqi journalist throwing his shoe at President Bush. Now anyone that has read this blog for any length of time knows how I feel about Mr. Bush. Quite simply put I am not a fan.

I consider him responsible for curtailing our freedoms in this country, diminishing the image of the United States in the eyes of the world community and worse I consider him responsible for the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and Iraqis because of a war he started due to ego or oil or whatever but definitely not for the reasons he tried to give to the citizens of this country. I truly believed he should have been impeached for his actions as President.

But watching this video I was troubled. I know in the Arab world throwing you shoe at someone is considered the ultimate insult. I am an absolute supporter of Free Speech and realize that to have Free Speech you have to be willing to defend those words you deem insulting or racist or whatever objections you might have to them, but I can't place throwing shoes in the same category of Free Speech.

It the Iraqi journalist had stood up and verbally insulted President Bush I would have no problems, but the throwing of his shoes bothers me. I know most people have made light of the whole affair and even the President joked about it. But how could someone have time to throw his shoe at the President of the United States. What if it had been a rock? Or something even worse, like a knife. As much as I detest the President I would not want to see him killed. Where was the Secret Service when this was going on?

I consider the Dixie Chicks patriotic when they said they were ashamed that the President came from the same state as they did. So what is it about this that bothers me so much?

I really can't put my finger on it, but to me the throwing of the shoes at President Bush was not just an insult at the man but an insult at the Presidency itself. Insult the man, but not the institution is I guess my thought. The whole event has become nothing more than fodder for the late night comedians and a throwaway joke in the internet and I guess I just see more into it.

Related articles by Zemanta

• President Bush Sees Sole Of Iraqi Journalist
• Shoe-Thrower Appears In Court
• Iraqi Shoe Thrower Tortured Beaten in Prison Middle East Protests George W. Bush Interview About Shoe Throwing
• Iraqis argue over fate of shoe-throwing reporter
• Iraq parliament in chaos over shoe flap

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

At work Christmas music is playing 24/7. You don't realize you're humming along to old favorites until you're in the middle of the song. One thing I noticed after listening to constant Christmas music is all the versions there are of John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". This is probably one of my favorite Christmas songs. I've rarely heard the original version of the song by John Lennon at work, but I hear a lot of versions by other singers. I thought I'd highlight a few here:

Melissa Etheridge


Tom Jones


U2


Neil Diamond (This one gets a lot of play)


David Cook (This one is for Starrlight)


The Corrs


Damien Rice


The Alarm


And the Original John Lennon

I Know How He Feels....

Bettie Page

Image by The Rocketeer via FlickrBettie Page, a pinup queen from the fifties and an early Playboy Playmate died yesterday. She was 85 years old. She gained fame again later in life when artist Dave Stevens created "The Rocketeer" and modeled the main character's girlfriend after Bettie. This video is from the fifties and looking at it today you have to wonder at what once seemed so risque.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Bettie Page Has Died
• Retroville: R.I.P. Dave Stevens

Snow In New Orleans

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeTuesday Night the weatherman said it was supposed to get cold Thursday. He even mentioned the S word...snow. Every so often they tease us with that word and act like it's going to really snow in New Orleans. Every now and than we'll get some snow, but by the time it hits the ground it's already melting. When I got up Thursday morning I was expecting it to be really cold, but it was't. I went to work and as the morning went on it got colder. And than something happened.

It started to snow. At first it was like every other snow, it melted as it hit the ground. Than it really started to come down. And it started to stick to the ground. Before long it was a few inches deep.

Snow in New Orleans.

It didn't stay around long. Within a few hours the snow turned to rain and the snow on the ground melted away. But it was kind of cool while it lasted.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The First Real Snow
• Snow!

Still Working

I've got a lot done in my office. The old desks and file cabinets are gone, the new one is built and I've been going through a lot of old papers and throwing a lot of stuff out. But I've still got some more to go. Hope to post some before and after pictures soon.

Old School Fridays: Favorite Band

There's lot of bands I could put here, from U2 to Wilco, but if I'm being truthful about MY Favorite Band I have to go with the old stand by of the Beatles. No matter how much I like other bands I can't forget they were my first love and I still think the bar others strive to meet.

This is from perhaps their final concert ever.



And one of their first hits.



This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. The rules are simple:

1. Anyone can participate; any music genre
2. Old School is defined as music created before 1999
3. No offensive words allowed, please use edited radio version
4. Post a video of your favorite Old School song to take us back down memory lane
5. Add your name to the meme list so that others can check you out
6. Have fun & don't forget to leave comments for other participants

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Coolest Beatles Songs You Might Have Missed, Vol. 2
• MTV And Apple Corps. Join Forces For Beatles Music Game [The Beatles]

Dec 8 1980

A Stroll Through Memory Lane

I've decided that my office needs a complete make over. The desk that this computer sits on is at least twenty years old. It's an old metal office desk, the type you don't see much anymore. On top of the desk I've added shelves that went with a wooden computer desk. I've got two big file cabinets full of papers that date back farther than I like to think about it. The room that I use as an office is cluttered and full.

I've decided that it really needs work. So I went out and bought a new computer desk. I've got plans to remake the whole room. Hopefully into something better organized and a little more open. I have a feeling this is not going to be a quick project, it's going to require a good big of work.

One of the first things I did was buy one of those hanging units for files. I just felt like the file cabinets were taking up too much space. I've been going through the file cabinets. They hold most of what I laughingly refer to as my writing life. I had one whole drawer full of files of artists that I've corresponded with. I took out all the artists that I've actually worked with and the others I threw away.

Going through these files has brought back a lot of memories. Lots of stories that never sold, lots of stories that were never finished. But than I'd come across one that was actually sold and published and it made me feel good. I've thrown away a lot of stuff that I just can't ever seeing the need for, but I have kept a lot of story ideas and old stories that I might be able to revisit or pull some ideas from.

Going through all these files and papers made me realize one thing. I once really wanted to be a writer and what's more, I really worked at it. I've come across letters from editors that had kind things to say about my work, people in the comic industry that liked what I was doing and others that remembered me from previous work. The last ten years I've pretty much blown most of those contacts, I never published enough that many people still in the industry would remember me now. But it's made me realize that this was a dream that I worked hard at and is still a dream worth working for.

Maybe all this cleaning and organizing will get me off my butt and writing again.

My Lucky Day

Old School Fridays: Actors Who Sing

Today's topic is actors who sing. My first thought was Frank Sintra but than I realized that he was a singer who acted. There are a lot of actors who want to be singers, but that doesn't mean they are very good. It seems that actors want to sing, and singers want to act. I thought about this one and tried to figure out who to use and in the end went with Fred Astaire. He's not the best singer, but he's an all around entertainer. As well as seeing him sing you get to watch him dance. When I was younger I used to love to watch his old movies.



This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. The rules are simple:

1. Anyone can participate; any music genre
2. Old School is defined as music created before 1999
3. No offensive words allowed, please use edited radio version
4. Post a video of your favorite Old School song to take us back down memory lane
5. Add your name to the meme list so that others can check you out
6. Have fun & don't forget to leave comments for other participants

Thursday Thirteen: Bob Dylan Books

Image by Larry He's So Fine via FlickrThis is the first T 13 I've done in about a month, but hopefully I'll be able to do them on a more regular basis. This one is 13 books from my library about Bob Dylan. I'm a pretty big fan of the singer, as you can no doubt guess from having enough books about him to list 13 and still have some left over.

1) Down the Highway by Howard Sounes: This is one of the newer bios about Dylan. As much as has been written about the man, you'd think there was nothing new to add, but the writer actually uncovered new facts about Dylan.

2) Bob Dylan-Performing Artit 1960-1973 and 1974-1986 by Paul Williams: This is actually two books, but they are companions pieces so I've included them as one. These books are reviews of his concerts from these time periods. Mr. Williams traveled to quite a few of Dylan's shows over the years and talks about what he's seen and heard.

3) Positively 4th Street by David Hajdu: This volume talks about Dylan's early years with Joan Baez, her sister Mimi Baez Farina and Richard Farina.

4) A Simple Twist of Fate by Andy Gill and Kevin Odegard: A history of the recording of Dylan's "Blood on the Track" album.

5) On the Road with Bob Dylan by Larry "Ratso" Sloman: This is a chronicle of Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review by someone who was there. A side note, Ratso is also a character in Kinky Freidman's mystery novels.

6) Dylan's Visions of Sin by Christopher Ricks: This book talks about Dylans songs as relating to the Seven Deadly Sins, the Four Cardinal Virtues and the Three Heavenly Graces. I have to admit this is one that I haven't been able to make it all the way through yet.

7) Like A Rolling Stone by Greil Marcus: Talking about the making of the classic song "Like A Rolling Stone."

8) Invisible Republic by Greil Marcus: This book is about the songs Dylan recorded with the Band known as The Basement Tapes and their historical roots in folk and blues music.

9) No Direction Home by Robert Shelton: I'm not sure if this is the first bio on Dylan, but if it's not, it's certainly one of the first and probably the first that treated its subject seriously.

10) Like The Night: Bob Dylan and the Road to Manchester Free Trade Hall by C.P. Lee: It's become part of his legend that after Dylan switched to electric that one of his fans called him Judas at a concert. For a long time it was rumored to be at the Royal Albert Hall, but it was actually at the Manchaster Free Trade Hall. Mr. Lee was at the concert and this book is about Dylan's move to electric and that show.

11) Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions by Clinton Heylin 1960-1994: Pretty much what the title says, details about Dylan's recording sessions.

12) Bob Dylan Companion edited by Carl Benson: Articles about Dylan.

13) Lyrics by Bob Dylan: A book of his lyrics. To me this is a fascinating book, one that I pick up all the time.


Dont Think Twice

Related articles by Zemanta

• Positively 116th Street: Bob Dylan Finally Gets His Pulitzer. His What?
• Bob Dylan Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Volume 8

Voices to hear is Back!

It's been over a month since I've done any posting over at Voices to hear, but I'm back with a new Simply Six post with the singer/rocker Lennon. Lennon is a talented musician that is, yes, named after John Lennon. Her first album "5:30 Saturday Morning" was released on Sept 11, 2001. Her newest album is "Damaged Goods" and is a rock and roll record with lots of attitude.


Where Do I Fit In? | Music Codes

Meet The New South, Same As The Old South

Sometimes its hard to let go of certain beliefs. The South has always meant different things to different people. But to a lot of people when they imagine someone from the South they see a redneck racist. I'm serious, I have a friend from up North who really believes that most people in the South walk around barefoot and are not very intelligent. But it's a view I've long thought to be outdated. I always thought the South was a lot more tolerant than a lot of people thought.

The North has not exactly been a source of racial free incidents. Going back to school busing we all saw how Boston dealt with that issue. Just recently I listened to a segment on CNN about some high school boys from up North that went out looking for a "beaner" and when they found "one" they killed him.

I was born in the South and have lived pretty much all my life here. I'm proud to be a Southern. I've always felt that we might have our problems with racial issues but that we were in fact more up front about them than some areas. I see more black and whites working side by side. Interracial dating. Even blacks and whites living next door to each other. But I think I've had a pair of rose colored glasses on.

The recent election makes me realize how wrong I may have been. In Louisiana Obama received only 14% of the white vote, in Mississippi he received 11% and Alabama 10%. In other states that have always voted Republican he received a lot more of the white vote than those numbers. In fact he actually received more white votes in some states than Kerry, Gore or even Bill Clinton.

Now I don't see a problem with that if they were voting for McCain strictly because they felt his policies better, but I somehow doubt it. I believe the majority of them voted for McCain because he was white and didn't vote for Obama because he was black.

Since the election I've heard it in the half mutters from others. Anyone that knows me isn't about to say something racist about Obama in front of me, they know how I feel, but you get the thinly veiled objections that are just coded for being racist. And people that don't know me, customers I've overheard, it's terrible. The jokes going around, they play on the fact that Obama is black and are so racist it's not even funny. I heard one man telling one joke to a friend in a crowd that wasn't just not funny, but could have been considered a threat against the newly elected President.

Nationally Obama won 43% of the white vote, 46% of white women and 41% of white men, but in the Deep South the best he could manage was 14%. Why? Are we still so stuck in such old mentality in the South? Are we not as tolerant as I always thought?

I am a white man from the South and I have always been proud to call myself a Southern, but lately I don't find quite as much pride in that term.

Related articles by Zemanta

• South's Waning Hold On National Politics