A Favorite, Remade

This morning I came a across a new video of one of my favorite songs, "God Only Knows."  I do not recognize half of the people in this rendition and it cannot begin to compete with the Beach Boys' original song, but I still found it interesting. 

Quite the quandary

I just found out this morning that my boy Steve Winwood is playing at Fenway Park on Saturday, August 30th.  The tickets are quite pricey and the main issue is that Mr. Winwood is opening for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  I'm not a huge Tom Petty fan, though I have been known to sing "Free Fallin'" on karaoke here and there and enjoy "Learning to Fly" due to a Michael Jordan DVD from over 12 years ago.  The songs "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "You Don't Know How it Feels" have always freaked me out/annoyed me for some reason and Tom Petty's voice in general doesn't tickle my fancy.  On the flip side, 1980s phenom Steve Winwood has some incredible songs and an amazing voice.  Take a listen:

Higher Love

Back in the High Life Again

Roll With It

Valerie

After further deliberation, I might just park my butt outside of Fenway at the Cask, Game On or Jerry Remy's just so I can hear Steve perform live that night.

Hitting the High Notes

The Dude mentioned Sam Smith in his post earlier today.  I really enjoyed his performance on SNL and have been listening to "Stay With Me" frequently over the past 48 hours.  It isn't surprising that I like this young man's style as I have always appreciated a killer falsetto.  Jordan Knight was my favorite New Kid on the Block for a reason.  (Man did he get up there for Step 3-- "It's just you and me.")  While I was in tween love with Jordan Knight, my mum was obsessed with George Michael, another man with a fantastic falsetto.  We listened to our mum's George Michael cassette tapes so often that I started to dislike his music for a short period of time.  (I think I was mostly freaked out by his song "Mother's Pride."  As The Dude knows, there are a few songs that disturb me to my core.  Number one with a bullet is "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by The Crash Test Dummies.  I swear to God that song hurts my soul.  Also on the playlist in my personal hell would be "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  These aren't songs that I dislike.  They are songs I feel queasy about.  And "Mother's Pride" makes me queasy.)  ANYHOW, enough about music that induces nightmares, back to the topic at hand.  After I had a reasonable break from being trapped in the car with my mum and her George Michael jams, I started to appreciate him again.  Some of my very favorite singers are falsetto vocalists, including Jeff Buckley, Art Garfunkel, and Michael Jackson.  And I can't forget another of my mother's favorites-- The Bee Gees/Barry Effin' Gibb.

Art Garfunkel's performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and Maxwell's version of "This Woman's Work" never fail to give me chills:

Checking In

Because I actually have social (demented and sad, but social) plans tonight, I'm keeping this post brief.  Inspired by The Dude's "Good Word" post, here's what is going on with this gal.

Currently Reading:
Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy
This giant book is a birthday gift from The Dude that I am just getting around to reading because it is three books bound together and is heavier than a sack of bricks.  On the plus side-- solid read, so far.  I'm only about a third of the way through the first book, The Golden Compass.  I'm hoping for good things since I love a series.

Currently Watching:
"Downton Abbey"
I am still fully on board with season four of this British program.  Just as I love a series of books, I super love a British costume drama.  I reported to my mum last night that Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess makes me laugh harder than any character on TV.  Also, I think the ginger footman Alfred is secretly a muggle ancestor of the Weasleys.

Currently Listening To:
"Amber" by 311
On repeat ever since I posted yesterday.  What can I say, The Dude has good taste.

Currently Snacking On:
Nothing right this moment, but I shall dine on roasted red pepper pizza tonight with my pals.  Yum.

What's the good word?

I'm just sitting here at work cranking down a diet sierra mist (awful) and had a few updates to report.  Boston Bruins hockey is on hold for 19 days due to the Winter Olympics.  I attended their last game before the break in-person and enjoyed their butthole stomping of the Ottawa Senators live.  With the Bruins on break, I literally save myself/free up an estimated 30 hours in the next 2 weeks with the lack of games, pre-game viewing, post-game viewing, analysis, etc.  What I am doing to fill some of that free time, you ask?  NOT EXERCISING!

Current Novel

• Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
• Great novel on the Vietnam war (courtesy of Herself) and the life of a Marine Battalion written by a Vietnam veteran.  600 page book that I'm dominating in an aggressive manner.

 Current TV Show

• True Detective on HBO
• Unreal thriller/drama starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey.  Very intense and highly recommended.

Current Tunes

•   Our Lady Peace
• Solid Canadian alt-rock band from the 90s that are rumored to have a reunion tour coming up this summer.  I saw them live in the summer of 2001 in Portland, ME and they put on a top 5 live concert.

 Current Snack

• Triscuit Garden Herb crackers with sliced cheddar cheese and pepperoni

Obsessed

My mum had the brilliant idea to put EOS lip balm in everyone's stocking this past Christmas.  The little pink egg containing strawberry sorbet balm has been my obsession for nearly two months.  If EOS would consider infusing their lip balm with caffeine, I would stockpile those suckers.

On a mostly unrelated note, I just came across an article about 311, The Dude's all-time favorite band.  (See his August 2012 post about 311.)  He has been to a bazillion of their concerts, even flying around the country to see them perform.  Apparently they have a new album coming out on 311 Day (March 11.)  I wouldn't know who they were if not for The Dude, but thanks to his influence, I do very much enjoy several of their most mainstream songs.

"Amber"

"Rub a Dub"

"All Mixed Up"

How to Perk Up a Road Trip

Last night, The Dude, our cousin Stud*, and I drove to New Hampshire to see our cousin DMan* play basketball.  Having left work an hour early, we hadn't anticipated that our travel time would be doubled because of insane traffic.  Early in our drive, The Dude gave us earnest instructions for how to proceed if his road rage were to result in a stroke while he was behind the wheel.  (Shift the car to neutral and slowly pull up on the emergency break.)  It was not the most relaxing drive, with two different GPS aps simultaneously attempting to guide us to our destination.  One bright spot was The Dude's suggestion that we listen to New Kids on the Block during the ride.  The three of us attended an NKOTB concert last spring and came away with a huge appreciation for one of their new hits.  When "The Whisper" came on last night, there was genuine excitement in the car.

Fortunately, we made it to the game just in time to cheer with our aunt, uncle, cousin, and DMan's girlfriend as he and his team obliterated the competition.  As I told DMan today, it was uncanny watching him dominate on the court as his tall, slim physique and athletic skills remind me so much of myself.  (I empathize with Danny DeVito's "genetic trash" character in the movie Twins.)  After enjoying a great game, we were able to cruise home in just half the time, even when factoring in a late-night pitstop at Wendy's.  Stud and I basked in The Dude's pure joy as he ate his way through the Wendy's value menu.  The only thing that could have made his delight more entertaining would have been if he sang the "I Deserve This" song he performed whenever he came home with delicious snacks while we were roommates.

*I really need to figure out what I'm doing with friends' and family members' names on this blog.

Amazing new band

Thanks to my bro, Derek, I am a huge fan of the band, "Steel Panther".  This band is a recent 2009 break-out band who rocks out hard like 80s Hair Metal, with dirty lyrics.  These songs make me want to head-bang out with some long hair, but also LOL like a 17 year old.

Let's try out a few:

This is about a dude who "loves" his girl, but can't help his D from getting weird with other chicks.  Reminds me of one of my buddies.  Whoops.

Great song about doing it up with a girl who has a few extra on her.  At the age of 30 with my current physique, can't hate on this tune.

My favorite song by the group - totally 80s sound plus amazing lyrics.  Awesomeness at its finest.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

I started listening to Christmas music last week.  While I generally love holiday tunes, there are a few songs that have been popping up far too frequently for my taste.  I would like to invite the following four Christmas songs to KILL THEMSELVES so I don't have to listen to them ever again.

1) "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth"
This song is brutal.  Even Nat King Cole, an undisputed holiday song master, can't save it for me.  And when you factor in versions where the singer attempts a lisp. . . .  Good God.

2) "Santa Baby"
There is absolutely no need, in my opinion, for a horny Christmas song.

3) "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
The Jackson Five have a cover of this song that I almost don't mind-- mostly because they are actual children instead of creepy adults talking in baby voices.  (Another hit against many covers of "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".)  But I am a real Puritan (minus the religion) about my holiday songs.  I don't want any hanky panky in my Christmas tunes.

4) "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
Well, if "they" are neither Christian, nor living in a Christian-influenced nation, "they" probably don't know it is Christmas.  I only knew this week was Diwali because Stephen Colbert told me so on his show.  And yet I doubt there are bands in India lamenting my ignorance in song.

One generally disliked Christmas song that won't make my list is "The Twelve Days of Christmas."  Ever since my dad led my family in a version of this song at my grandfather's Christmas party many years ago, I always think about my Uncle B belting out "FIVE GOLDEN RINGS" in a perfect falsetto (eight times) and smile when I hear this song.

Donde esta, El Dude?

Been MIA since Sept 10th, according to the blog.  I've been working most weeks in CT, but was out on the west coast for a bit, then Las Vegas, then had a bachelor party weekend on a lake in Maine, so its been a rough month.  Luckily Herself has kept this blog going and actually thrown down a few solid blogs, including the Xmas movies blog.

Not much new to report here and no content is coming to me at this time due to dominating the Comments section on Herself's blogs.  Tomorrow is a notable evening as I am starting a part-time gig as a Karaoke Host at one of my favorite bars in Boston, Hong Kong.  I have been going to that bar for years due to them having karaoke every night, no cover charge and $1 Coors Light beers.  I got offered the gig there back in September and tomorrow is my first night.  I have a solid following coming to watch me and sing under my guidance.  Family members, including some from Maine, friends from high school and friends from college and of course, Herself.  Lots of pressure for me to be on my 'A Game', but I have full faith that I will pull it off.  Here is a quick taste of some of the songs that I will be dominating tomorrow night:

'No Diggity' by Blackstreet.
I started dominating this song about 2 years ago.  The karaoke version does not have the Dr. Dre rap at the beginning or Little Kim rap in the middle, thankfully.

'2 Princes' by Spin Doctors
Solid older song and I believe UBri or UDave gave me the CD when I was younger.

'Haven't Met You Yet' by Michael Buble
Big fan of the Buble and this song adds to the eclectic mix of songs I can dominate.

Hot as balls + concert time

Heat and humidity have been dominating the greater Boston area for 2 days now.  I'd say overall this has been one of the hottest summers in recent memories.  As the only member in my immediate family without Central AC, I feel bad for myself on hot days like this and feel like a hero when I venture into the 90 kitchen or bathroom.

Tonight I'm headed to see my favorite band, 311, in concert for the 2nd time in a week.  I will also be seeing them Monday night down in CT, which coincides with my work trip down there.  311 is a combination of rock, reggae, rap and blues.  I'll post 3 songs that show their sound variation.

Sick Tight - rock/rap:

Rub A Dub - reggae/pop:

 Sometimes Jacks Rule the Realm - acoustic/alt rock

Signature Jam

I just downloaded The Dude's signature tune, Montell Jordan's "This Is How We Do It."  While on iTunes, I noticed a sale on '80s hits.  Of course I had to check it out.  I was disappointed to realize that I had already purchased just about every song on the list-- or had it on CD.  Almost all of the remaining songs were stinkers.  Some lucky duck is going to walk away with Steve Perry's "Oh Sherrie" for a mere 69 cents.  I proudly paid full price for that gem.

Brother Marmalade

There's nothing quite like calling The Dude and hearing him answer the phone singing "Lady Marmalade" with modified lyics:

"Hey sister, soul sister, [redacted] sister, [redacted] sister."  

I had to take some names out for the sake of quasi-anonymity and also because one of his nicknames for me sounds filthy.

She's Got a Wang On

Probably the best scene from a little known but excellent movie.  I can't believe Coupe de Ville still isn't available on DVD.  You'd think that Patrick Dempsey's "McDreamy" fame would lead to the distribution of this classic.

Daniel Stern's involvement in this flick, the Home Alone movies, and "The Wonder Years" has earned him my undying love.  If his narration in the final few minutes of "The Wonder Years" doesn't get to you, you're made of stone.

Anyway, do your best to see Coupe de Ville.  It is worth the effort.

Sing Along

I know I am leaning heavily on video clips, but what can I say-- I have a pretty boring life and I think selected movie scenes are more entertaining that stories about my cats.  I have a family wedding coming up this summer and for some reason I started thinking about the scene from My Best Friend's Wedding where the whole group sings "I Say A Little Prayer for You."  I've loved that scene since I saw it at the cinema with my mum fifteen years ago.

There aren't enough opportunities for sing alongs in regular life.  The Dude and our cousins (one of whom is the bride in the family wedding I mentioned) were unabashed public singers during our tape era.  We used to record ourselves first on cassette tapes and then on video tapes when we got together.  I can remember singing the theme to "The Brady Bunch" at the top of our lungs in a McDonald's once.  Other memorable sing alongs were a family rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" at my grandfather and step-grandmother's Christmas party many years ago.  My uncle, Binky, took the "five golden rings" part of that song and sung it in his trademark falsetto.  And the final memory that comes to mind is singing the theme song to "Full House" at the wedding reception of a college friend.  She lived in San Francisco, so adults who had grown up watching TGIF programming were obligated to break into that song while talking about sightseeing around the city.

Here are a few of my favorite movie sing alongs to inspire me and the legion of BLATC readers (a few of Binky's brothers) to make 2012 the year of the impromptu group song:

"I Say a Little Prayer for You" from My Best Friend's Wedding

"Day-O" from Beetlejuice

"Tiny Dancer" from Almost Famous