C'mon, you knew it was only a matter of time.

And I'm toying with a new title for the story:

Now or Never

Miss Invisible- Maríe Digby
Now or Never- Josh Groban (w/Imogen Heap)
Only Fooling Myself (Brian Malouf Mix)- Kate Voegele
Mercy- Duffy
Angel- Natasha Bedingfield
All I Got- Newton Faulkner
Lola- Chayanne
No Re Pido Flores- Fanny Lu
Eres- Alejandro Fernández
Glittering Clouds (Locusts)- Imogen Heap
Freckles- Natasha Bedingfield
Butterfly (From the Casa Nova Sessions)- Jason Mraz
Uncomfortably Slow- Newton Faulkner
Kissing a Fool- George Michael
Spell- Maríe Digby
Awake (Live Edit)- Josh Groban

What's kind of fun about this list is that with the exception of Kissing a Fool, this list is all fairly recent music. I don't think anything else predates late 2006. I wonder what the Girls in the Basement are trying to tell me with this? I can tell you that the lizard brain has begun "seeing" the music in terms of skating routines again. I think that's part of the appeal of all of these songs. I can see them as routines as well as seeing them lyrically or musically being relevant to the story.

This is going to be interesting. Especially to see how the list evolves as I get deeper into the story.

Sidenote- the Duffy track, Mercy is the one that actually got me thinking in terms of a skating routine. I can just see this being a song that a team with massively fabulous footwork could just absolutely work to death but it's the kind of song that would send conservative judges into a complete tizzy. *snicker* Or would have, once upon a time. I need to go bone up on the current ice dance rules beyond "Thou shalt complete many unattractive lifts whereupon the female holds her blade to the back of her head."

(If you watch the vid, you might want to let it load completely first. It's a little pokey loading otherwise.)

I got it into my head to check out how many tracks were on my iTunes that I'd purchased as singles. That I'd been so impatient to add to the collection, I didn't even want to wait for the full release. (Which, in some cases, took MONTHS.) Or I just wanted the one song and nothing else.

Anyhow, I made up a playlist—it's not quite everything, but it's enough of a sampling to make up an interesting playlist.

Barb's Singles

La Tortura- Shakira & Alejandro Sanz
Mercy- Duffy
Waiting on the World to Change- John Mayer
Makes Me Wonder- Maroon 5
In Love With a Girl- Gavin DeGraw
Say It Again- Marié Digby
Give a Little Bit- The Goo Goo Dolls
Extraordinary- Mandy Moore
Lonely No More- Rob Thomas
The Right Time- Joss Stone
The First Cut is the Deepest- Sheryl Crow
Savin' Me- Nickelback
Tu Corazon- Lena & Alejandro Sanz
Dejate Amar- Jon Secada
Dream Catch Me- Newton Faulkner
Say- John Mayer
What I've Done- Marié Digby
You Are Loved- Josh Groban
Run Away- Live & Shelby Lynne
Always On Your Side- Sheryl Crow & Sting
Missing You- Alison Krauss & John Waite
Shine- Anna Nalick
Te Voy a Perder- Alejandro Fernández
Remember- Josh Groban
I'll Be Waiting- Lenny Kravitz

The husband's cousin had a bat mitzvah this morning. And the Big! Party! is this evening. Needless to say, trying to get work done will be next to useless. In fact, napping may actually be occurring. However, for the moment, as I unwind, I shall do this music meme swiped from ladystarblade

Name your top 10 most played bands/artists on iTunes/FM/music player, etc., then answer the questions.

Mine are:

1. Chris Botti
2. Pat Metheny (in various incarnations)
3. Josh Groban
4. Alejandro Fernández
5. Amy Winehouse
6. The Corrs
7. Raul Malo/The Mavericks
8. Mary Chapin Carpenter
9. Sting
10. KT Tunstall



( This is a long-assed meme )

Good thing #1

Got an email today:

I just finished reading your book "Adios to my old life". It was funny and interesting to read.

I am writing to you because I take an English class in San Francisco CA. and I have to read 8 books and make a report of each one. I picked yours and I liked it.

I am a mexican emmigrant and want to go to the University, so I have to take grammar classes first. Your book helped me to a lot because your writing is so easy and fun.

Thank you

Definitely not minding the "fun" designation here.


Good thing #2

Watching a PBS special on Patsy Cline. That woman's voice, my stars and bars. Once, after doing a karaoke of "She's Got You," some old time guys told me it was a hell of a tribute to Patsy. Can't beat a compliment like that, right? (And I'm not nuts enough to try "Crazy.")

The Daylight Savings TIme thing sucks, but other than that, it's a new week. I'm not stressing over revisions because I have an awesome editor.

If I have a random thought about Breathe, it makes me feel kind of sad and wistful, but otherwise, I'm not dwelling. I'm thinking forward to Between Here and Gone especially after an intriguing email from Lovely Agent.

Remember a few weeks back when I asked for help on the logo? Well the coolers arrived and I love them!



Verra nifty, no?

And it's probably gaelbrady's fault, but I've been on a Broadway-ish kick lately. For whatever reason, I've been listening to "Oh, What a Circus!" from Evita. The lyrics fit my mood this week, all cynical and mildly cranky. My favorite version is from the Lloyd Webber 50th birthday celebration. There a lot of people who will argue that Mandy Patinkin was the best Ché, but much as I love Mandy, I always felt that his voice was too sweet and pure to give it the genuinely cynical edge I feel the vocals and lyrics require. Banderas nailed it for me. Just enough pretty to the voice, but gritty and real and his accent makes it sound all the more authentic.

I'm not a huge Lloyd Webber fan, but I've always had a soft spot for Evita—probably from playing the music so often when I was in band.

The recording quality is crap but you get the gist of it.

Natalie Cole: Amy's Win Sends a 'Bad Message'

"I don't think she should have won. I think it sends a bad message to our young people who are trying to get into this business, the ones who are trying to do it right and really trying to keep themselves together," said Cole, 58. "We have to stop rewarding bad behavior."

Of Winehouse, 24, who is currently in rehab in England, Cole says: "I'm sorry. I think the girl is talented, gifted, but it's not right for her to be able to have her cake and eat it too. She needs to get herself together."

Okay, she wasn't rewarded for being in rehab, she was rewarded for writing and performing a kick-ass song called 'Rehab.' I think all the coke that Ms. Cole snorted back in the day has addled her comprehension skills.

Seriously, though—the award is supposed to honor excellence in music achievement for the year, not in behavior. Otherwise, Kanye would never win, no matter how much he might think he deserves it. If we took Grammys away from everyone who ever battled a substance abuse problem (*koffNatalieColekoff*), I'm not sure there'd be a lot of winners left standing, y'know? And besides, who is Natalie Cole to say that Amy didn't do it right? She co-wrote the songs, she put her heart and soul into them, she performed them.

That's more than I can say for a lot of the plasticene strutting Barbie-wannabes who've taken home awards in the past. And you know, there are those who would say that Natalie didn't do it right—that she had an unfair advantage being born into the industry and who knows what might have happened if she'd had to go the road completely on her own.

Is Amy Winehouse screwed up? Oh, hell yes. Poor thing, I want her to get the help she needs so she doesn't turn into this generation's Janis, but for now, she very rightly deserves the artistic accolades she's receiving.

Glass houses, Natalie.

Glass freakin' houses.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR, BABY!!!

River- The Joni Letters

Forty-three years since a jazz artist has won Album of the Year!




And boo on the freakin' director. You do NOT play music over Herbie, man. You just DON'T.

Gakked from debg

Instructions: Open up your iTunes and fill out this survey, no matter how embarrassing the responses might be.

How many songs total: 8231
How many hours or days of music: 23.5 days

Most recently played: “The End of the World” Nina Gordon
Most played: “Interlude/All Would Envy” Chris Botti w/Shawn Colvin
Most recently added: “Treat" Santana; Rodrigo y Gabriela; "Since I've Been Loving You" Corinne Bailey Rae

Sort by song title
First Song: “A-Hole" Bowling For Soup
Last Song: “5150” Van Halen

Sort by time
Shortest Song: “Hi!" Yoko Kanno, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex- Be Human
Longest Song: “Appalachian Spring” New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein

Sort by album
First album: “Acoustic" Everything But the Girl
Last album: “Wind" Inuyasha soundtrack

First song that comes up on Shuffle: “I Wish" Stevie Wonder

Search the following and state how many songs come up:
Death - 9
Life - 160
Love - 691
Hate - 6
You - 993
Sex - 20

So here I'd set up my sixties-era playlist for Between Here and Gone. And I figured there'd be another playlist to develop before it was all said and done—there always is. What I didn't expect was that it would be a contemporary-themed playlist. But I'd hear a song and think, "Wow, that's just perfect for this character or that scene."

And who am I to argue with the Girls in the Basement?

So here is Between Here and Gone- The Modern Mix (Modern being relative, since it's songs that were released after the latest date in the book.)

Gimme Shelter- The Rolling Stones
Like a Prayer- Madonna
Dream Catch Me- Newton Faulkner
Human- Jon McLaughlin
Live to Tell- Madonna
No One- Alicia Keys
Gravity (Live)- Sara Bareilles
Whatever it Takes- Lifehouse
One by One- Unkle Bob
The Funeral- Band of Horses
Can't Find My Way Home-Blind Faith
Soulmate- Natasha Bedingfield

I suspect the list will continue to grow, but man, this is a pretty eclectic, even so.

Poor ocvictor is big with the sickies today, yet still managed to bring forth a hysterical meme (admittedly, cribbed from other sources) but this is a good one.

Go to this convenient compilation site right here http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php and find the five years you were in high school. For each year, admit to the song that was your favorite at the time, then decide which one you now generally consider to be the best song on the list. Lastly, pick the year's worst song, snarking optional.

Okay, I actually only had four different years where I was in high school. In Dade County in the 80s, high school only went sophomore through senior years. Anyhoo, here we go. (I fully expect this to be terrifying.)

1982:

Favorite then: It's kind of a tie. Jack and Diane- John Mellencamp. Completely epitomizes that first year of high school for me and Hard to Say I'm Sorry by Chicago appealed to my seriously romantic adolescent self.

Best now: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic- The Police. It's tough, since J&D still stands the test of time and I still love it, but one of my other favorites from that year is the one I consider to be the best now. (Although I will also admit to singing along with Don't Stop Believin' whenever it comes on the radio.)

The Worst: Oh, there are just sooooo many to choose from. Soft Cell, Flock of Seagulls, Air Supply; songs like I've Never Been to Me and Pac-Man Fever. *SHUDDER* But the winner here is definitely Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks.

Goats bleat more melodically than she does. Seriously.

1983:

Favorite then: Allentown - Billy Joel. I loved that whole album (and yes, I had it on vinyl, shut up). It's just such a great, great song.

Best now: She's a Beauty- The Tubes. I am nothing if not consistent. This was also a HUGE favorite for me in '83. The Tubes Outside Inside is the soundtrack of my first year in drum corps, along with Billy Joel's Nylon Curtain and Innocent Man albums. (Okay, cassette tapes for tour.)

The Worst: Oh, again, so much to choose from, but here there's no doubt which song wins. The Safety Dance- Men in Hats. It's a bad song. A bad video. Bad, bad, bad on the level of taking funny mushrooms gone bad, bad.

1984:

Favorite then: Let's Go Crazy- Prince. Still my favorite Prince song EVAR. I will still get up and go rockin' around the house when this pops up on iTunes.

Best now: Missing You- John Waite. Again, appeals to my exceedingly romantic self. Back then, it was the perfect song by which to sit in bed, writing in my journals. These days, it's the perfect song to write highly emotional scenes. Why I didn't know earlier I was going to be a writer is a mystery. All the signs were there, really. And again, I am nothing if not a creature of habit—I still love this song. John released a very nice remake as a duet with Alison Krauss last year.

The Worst: Man, I had some serious clunkers during my high school years. As tempting as it is to just put down Yah Mo B There (James Ingram and Michael McDonald) with a hearty "the HELL", I have to say that my absolute worst from '84 has to be To All The Girls I've Loved Before- Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson.

My mother has had an unrequited crush on Julio for years. Ergo, she loved this song. Bought the album. Played it over and over and over. It's right up there in "making me twitch" songs with I Will Survive which she also bought and played over and over and over the year she and my dad separated. *twitches just thinking about it*

1985;

Ahhh, senior year.

Favorite then: Take On Me- a-ha. No question there. I loved this song almost as much as frozen Snickers' bars.

Best now: One Night in Bangkok- Murray Head. I'm a musical theatre geek. I love Chess. I loved Chess back then. It's such a biting, cynical song. What's not to like? ETA, because I can't believe I didn't put it down is Don't You Forget About Me- Simple Minds. Should've been my senior class song. And it's one that stands the test of time.

The Worst: So much horror to choose from that I would be happy to strike from the ranks of recorded music, but the clear-cut winner for me is I Wanna Know What Love Is- Foreigner. No. No, I don't. Really, I don't. Never, ever, ever again, at least not from you guys. I'm serious now.

Here endeth my trip down memory lane.

God, but Dottie had one for every occasion, didn't she?

I had cause to use it this afternoon as I was driving home from picking up the puppies at the groomer. I was in the Hub's car, so didn't have access to my iPod. (I know, I know, how very First World) At least, he's a satellite radio junkie too. And I was scanning through channels, looking for something nifty, listening-wise, the unthinkable happened.

MIchael Bublé (Whom I've long derided as a cheesemeister- decent voice, exceedingly lazy with it and I won't even go near his interpretive skills as they're near non-existent.)

Singing the Bee Gees classic, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.

With the Bee Gees vocals on the backing tracks.

And a drum machine.

And...

And...

A Peter Frampton-esque wah-wah guitar.

It was like a car accident. Horrifying, yet I couldn't seem to turn away.

Honestly, I can't make shit like this up.

Sometimes, if I don't have my email window open quite wide enough, it'll truncate the subject lines. And if I haven't had coffee yet, well then, my brain superimposes what it thinks it sees.

Like today—headline from Salon.

Today in Salon: a penny for your deepest tho—

My caffeine-deprived brain finished the sentence as "a penny for your deepest thong."

Yeah, I don't know why either. It's simply wrong.

In an effort to distract myself from that disturbing image, I'm going to borrow this iTunes meme from ocvictor

With iTunes on shuffle...

1..IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"Make Me Over"
Lifehouse

2..HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
"First Noel"
Chris Botti
(ohhh-kay)

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"
Paul Simon & Ladysmith Black Mambazo
(No freakin' comment!)

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Free"
Chicago

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Who Killed Tangerine"
Tears for Fears

6..WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Round Here"
George Michael

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Remember"
Josh Groban
(whoa, deep)

8. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Something to Live For"
Jane Monheit

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Forgiven Not Forgotten"
The Corrs

10. WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"Shiny Happy People"
R.E.M.
(BWAH!!!!!!!)

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR EX?
"Sunday Morning Song"
Howie Day

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Once Upon a Time in America- Main Theme"
Ennio Morricone, performed by Yo-Yo Ma

13..WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"The Prayer"
Andrea Bocelli and Céline Dion

14..WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"I Am Somebody"
Santana feat. will.i.am

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Rise Above"
Afro Celt Sound System

16. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Nacer de Ti (Born From You)"
Rubén Blades

17. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Don't Explain"
Herbie Hancock w/Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan

18. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
"Forest Power"
Deep Forest

19. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
The Police

20..WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"I Can't Ever Get Enough of You"
Darren Hayes

You know, I was a seriously, seriously competitive kid. And I'm a seriously competitive adult—thing is, when I was a kid, my mom made it a point to teach me two things: one, that I couldn't win every single time and two, winning couldn't possibly be enjoyed if my ethics and principles were compromised in the process. Given that I'm naturally inclined towards strong ethics... Really, do you have any idea how difficult it is to be this competitive and have a strong ethical streak as well?

However, guess this particular mom doesn't have those pesky ethics issues when it comes to Hannah Montana tickets. The six year-old winner of the grand prize had submitted an essay that began "My daddy died this year in Iraq."

Which is heart-wrenching, but... not true. And better still— the mother seems to have no problem whatsoever admitting that it's not true and in fact, seems to think there's really no issue with submitting an essay based on pure bull.

"We did the essay and that's what we did to win," Priscilla Ceballos, the mother, said in an interview with Dallas TV station KDFW.

"We did whatever we could do to win. We never said this was a true story... We do essays all the time. My daughter does essays at school all the time. It never did say it had to be true, but [the contest organizer] said, 'That's what we expected.'"

Perhaps Mom needs a refresher on what constitutes an essay.

An essay is a piece of writing, usually from an author's personal point of view. Essays are non-fictional but often subjective; while expository, they can also include narrative. Essays can be literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author.


All for tickets to a concert. You know what? I hope they take away the tickets. I don't care if a six year-old's little heart will be broken. It'll be a good lesson. Why yes, I'm rather grumpy, but it frosts my cookies to see the less-ethical among us consistently winning and never dealing with the consequences. Never mind that it's completely disrespectful to every single child who actually has lost a parent in this godforsaken mess.

ETA: Looks like the tickets were taken away. No, I'm not pleased, necessarily, but I think it was the right thing to do.

For nigh unto the past two weeks, I've had in my possession East of Angel Town, Peter Cincotti's third studio release.

Technically, it's not supposed to be released in this country until February '08. Well, actually, it was supposed to have been released something like this past March. Then June. Then August. Then October. Then, those of us with preorders were rudely informed that the U.S. release was being delayed until February. Ooh, but lucky us, it's being released in Europe. It's no big deal for me to order imports-- I have way too many artists that I enjoy who are far more popular in Europe and Asia than the States, so I often have to get their releases as imports. Not the Hoff, however, for any Smart Bitches who might be reading.

Anyhow, I ordered the import, it landed on my doorstep, and for nigh unto two weeks, it's sat on my desk, waiting for me to download it into my computer or take it with me in my car or just basically, listen to the damn thing. The furthest I've gotten is to take off the plastic wrap and idly thumb through the liner notes, which took about thirty seconds.

It's weird, I've been looking forward to this CD for nearly two years, but I just have very little interest or desire to listen to it right now. For one thing, I'm familiar with most of the songs on it-- I've been hearing him play them in concert for the last two years. Seriously, I was at the Living Room set where he introduced most of the new material. That was in December of '05. I know he'd been recording early versions of them even before that. I was really, really excited by the songs then. I'm still excited by them. Hell, I used "Cinderella Beautiful" off the preview EP on the soundtrack for the Carmen story.

But I just can't bring myself to listen to the new CD. I think part of it has to do with the runaround that Warner Brothers Records and by extension, Peter's management, has been giving the long time followers of Peter's music. I understand Peter's desire to go with a much bigger label and the hopes that his career would follow a similar trajectory to the Third-rate, regional airport lounge lizard, except benefitted by his considerable talent. I get that Peter wanted to move in a different direction and spread his wings musically a bit more than staying with Concord might have allowed him, but in retrospect, I'm wondering if going with such a behemoth as Warner was the best move. This CD has been hung up by delay after delay, despite the fact that it's been done for the better part of a year and now he's canceling concerts in the U.S. in favor of touring in Europe where the CD has already been released, so it makes sense, but still...

I don't hold it against him and God knows, I want to see him succeed, if only because there are just so many talentless hacks out there succeeding on a fairly large scale and I want someone with genuine drive and talent to rise above the swill that's being shoved down the listening public's throat. I guess, too, I also feel a certain measure of solidarity with him--we've very much shared the same boat, Peter and I. The delays, the being held to the whims of a larger corporation, the wanting so desperately to do things your way and with your vision and being told, "No, wait, what if you do it like this?" and knowing that it's not quite right-- that it's not you, but having to make the decision whether or not to try, knowing if you do, you might be selling out a little and if you don't, you might have your integrity, but will in all likelihood lose an opportunity that'll go to one of the many thousands waiting to pounce and take your place.

Publishing and music are remarkably similar in that there are a whole lot more pissy idiots in charge than there are intelligent folk and the artist is the one most often caught in the middle, being jerked around by the whims of people who really aren't aware of what's going on in the real world.

It doesn't really explain why I'm reluctant to listen to the CD-- all I know is that I feel a faint sense of anger towards the music company for the hoops they're making longtime listeners jump through. And I'm annoyed that they're getting even a piece of my money for the hoops jumping, but at the same time, I don't want to punish Peter for the sins of the company-- after all, if he doesn't sell well in the U.S., it only reinforces their decision to not release here.

It would've been so much easier if he'd just gone totally indie and sold the bitches out of the trunk of a car as he toured around the country-- go completely Old School.

Hopefully, I'll get around to listening before the U.S. release.

Although Teppy, the Boy, and I very nearly got kicked out of Porkopolis.

Long story. It will come later-- needless to say there was much talking and giggling and squeeing involved.

Anyhoo...

Seen many places:

(Obligatory rules)
1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.).
2. Put it on shuffle and press play.
3. For every question, type the song that's playing. When you go to a new question, go to the next song.
4. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.


Opening Credits: Firedance- Bill Whelan

Waking Up: Seven Whole Days- Toni Braxton

Falling in Love: O Fortuna/Carmina Burana- Carl Orff (Yeah, um... not touching that)

Fight Song: The Day and the Time- Shakira

Breaking Up: Who Says You Can't Go Home- Jon Bon Jovi/Jennifer Nettles

Prom: Us- INXS

Life is Good: The Hard Way- Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mental Breakdown: Smile- Chris Botti/Steven Tyler

Driving: Each Day Gets Better- John Legend

Flashback: Didjital Vibrations- Jamiroquai

Getting Back Together: Tell Me Is It True- UB40

Wedding: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face- Alison Moyet

Night Before the War: Serenada Schizophrenia (Bells and Whistles)- Danny Elfman

Final Battle: Held- Natalie Grant

Moment of Triumph: Gaîté Parisienne, ballet (music by Offenbach)

Death Scene: Comin' Home- The Rembrandts

Funeral Song: As Long As I'm Singin'- Kevin Spacey & the John Wilson Orchestra

End credits: Goin' Back- Dusty Springfield

Comment here and I'll give you a band (you can pick a music genre for me to choose from, or not). Then you list your ten favorite songs by that band in your LJ.

This time, from gaelbrady, The Mavericks. (Listen up, sartorias, this is my boy Raul Malo with his old band.)

Again with the oy. These really aren't in any order, because I can't put them in any sort of favorites order-- except for the number 1 finisher.

Dance the Night Away Trampoline- First song I ever heard from the Mavericks and from the minute I heard the horns at the beginning it completely hooked me, then Raul started singing... the rest, as they say, was history.

Someone Should Tell Her Trampoline- Quick steppin', kick ass, bar band fun with Raul's velvet voice.

Foolish Heart Music For All Occasions- Completely the spirit of Patsy Cline in this one, complete with the smooth background singers. Very reminiscent of "I Fall to Pieces," in that some of the chord progression match it completely.

I Wanna Know The Mavericks- First track on their final studio album. Kind of bittersweet, since by the time it was released, it was already public knowledge that it would be their final recording together.

I've Got This Feeling Trampoline- Oh man, I don't know what it is about them, that they can evoke so many different artists. This time, it's Elvis-- late sixties Elvis, right about the time of the '68 Comeback Special. I think it's the strings in the background that really do it for me along with the deep, insistent guitar licks and sharp percussion. Just perfect.

I Don't Even Know Your Name Trampoline- This song just conjures up the innocence of youth-- whenever I hear it, I get this very vivid image of a summer night on a beach boardwalk, the bright, colorful lights and faint carnival music of a merry-go-round in the background, scent of fried dough and powdered sugar in the air, the pinging and buzzing and clatter of all the midway games competing with shouts as people win or lose and watching it all unfold from the car at the very top of the Ferris wheel, cuddled close to someone special as black night and stars unfold above you. Yep, that's the ticket.

Fool #1 Trampoline- This song is all martinis and dark jazz clubs with the smoke from dozens of cigarettes curling in the air above you.

Save a Prayer Trampoline- Testify brothers and sisters! This is the absolute essence of a revival-- just the thing to get you going on a Sunday morning (or any other, seriously).

Wondering The Mavericks- Oh Raul, honey, you could sing the phone book and it would sound wonderful, but an aching, heartwrenching melody of unrequited love? *melts into big puddle of goo*

Oh is this just a shoulda been
a coulda been, a woulda been...
I'm wonderin'

By the Time The Mavericks- Oh Raul, honey, you could sing the phone book and it would sound wonderful, but an aching, heartwrenching melody of lost love? And it's a waltz. And they hit full harmonies in the chorus and it's... oh my...

*dies*

This is most definitely my number one, most favoritist Mavericks song.

I'll be all right
as time passes on
On and on...

By the time you said good bye
You had already made up your mind
There was no going back
No second chance
No reason to try by the time
You said good bye...
You said good bye...
You said good bye...


Bonus Tracks! (Since they're not originally theirs, I'm cheating and adding them.)


Air That I Breathe

They do Graham Nash and the Hollies proud, baby.

It's Not Unusual



Ha! Watch out, Tom Jones!

A new one! And I LIKE it!

Comment here and I'll give you a band (you can pick a music genre for me to choose from, or not). Then you list your ten favorite songs by that band in your LJ.

ladystarblade gave me The Corrs. Oy, picking just ten is going to be hard. (Which is, I suppose, half the point of this meme... *rolling eyes*) I can't tell you how great this is for me, because I've always loved the Corrs-- Andrea Corr has the perfect voice for me to sing along to-- not simply range, but timbre also, which is a huge component. Thing here, too, is I could do a post of just ten instrumentals by them as well. What I'm noticing here about the ones I've chosen is that there are a lot of collaborations.

10. Una Noche (aka One Night)- In Blue- Import edition Featuring Alejandro Sanz. A Spanish language translation of a great song, but it worked so well as a duet. It's tender and romantic with just the right edge provided by Alejandro's gritty, passionate voice.

9. No Frontiers- MTV Unplugged Rare moment for Sharon and Caroline to take the lead in the vocals. Pretty, pretty song. Kind of heartbreaking, actually.

8. Closer- Forgiven Not Forgotten It's in 6/8, which I'm a total bitch for. And it's actually my favorite ballad off their debut album, which is akin to heresy, since that's the CD that Runaway was on.

7. Only Love Can Break Your Heart- Live in Dublin I've always maintained that Neil Young is a fabulous songwriter who has no business singing. (Sorry, just can't deal with his voice, other than on Ohio.) This is a perfect example of that theory-- such a gorgeous, gorgeous song.

6. Erin Shore/Forgiven Not Forgotten- Forgiven Not Forgotten First track on their debut album. You just knew this wasn't going to be some other pop group. As pretty as their voices are, as flawless as their instrumental technique is, there's still something so gritty and raw about this song. It's a crank it up loud sort of chart.

5. Borrowed Heaven- Borrowed Heaven Featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Do I really have to say anything else? The percussion and harmonies are geared more towards their guest artists than their more traditional Irish sound, and boy howdy, it works, especially the rhythmic backdrop-- then when the unmistakable voies of Ladysmith come in... le sigh. There simply aren't words.

4. When the Stars Go Blue- Live in Dublin Featuring Bono. Lot of people have done this song. Lot of people have done this song well. This is easily my favorite version.

3. Ruby Tuesday- Live in Dublin Featuring Ron Wood. Well, if you're gonna get someone to guest... You get a fantastic feel for the live chops this group has-- so often, remakes are pale imitations. This isn't the original, obviously and very little can touch the Stones, but for this one performance, the Corrs made it theirs.

2. Canto Alla Vita- Josh Groban Technically a Josh Groban recording with the Corrs guesting on it, but... but... I like it!

1. Little Wing- Live in Dublin Featuring Ron Wood. You get the impression I really like this CD? Come to think of it, Dublin has eleven charts on it-- I could have practically just lifted it, complete, and that would've been my list. *g* This has been a staple for them since their sophomore CD, Talk on Corners, but their best performances of it have always been live and this one, is the cookie topper of the live recorded performances. Ron does Jimi proud and the performance as a whole has a tremendous poignancy and beauty that just leaves me breathless.

Inspired, in part by sartorias's post yesterday about modern remakes of older songs. (And in the process I turned her on to Raul Malo, so that was my good deed for the day. *g*)

But of course, thinking of remakes made me think of one of my favorite musical pasttimes, which is a variation on a theme of her thread: recordings of songs by multiple artists. I've found that that happens to be one of my favorite things, when an artists takes an already great, iconic song and makes it their own. Like, for example, Raul taking on the inimitable Etta's At Last and and completely owning it. And as I told sartorias, I don't say that lightly.

I think this fascination of mine started with classical music, which, in retrospect, is completely natural. Both classical and jazz have a long history of artists taking pieces and spinning them to suit their styles and tastes. For example, Barber's Adagio for Strings-- I probably have something like a half-dozen version of that piece. In my mind, this poignant, stunning piece of music is inextricably wound together with the film Platoon (and whoever chose that piece as the iconic theme for the film was utterly brilliant-- whether it was Oliver Stone or his music supervisor). I never thought I'd be able to separate the two in my mind, but then, a few seasons ago, I was watching an episode of ER and at a key, climactic moment, the character of Luka starts reciting the Lord's Prayer with the familiar haunting strains of the Adagio in the background, except-- it was entirely a capella. Talk about an entirely new set of chills running down my spine.

At any rate, I started scrolling through my iTunes to see who popped up in the "remake" category. Won't list all, obviously, since I have close to eight thousand charts in my iTunes library, but it's been fun to see who pops up and even more, what diverse artist will choose to record a particular song.

Ain't No Sunshine- Bill Withers (natch); Joan Osborne; Aaron Neville

Air That I Breathe- k.d. lang; The Mavericks

Don't Walk Away/Alejate- I list this one because it's the same song, but reworked in different languages, Celine Dion originally singing it in English, Josh Groban reworking it in Spanish.

Alfie- Alison Moyet; Burt Bachrach; Joss Stone; Vanessa Williams

And I Love Her- The Beatles; Diana Krall; José Feliciano

( More behind the cut because it turned out longer than I thought )

Just mind-boggling, some of these.

And I have a ton of Chris Botti.

And Sting.

I really, really have been digging KT Tunstall's new CD, Drastic Fantastic.

Musically it veers between her unique high energy, sharp staccato guitar with her smoky vocals and more low-key, but no less effective melodies and rhythms. Lyrically, however, she was right on with this one. A couple of tracks, White Bird and Funnyman in particular are just utterly fascinating.

( Pretty, pretty )

There are other righteously gorgeous songs-- probably my absolute favorite is Little Favours and another fun track is the single, Hold On.

Check it out. Really.

Y'all-- we have come up with a veritable platter o'cheese here.

Thanks to all your helpful suggestions, I now have a plethora of cheesy goodness from which to select a ringtone.

I thought it would be fun if I listed them all, so you could comprehend the true horror of it all. *g*

Rock You Like a Hurricane
Shook Me All Night Long
More Than a Feeling
Don't Stop Believin'
Mr. Roboto*
Don't You Want Me
The Final Countdown**
Calling Occupants
Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida
Livin' On a Prayer
Wanted Dead or Alive
Back in Black
Dream On
Hot Blooded
Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy
True Faith
We're Not Gonna Take It
Eye of the Tiger
You Spin Me
Workin' For a Livin'
Working For the Weekend
Cult of Personality
Sweet Child O' Mine
Welcome to the Jungle
Bad Company

Man... that's really scary, all gathered together in one list.

ETA:

At hilleviw's request, I'm posting that the winner for the particular moment/issue I needed it for is "Mr. Roboto." However... since all of us got earwormed with "Final Countdown," it's going to be used as another ringtone in the story and will become a source of a running joke.

Because really, how can you pass up Grade-A, pasteurized cheese product like "Final Countdown"?