79. "Dön't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult
While the Chippendale's dancers skit för "Wörking för the Weekend" kind öf ruined the söng for me, the cöwbell skit för this söng just made me like it even möre.
Will Ferrel and Christöpher Walken are hilariöus!
But yöu knöw what isn't hilariöus? A live versiön öf the söng that DÖESN'T feature the cöwbell!
Argh! Can such things be?! Hey, Blue Öyster! While yöu're at it, why dön't you thröw away all the guitars and just play harps instead?!
That sucked! But it can be even suckier. Höw aböut a hörrible a cappella versiön?!
NÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ! The answer is MÖRE cöwbell!
Never mind.
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Friday, May 26, 2017
80. The suicide squeeze is on!
80. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meat Loaf
Sheldon is the reason I still like this song so much. I have a vivid memory of Sheldon laughing about these lines at the end of the song:
I swore that I would love you to the end of time!
So now I'm praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don't think that I can really survive
I'll never break my promise or forget my vow
But God only knows what I can do right now
I'm praying for the end of time
It's all that I can do
Praying for the end of time
So I can end my life with you!
Besides the memory of Sheldon, I still find the entire original video of the song to be entertaining, but it's the end of the song where Meat Loaf's rock-opera acting skills really shine.
"Bat Out of Hell" is a classic rock album, and so much different from everything else that was coming out in the late 70s. But out of all the songs on the album, this song is the best. In fact, I'd say that "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is, without a doubt, one of the very best in all of rock 'n' roll.
(If you didn't watch the video to the very end, you need to go back and watch it. Why? Because it is, without a doubt, one of the very best in all of rock 'n' roll.)
Am I the only one that is a bit creeped out by Meat's groping of the lady during the baseball play-by-play? And am I the only one that thinks the older he is, the creepier it gets? When I watched the baseball part of the video below, I found myself wondering when the Dateline guy was going to show up.
I can't believe he grabs her like that! Who does he think he is? The President?!
Speaking of going almost all the way, here's somebody else that Meatloaf groped.
Poor Mitt. After that performance by Meat Loaf, there was no way he was going to win. You just couldn't get elected President in 2012 without the Pro-Busey vote.
But as with everything else that was upside-down about the 2016 election, Meat's endorsement helped carry the election for the Donald. Meat Loaf loves Trump, and Trump loves Meat Loaf!
The Donald actually let Martha touch his meatloaf!
Yet another reason why Melania is praying for the end of time to hurry up and arrive.
Sheldon is the reason I still like this song so much. I have a vivid memory of Sheldon laughing about these lines at the end of the song:
I swore that I would love you to the end of time!
So now I'm praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don't think that I can really survive
I'll never break my promise or forget my vow
But God only knows what I can do right now
I'm praying for the end of time
It's all that I can do
Praying for the end of time
So I can end my life with you!
Besides the memory of Sheldon, I still find the entire original video of the song to be entertaining, but it's the end of the song where Meat Loaf's rock-opera acting skills really shine.
"Bat Out of Hell" is a classic rock album, and so much different from everything else that was coming out in the late 70s. But out of all the songs on the album, this song is the best. In fact, I'd say that "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is, without a doubt, one of the very best in all of rock 'n' roll.
(If you didn't watch the video to the very end, you need to go back and watch it. Why? Because it is, without a doubt, one of the very best in all of rock 'n' roll.)
Am I the only one that is a bit creeped out by Meat's groping of the lady during the baseball play-by-play? And am I the only one that thinks the older he is, the creepier it gets? When I watched the baseball part of the video below, I found myself wondering when the Dateline guy was going to show up.
I can't believe he grabs her like that! Who does he think he is? The President?!
Speaking of going almost all the way, here's somebody else that Meatloaf groped.
Poor Mitt. After that performance by Meat Loaf, there was no way he was going to win. You just couldn't get elected President in 2012 without the Pro-Busey vote.
But as with everything else that was upside-down about the 2016 election, Meat's endorsement helped carry the election for the Donald. Meat Loaf loves Trump, and Trump loves Meat Loaf!
The Donald actually let Martha touch his meatloaf!
Yet another reason why Melania is praying for the end of time to hurry up and arrive.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
81. Bring on the fembots!
81. "Espionage" by Green Day
While I was working on a grant between Utah State University and the Utah Department of Public Safety, I basically worked from home. The idea sounds nice at first. But the problem with it is that at some point you realize that you're never away from work when you're at home. That work mostly consisted of writing a training manual for people that trained first responders throughout the state. To add a little fun to my spend-all-day-in-the-unfinished-basement job, I bought a bunch of secret agent music and played it while I typed because it made me feel like I was a spy on a top-secret mission and had to hack into a mainframe computer to keep the world from blowing up. And the best spy song that I discovered was "Espionage" by Green Day. They wrote it for the Austin Powers movie.
About a week after I finished writing the training manual, they put in new leadership at the Utah Highway Patrol, which was the agency I worked with on the grant. They promptly fired me as part of their budget restructuring. And they changed all their plans for offering training to first responders. I don't think they ever used my training manual. The whole job turned out to be a huge waste of time. But at least I got a good song out of it.
While I was working on a grant between Utah State University and the Utah Department of Public Safety, I basically worked from home. The idea sounds nice at first. But the problem with it is that at some point you realize that you're never away from work when you're at home. That work mostly consisted of writing a training manual for people that trained first responders throughout the state. To add a little fun to my spend-all-day-in-the-unfinished-basement job, I bought a bunch of secret agent music and played it while I typed because it made me feel like I was a spy on a top-secret mission and had to hack into a mainframe computer to keep the world from blowing up. And the best spy song that I discovered was "Espionage" by Green Day. They wrote it for the Austin Powers movie.
About a week after I finished writing the training manual, they put in new leadership at the Utah Highway Patrol, which was the agency I worked with on the grant. They promptly fired me as part of their budget restructuring. And they changed all their plans for offering training to first responders. I don't think they ever used my training manual. The whole job turned out to be a huge waste of time. But at least I got a good song out of it.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
82. I ain't workin' at no lumberyard!
82. "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" by Hotei Tomoyasu
This is the song by Hotei Tomoyasu's that is most likely to be recognized by Americans, as it's the song from the Kill Bill movie soundtrack. But Hotei has done a number of different versions of the song besides what you hear on the soundtrack, including some jam sessions with other musicians in which they take turns playing their own guitar solos.
Here's the movie soundtrack version.
And here's a performance he did on the telly. His form of guitar showmanship includes a variety of stances and moves with his legs. Most of them just look goofy--like he wants to finish up his guitar solo because he really has to go to the bathroom. He's got legs, but he doesn't know how to use them.
He had a composer/conductor friend that wrote a symphonic version. While the rest of the symphony had sheet music to cue them on what to play and when to play it, Hotei has to do everything from memory, since he doesn't read music. The video on this is super-choppy on purpose to avoid detection from the YouTube copyright bots, so you may want to just listen and not watch it.
This concert version is played at the regular tempo at first, but then it shifts into funky overdrive at the end.
And here's a concert with Brian Setzer from The Stray Cats and Char, a Japanese guitarist that has collaborated with Hotei on other songs. Setzer's the guy not wearing a pink cowboy hat with feathers in it.
Here's another version with some really famous jazz guitarists that I've never heard of.
The only jazz guitarists I know by name are Earl Klugh, George Benson, Pat Metheny, and Sonny Sharrock.
And now that I've named them, I feel obliged to share some of their music.
I was introduced to Earl Klugh by Elder Anderson on my mission. He's the one that played the guitar song on that tape I sent you from Sweden. He said, "I am Earl Klugh" to psych himself up before he started playing. One of Earl's greatest hits was the following George Benson tune "Living Inside Your Love."
George Benson's soft guitar jazz triggers a lot of memories from the 70s and 80s. Breezin' and Give Me the Night are the two songs I remember best. Here he is playing Breezin' on The Old Grey Whistle Test, which is widely known as the most difficult of all the standardized college-entrance exams.
Pat Metheny--did the soundtrack to the movie "The Falcon and the Snowman" which featured this little ditty in collaboration with David Bowie.
Sonny Sharrock--the man behind the music of Space Ghost Coast to Coast! When Sonny died back in the 90s, they had a whole episode where they played long blocks of his music. If you listen closely, it sounds like Earl Klugh is playing in the background when Space Ghost and Zorak are flying to work in The Phantom Cruiser.
This is the song by Hotei Tomoyasu's that is most likely to be recognized by Americans, as it's the song from the Kill Bill movie soundtrack. But Hotei has done a number of different versions of the song besides what you hear on the soundtrack, including some jam sessions with other musicians in which they take turns playing their own guitar solos.
Here's the movie soundtrack version.
And here's a performance he did on the telly. His form of guitar showmanship includes a variety of stances and moves with his legs. Most of them just look goofy--like he wants to finish up his guitar solo because he really has to go to the bathroom. He's got legs, but he doesn't know how to use them.
He had a composer/conductor friend that wrote a symphonic version. While the rest of the symphony had sheet music to cue them on what to play and when to play it, Hotei has to do everything from memory, since he doesn't read music. The video on this is super-choppy on purpose to avoid detection from the YouTube copyright bots, so you may want to just listen and not watch it.
This concert version is played at the regular tempo at first, but then it shifts into funky overdrive at the end.
And here's a concert with Brian Setzer from The Stray Cats and Char, a Japanese guitarist that has collaborated with Hotei on other songs. Setzer's the guy not wearing a pink cowboy hat with feathers in it.
Here's another version with some really famous jazz guitarists that I've never heard of.
The only jazz guitarists I know by name are Earl Klugh, George Benson, Pat Metheny, and Sonny Sharrock.
And now that I've named them, I feel obliged to share some of their music.
I was introduced to Earl Klugh by Elder Anderson on my mission. He's the one that played the guitar song on that tape I sent you from Sweden. He said, "I am Earl Klugh" to psych himself up before he started playing. One of Earl's greatest hits was the following George Benson tune "Living Inside Your Love."
George Benson's soft guitar jazz triggers a lot of memories from the 70s and 80s. Breezin' and Give Me the Night are the two songs I remember best. Here he is playing Breezin' on The Old Grey Whistle Test, which is widely known as the most difficult of all the standardized college-entrance exams.
Pat Metheny--did the soundtrack to the movie "The Falcon and the Snowman" which featured this little ditty in collaboration with David Bowie.
Sonny Sharrock--the man behind the music of Space Ghost Coast to Coast! When Sonny died back in the 90s, they had a whole episode where they played long blocks of his music. If you listen closely, it sounds like Earl Klugh is playing in the background when Space Ghost and Zorak are flying to work in The Phantom Cruiser.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
83. Get on your bikes and ride!
83. "Fat-Bottomed Girls" by Queen
Bums.
Buns.
Butts.
Backsides.
Booties.
Behinds.
Bottoms.
Is there any topic more fun to sing about in all of rock 'n' roll?
Nope.
That's why the funnierest song in the movie "This is Spinal Tap" is "Big Bottoms." The lyrics are a masterwork of non-subtlety, and to get the point across musically, all the guitars are bass guitars, and the drums are mostly bass drums. It's all about the bass.
What song was Spinal Tap spoofing? It had to be "Fat-Bottomed Girls." As kids growing up in Arimo, this was one of those naughty songs that we weren't supposed to know the lyrics to. But somehow we did. And to this day, whenever this song starts up on the radio, I can't resist the guilty pleasure of singing along with the volume topped out.
Of course, there is a particular girl I have in mind when I sing this song. And I'm betting it's the same one you have too. It's because of the "Bicycle Race" song tie-in the band did with the line "Get on your bikes and ride!" Due to that line, the fat-bottomed girl I think of with this song is the push-bike girl on the Paul Hogan show.
Crickey! Those fat-bottomed sheilas make me want to spend some time exploring the beauty of the land down under. Fair dinkum!
Bums.
Buns.
Butts.
Backsides.
Booties.
Behinds.
Bottoms.
Is there any topic more fun to sing about in all of rock 'n' roll?
Nope.
That's why the funnierest song in the movie "This is Spinal Tap" is "Big Bottoms." The lyrics are a masterwork of non-subtlety, and to get the point across musically, all the guitars are bass guitars, and the drums are mostly bass drums. It's all about the bass.
What song was Spinal Tap spoofing? It had to be "Fat-Bottomed Girls." As kids growing up in Arimo, this was one of those naughty songs that we weren't supposed to know the lyrics to. But somehow we did. And to this day, whenever this song starts up on the radio, I can't resist the guilty pleasure of singing along with the volume topped out.
Of course, there is a particular girl I have in mind when I sing this song. And I'm betting it's the same one you have too. It's because of the "Bicycle Race" song tie-in the band did with the line "Get on your bikes and ride!" Due to that line, the fat-bottomed girl I think of with this song is the push-bike girl on the Paul Hogan show.
Crickey! Those fat-bottomed sheilas make me want to spend some time exploring the beauty of the land down under. Fair dinkum!
Monday, May 22, 2017
84. A haw haw haw haw
84. "La Grange" by ZZ Top
Speaking of long guitar solos at the end of rock songs from the 70s, how's about a little ZZ Top?
Have Marcie!
Speaking of long guitar solos at the end of rock songs from the 70s, how's about a little ZZ Top?
Have Marcie!
Sunday, May 21, 2017
85. In the Beginning
85. "Let There Be Rock" by AC/DC
The version of this song you hear on the radio features Bon Scott because that's the front man that originally sang it. Brian Johnson also does a good job screeching out the lyrics in concert. But the song really isn't a showcase for either Bon or Brian. It's all about Angus's driving guitar hooks and raucous solo at the end. How raucous was it? During the recording of the song, Angus played it so loud for so long that the amplifier melted.
MELTED!
Think about that for a second or two. Do you know what that means? It means if Angus wanted to, he could make amplifier fondue!
In concert, this is the song where Angus puts all of his guitar showmanship on glorious display. He stomps and runs and duck-walks and poses and thrashes uncontrollably on a hydraulic stage that lifts him up where he can be idolized by tens of thousands of adoring fans that get blasted with a whirlwind of confetti. Of course, you wouldn't know that from watching the video below. However, it's worth a peek because it contains rare footage of Angus playing the song while wearing an angel's halo instead of his signature devil horns.
It's a hell of a rocker, but we don't hear it very often on the rock 'n' roll radio. I think the song doesn't get regular airplay because it's so long. Billy says if you want to have hit you gotta cut it down to 3:05, and this song clocks in at a little over 6 minutes. But that's just the studio version. The concert versions--of which there are hundreds online--are much, much longer epic riff-fests where Angus lets the Rock Monster loose and whips the crowd into a call-and-response frenzy.
Near the end of my stint at Boise State, I liked to listen to three of these longer versions one after the other while I was working on some mundane HTML coding task. Why three? Because that's about as long as my bladder would hold out. These are loooooooooong songs. How long? So long that they put Albuquerque to shame! Here are my three favorite performances arranged in Benjamin Button order.
You know, after watching these massive guitar solos, I think it's pretty clear who Nigel Tufnel's guitar hero is.
Want more proof? Here's the bootleg long version of Nigel's solo. Let there be rock!
The version of this song you hear on the radio features Bon Scott because that's the front man that originally sang it. Brian Johnson also does a good job screeching out the lyrics in concert. But the song really isn't a showcase for either Bon or Brian. It's all about Angus's driving guitar hooks and raucous solo at the end. How raucous was it? During the recording of the song, Angus played it so loud for so long that the amplifier melted.
MELTED!
Think about that for a second or two. Do you know what that means? It means if Angus wanted to, he could make amplifier fondue!
In concert, this is the song where Angus puts all of his guitar showmanship on glorious display. He stomps and runs and duck-walks and poses and thrashes uncontrollably on a hydraulic stage that lifts him up where he can be idolized by tens of thousands of adoring fans that get blasted with a whirlwind of confetti. Of course, you wouldn't know that from watching the video below. However, it's worth a peek because it contains rare footage of Angus playing the song while wearing an angel's halo instead of his signature devil horns.
It's a hell of a rocker, but we don't hear it very often on the rock 'n' roll radio. I think the song doesn't get regular airplay because it's so long. Billy says if you want to have hit you gotta cut it down to 3:05, and this song clocks in at a little over 6 minutes. But that's just the studio version. The concert versions--of which there are hundreds online--are much, much longer epic riff-fests where Angus lets the Rock Monster loose and whips the crowd into a call-and-response frenzy.
Near the end of my stint at Boise State, I liked to listen to three of these longer versions one after the other while I was working on some mundane HTML coding task. Why three? Because that's about as long as my bladder would hold out. These are loooooooooong songs. How long? So long that they put Albuquerque to shame! Here are my three favorite performances arranged in Benjamin Button order.
You know, after watching these massive guitar solos, I think it's pretty clear who Nigel Tufnel's guitar hero is.
Want more proof? Here's the bootleg long version of Nigel's solo. Let there be rock!
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