Music
“Tied Up” (Music Video) by Yello
Sep 6th
Remember this song from the 80′s? It was featured in the movie, Dutch. Same band (Yello) that did Oh Yeah- that whacky song from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
ZRock Canned on IFC?
Mar 31st
I was wondering if there’d be a new season of the hilarious rock/comedy show ZRock on IFC. I tweeted Paulie from ZO2, and I got this reply:
Let’s do what he says- keep our fingers crossed, because that show is brilliant. Rockers with a fantastic sense of comedy…that’s gotta be rare.
Follow Paulie Z on Twitter and check out the band’s official website!
Alexa Vega from ABC Family’s Ruby and the Rockits (Interview)
Aug 13th
UPDATED AT BOTTOM
I will be talking to Alexa Vega, star of the new ABC Family series, Ruby and the Rockits. She co-stars in this series about an aging rocker who reconnects with his daughter…that father just happens to be David Cassidy!
Check back here at The Blue Site for some info. on the show and more from Alexa. Check out the TV Guide interview with Alexa below, and check out Ruby and the Rockits Tuesday nights on ABC Family!
UPDATE:
So, I talked to Alexa Vega and it turns out Austin Butler (also from the show) was on the call. I was in the middle of other tasks, so I only got one question in- I asked both of them about family-oriented movies and shows. They both have strong roots in family and kids stuff…is it important for them to keep that in mind, and was it a conscious decision when they chose to take part in this new ABC Family series. Austin didn’t answer this, but Alexa jumped right in and said that she really made her name in family-friendly stuff, and she did think it was important to embrace that.
After she turned 18, it seems everyone wanted her to do more gritty stuff, and so many people wanted her to get naked. She didn’t want any part of that, but she did think after Spy Kids (the final of the series came out in 2003), that she wanted to do some more mature roles. She said she spent 5 or 6 years doing some of those roles, but she just felt it was right to embrace family stuff again. She noted that she looks like a 15 year old, so why not take advantage of that and play a much younger role in a kid-friendly show?
So, yes, it was definitely important to her. It’s good to see a young actress not going the route so many take. Ruby and the Rockits, as she mentioned in the call today, is a series that kids and their parents can watch- she’s heard from so many moms who watch the series with their kids- the moms grew up with and loved the Cassidy brother (David and the clan), and the kids love Alexa and the younger actors on the show. So, it’s good that they’ve created a series that everyone can sit down and watch together as a family.
Austin, for his part, talked about how he had no idea who David Cassidy was before he joined the series, but Alexa knew them from the start. She was quite familiar with the brothers and their teeny bop past.
Does David have any advice for Austin on how to deal with the screaming female fans?? Just deal with it, he told him. It’s great and just have fun with it.
I will post more of this interview as well as the full transcript when I get that via EMail early next week. Be sure to check out Ruby and the Rockits, Tuesdays on ABC Family.
YOU CAN FIND THE ENTIRE TRANSCRIPT BELOW (CLICK READ REST OF ENTRY)
My Favorite Dave Matthews Band Songs (Through the Years)
Jun 6th
I was listening to the new Dave Matthews Band CD- Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. Not loving it really. It’s okay, but there aren’t any really catchy tunes. Which is really what I’m all about with DMB. Been a fan since high school.
Picked up Under The Table and Dreaming and listened to it a million times on my CD player on bus trips to marching band contests. Ants Marching is my favorite from that album, and it’s probably my favorite Dave Matthews Band song overall. I remember the first time I saw the video- I remember being a sophomore in high school, I got up early for once, my mom was getting ready for work, and the video came on MTV. I was feeling good all day thanks to that wake up. It’s catchy, it’s really light and whimsical, and it’s just plain fun.
What Would You Say? (also a very fun video) from the same CD was their big radio hit, and I like it a lot. The Best of What’s Around is fun and catchy, but nowhere near as fun to listen to as #34 which is nothing but an all instrumental track and is dominated by what I assume is Leroi Moore on saxophone. It’s fairly slow, and slow is what I never liked about the band, but this one works being mostly sax and not the slow folksy guitar stuff Dave does. On the actual CD, it is an odd addition- it’s actually on track 34…so I didn’t realize it even existed my first few listens. Not until I left the CD player go through tracks 11-33.
Remember Two Things has a slow live version of Ants Marching. It’s an extended cut, which is nice, but it’s way too slow to enjoy too much. The snappy and quick Beauford backbeat just isn’t there at this slow speed. The CD also has a live cut of Tripping Billies, which was anoither favorite.
Their five track CD, Recently, has the interesting song Recently on it. I could do without the rest of it.
Their next album, Crash (after Dreaming), has the great tracks (and radio hits), Too Much and Tripping Billies…as well as the funky So Much to Say. I remember first seeing the video for Too Much on MTV at Ethan Jones’ house and loving it. Had to record it the very next time it came on. #41 starts out with instrumentals, but Dave’s smooth vocals join the party pretty quickly. It’s a nice track, but it can’t even touch Too Much and Tripping Billies- the latter track is infused with latin sounding percussion, bluegrass-laden fiddle, and the soulful Moore sax. Beauford’s drumming is filled with lots of staccato crash cymbals and snappy hi-hat. This is one of the songs I could get into with just the percussion track by itself. Crach Into Me was a big radio hit, but it was too slow for me. The video had some original visuals, but outside of that, I’m sort of just, ‘eh.’
I have the Live at Red Rocks 2 disc set, and it’s okay, but the tempo and tone of some of the live tracks just differ too greatly from the studio versions I came to love so much. I do love the very funky #36 from this one (mainly Carter’s intro solo, not so much the almost drunk-sounding vocals from Matthews), and Ants Marching here is good. The tempo is actually a bit faster than the studio version, and it’s very full with Tinsley’s violin and Moore’s sax in the beginning. Carter gets extra time on the drums as the song seems to almost start over when Matthews thanks the crowd for coming out.
Before These Crowded Streets was their next album, and the intro Panatala Naga Pampa (41 seconds long) alsways sounded tropical/african-inspired to me. Rapunzel is light and quick, but the best track on the CD is Stay (Wasting Time). The intro guitar, the bass backing, and the lyics here are all just happy and laid back.
Listener Supported, another live album had a nice version of Too Much (what I’d call the ‘funk’ version). Most of the rest of it is just average- Dave’s live vocals are just too weird for me most of the time. His pitch, his inflection, and his odd pronunciations sound mostly like drunk nonsense. On most of the tracks, if you even make out half the words, you’re already doing much better than me.
At this point in the band’s history, I pretty much checked out. They had no really memorable tracks after this, seemed to do nothing but live CDs every other year or so, Dave went solo and got all dark. The band did a nice live version of the aforementioned instrumental track #34 on their CD Weekend On the Rocks.
What Would You Say (one of my favorite DMB songs) made it on their live CD Live At Piedmont Park. It’s decent, but it’s nothing to get too excited about. The vocals aren’t all that great, and there are too many muddled instruments in the background (some weird guitar riffs that sounds almost Woodstock-esque to me.)
Onto another live CD (or 4 or 5 or 20), and we’re back to Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. Maybe I’ll listen to it some more, and I’ll find a song (or a few) that get stuck in my head, but I don’t hold out tons of hope. The last original song that did that to me was from These Crowded Streets, and since then it’s just been a rehash of live versions of the songs I loved from before, but none pulled off anywhere near as well as the originals.
So, 16 years worth of CDs, a bunch of cherished songs both in the studio and in various live performances. Not too shabby overall. Even if I don’t find another new catchy Dave Matthews Band song, I’ve got a whole cache to play with already. I think I’m okay with that.
Signs of the Endtimes: Why Can’t I get This Jonas Song Out Of My Head?
May 28th
Okay, my journey into 16 year old girl land is taking a bad turn here. Check out the video 9:05 in…there’s a song that they play part of, but apparently all the music for the show (outside of the theme song which was on the 3D experience album) is original to the show. I want this song “keep it real” (I assume that’s the name of it). Guess who’s buying the soundtrack to Jonas when it comes out?
Listen to the snippet of the song, and if you find it utterly horrible and not one bit catchy, I’ll each my shoe. And a hat. And maybe a sock.
My Journey Becoming a 16 Year Old Girl Continues Part 1, 004
May 13th
My slow but steady journey becoming a full-fledged 16 year old girl continues with Mitchell Musso and Tiffany Thornton. I’d lie and say that I only link this video because of the “hot chick,” but I won’t go there…I just dig the sound. What’s next, you ask? Hannah Montana videos and Zac Effron?? Don’t count on that.
Oh, by the way, I did NOT DVR the movie this song is from (Hatching Pete). And no, I did NOT enjoy it. Nor did I give it two thumbs up. If anyone tells you that, they are full of crap…don’t believe them when they say they stood outside my window and saw me watching the movie two weekends ago. Nonsense.
Oh, and to repost a video from months ago, that provides further proof:
And finally, I can’t get this song out of my head:
Well, I’m off to get my ears pierced, buy some new makeup, and look for a prom dress. Golly, I hope Billy asks me! Tehe!
Let’s Get It Started (Drum Cover Video)
Dec 21st
This guy is probably the best drummer doing covers I’ve seen on YouTube, and I’ve seen a lot of them in the past couple years.
Give Me a Break: “The Obama Generation”?!
Dec 21st
I was checking the news, and apparently MTV has seen a marked descrease in viewership…ratings down 23%. They have 16 “reality shows” (read: game shows with dumber contestants) slated to start this next year. MTV Networks president, Brian Graden had this to say about the changes for the network:
The series come from high-profile producers including Sean Combs, Matt Stone & Trey Parker, Donald Trump and Nick Lachey. And they represent a major thematic shift for the channel — more toward the meta-scripted reality of MTV’s “The Hills,” one of the cabler’s few success stories these days.
While MTV pioneered reality series with 1992′s “The Real World,” that genre has become ubiquitous, so the network is offering a slate that avoids the backbiting and bitchery of most nonfiction fare.
“Our new shows will feature themes of affirmation and accomplishment,” says Brian Graden, prez of entertainment at MTV Networks music channels and president of Logo. “Our shows are going to focus less on loud and silly hooks and more on young people proving themselves. These are themes that are consistent with the Obama generation.” [emphasis added]
The Obama generation? What on earth does that even mean? I’ve heard that phrase a few times, and it just gets absurd each time it’s used. So, an unqualified (that’s what Obama himself said on his qualifications for the presidency) junior senator who was only elected because the last senator resigned over a sex scandal involving his wife gets elected by a populace who, when asked, can’t even tell you what his core policies are and somehow this makes the youth the Obama generation? Come on now! Are the executives at MTV as dumb as the “actors” on The Hills?
Most young people couldn’t even tell you how many senators we have or the current vice president’s name, so we can assume they don’t make a generation simply because they voted for the “cool and hip guy” (read the 50 year old suit-wearing lawyer who would never be cool if he were white– yes, of course he’s been labeled cool because he’s black, does anyone really think a white 50 year old would ever be considered “hip” or “cool”?)
And what’s with the whole “reality show” craze that STILL has yet to die its well-deserved death? We’ve had these types of shows since TV started, and they’re called game shows. Except in most game shows, we don’t have to see the same idiot contestant week after week, and none of them eat bugs as part of the contest. There’s nothing real about any of these shows, and to label them as such is silly. It’s a continuation of the dumbing down of our culture, especially our youth who couldn’t be bothered to think for themselves for ten seconds, let alone have any clue what’s going on in the world around them…the important things that is. They can tell you all about the newest American Idol winner, but ask them to point China out on a map and they’re brain-dead all of a sudden.
I do have one suggestion for MTV. Perhaps some music, seeing as how the first word of your network is “music.” Perhaps? Or maybe if you’re going to claim your new shows are about youth empowering themselves, you might want to cancel shows that have contestants dump their current girlfriends to hook up with strangers their parents set them up with or shows that feature bi-sexual sluts trying to win the heart of the star who happens to be bi-sexual and a slut herself. Graden says the new lineup is thematic different, then we hear that one of the new shows is produced by Donald Trump and follows a group of hard-partying girls to an English prep school (read: sluts go to England to get drunk and have sex). Let’s not pretend you’re doing wonderful things here…just stick to whipped cream licking contests, and the adults will be sure to tune out for more rational fare.
Jesus is a Friend of Mine!
Nov 29th
This is really funny: “Once I tried to run, I tried to run and hide. But Jesus came and found me, and he touched me down inside. He is like a mountie. He always gets his man. And he’ll zap you anyway he can.”
Did It Really Matter Who Sang Milli Vanilli’s Songs?
Nov 29th
So, I’m watching videos on YouTube, and I come across “Wot’s It To Ya,” a fantastic song by Robbie Nevil. He’s well known for his song “C’est la Vie.” I’d argue “Wot’s..” is either equal to or possibly superior to “C’est” in some ways, but that’s another story…on the sidebar of related videos, I see Milli Vanilli stuff. I guess that’s in the same decade, and it’s related on a tangential level, but it’s listed there. So, I click over to it and start watching “Blame It On the Rain” and other classic hits by the duo.
I see a related video which is a commercial for a class action lawsuit from the time, stemming from the fact that it wasn’t really the two guys in the videos singing the songs on the album. I never understood why it mattered myself. You either liked the music or you didn’t. Me? I liked it. A lot. I think some of their songs are…well, I’ll just say it– brilliant. (And, yes, I know that word is so completely overused…I’m guilty of overusing it myself.)
Hell, most of the stuff you hear on albums is fake in some manner…most of these artists (and I use that term loosely for most of these folks) can’t sing in tune if they wanted to, but through the magic of the recording process, they land on a CD sounding tolerable, and sometimes they even sound good. But, still, a lot of it’s fake. The young thing woman in the C&C Music Factory videos wasn’t actually singing what you heard on the CD. Instead, it was an older and much larger woman who had the chops to sing that stuff but didn’t quite have the look they were going for.
Personally, I don’t care who sang “I’m Gonna Miss You,” “All Or Nothing,” or “Baby, Don’t Forget My Number.” These are, in my humble opinion, still great songs even today. I do think it’s unfortunate how fleeting celebrity is for some who crave it so wildly. Rob Pilatus, one of the two singers, ended up dead of a drug overdose at the age of 32…now, I won’t let him slide, he decided to make some bad decisions on his own, but you have to wonder– what effect did the whole grammy mess and the public humiliation resulting from all of this have on the poor guy?
Enjoy the following Milli Vanilli love…
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