What Happens In Vegas Stays On Blogger

Just came back from my first trip to Las Vegas. What an incredible trip it was! Three days of fun shared with my wonderful wife. And how else should I commemorate the trip than create a playlist of memories, another Playlist of Pooh!

Gram Parsons - Ooh Las Vegas

To get psyched up for the trip I thought I should listen to Ac/Dc's "Sin City" or ZZ Top's "Viva Las Vegas" but I never did, instead I played this song on my Ipod repeatedly in the week leading up to the trip.

Journey - Raised On Radio

We listened to the radio on the way to the airport, I had no idea that Steven Seaweed and his Hot Lunch program was still on the air. In high school I loved listening to that show on the now defunct KRQR radio station. The weed man wanted folks to call in requests with "radio" as the theme, I would have called this in if I had time to hear it before arriving at the airport.

The Beatles - Ticket To Ride

It was a long wait for our flight at the airport, it was delayed by about two hours. I have an extreme fear of heights and flying, so even though I watched plane after plane take off the runway without incident I was still going nuts. I tried to think of how many of my favorite entertainers have spent decades flying all over the world without problem. Or the other times I had been on planes and safely gotten from one place to another. Unfortunately, all these rationalizations didn't help much so my wife bought me a magazine about The Beatles to distract me.

Asia - The Smile Has Left Your Eyes


Our trip to Vegas was off to a bad start, the flight was delayed and then it took another 30 minutes for our shuttle to leave the airport because they were waiting for other passengers. Except they didn't tell us that, they sat us in the shuttle and left us there to the point we considered just walking to the hotel. Our hotel was The Luxor, a pyramid shaped place that reminded me of the Asia Alpha album cover.

Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster

Once we dropped off our stuff in the room we decided to walk around. The New York New York section nearby so we went on the roller coaster. It was a great coaster with huge drops and loops throughout. Easily the best roller coaster we had been on in ages. My only problem was I rode the coaster wrong. How do you ride a roller coaster wrong? On this one you have to keep your head flat against the headrest or else it bounces between two neck bars like a ping pong ball. I didn't know that going in, the sides of my lower jaw are still sore. But what a great ride!

Sammy Hagar - I Love This Bar

We had a drink at a bar, I think it was called Diablo. There are tons of restaurant / bars on the Strip including Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo and another owned by Toby Keith. I was sort of interested in going to Cabo Wabo since Sammy Hagar is as close to a prophet / philosopher that I can think of in the world. But when I heard their music system pumping new wave music I thought "ehhh". In Sammy Hagar land there should only be Saint Sammy's jams on the speakers!

Quarterflash - Take Me To Heart

The next morning this song was running through my head for no apparent reason. Just seemed to fit the mood of relaxing opulence at The Luxor.

Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City

Vegas is all about tourism, for many living there it is working in the service industry but for others it's sales and promotion. There is this place under construction called The Grandview which will eventually be 20 towers tall but only has six built right now. The Grandview has hired an army of blazer wearing folk to offer package deals of show tickets and gambling money in exchange for going through what I assume is a lengthy presentation to get you to buy into a timeshare at the new establishment. While the sales people are perfectly pleasant, they're planted like ant farms all over Mandalay Bay, The Luxor and The Excaliber making their repeated "Do you have any plans for a show this evening" or "How long are you in town" queries irritating beyond belief. I actually preferred the porn peddlers waving their leaflets in my face up and down the strip to The Grandview reps. At least those guys and gals understand my shaking my head and hands at them means "no" and don't try to overcome my objections. It doesn't quite fit, yet "Atlantic City" came to mind when dealing with these people. I don't blame the salespeople themselves they're just people trying to earn a buck just like me, but damn...

Bella Notte

We had a nice romantic gondola ride through an indoor area that is designed to be like Venice, Italy. The...I guess maybe they're called Gondalier? Anyway, the guy that moves the boat with a pole was friendly and an excellent singer. One of the songs he sang he prefaced as being from The Lady And The Tramp which was this tune.

Ray Lamontage - You Are The Best Thing

While spending time with my wife looking thru the mall stores, this song came on which fit the mood perfectly.

Kool & The Gang - Too Hot

Did I mention it is hot in Vegas? The temp was over 100 degrees every day until when we left, when it was a cool 97. Even at night you feel like you walked into a broiler. After walking much of the day we were exhausted and took a hasty cab ride back to our room for some rest. Then we met with some of my wife's relatives for a very pleasant dinner.

Queen - Body Language

Won't go into too much detail, I'll just say seeing provocative dancing to this song was the first time I enjoyed hearing this forgotten track. Thought "Body Language" overdid the dance angle of the band following "Another One Bites The Dust" in terms of Queen's music, but in this context it was the perfect tune.

She And Him - You Really Got A Hold On Me

In a rare quiet moment in this very exciting city, I sat down with my Ipod and listened to some She & Him while reading the hotel magazines. This song really popped when I heard it.

Duffy - Mercy

If there is a song The Luxor likes, it's definitely "Mercy". Heard this play throughout the hotel multiple times every day. It's amazing how these hotel / casinos are designed, they're like mini cities within themselves with tons of food, shopping and entertainment at your disposal (at a high price of course). Oh, if you're ever in The Luxor I recommend having the fried rice at Rice & Co. upstairs, it is insanely good!

The Heights - How do You Talk to An Angel?

It's my wife's birthday! We had a delicious breakfast at the Mandalay Bay, it was a fancy place with a great view of other buildings and palm trees. I had a Norway Benedict while she had smoked salmon with bagels. It felt like the setting for a scene in a tv show with rich people, like 90210. A wonderful time with my wonderful, beautiful wife.

Styx - Mr Roboto

After breakfast I took her to The Fremont Street Experience. The magazine in the hotel room promised shopping and art and a good time. What actually was there was old Las Vegas, the original Strip. The Fremont Street Experience was fascinating, a sort of land-that-time-forgot. A place that emphasizes the "loosest slots in town" and offer prime rib dinners for $4.95 on posters. The older casino / hotels retain much of the 70s style sense of glitz with tons of light bulbs flashing on signs everywhere. Signs you could easily imagine having held the names of legends like Sammy Davis Jr or Dean Martin at one point in time. There weren't many people there when we went, adding to a ghost town effect. When I told my wife the magazine said Fremont Street was 80s themed this year, she jokingly said that was the reason I took her there. The topic came up when "Mr Roboto" blasted on the Fremont St audio system while we looked at a kiosk selling 80s t-shirts saying something like "Vegas says Relax" (for those too young to remember, the 80s had a lot of "Frankie Says Relax" t-shirts. Right up there with oversized "Choose Life" shirts).

John Waite - Going to The Top

My wife has always wanted to go to France, so I took her to the Eiffel Tower in the Paris section of Las Vegas Blvd. The view was really awesome, I just wished my fear of heights could have subsided so we could have enjoyed it more.

Elvis Presley - Viva Las Vegas

In the early afternoon we made our way back to the Bellagio / Ceasar's Palace part of the Strip. It was there on a private balcony we witnessed the famous water fountain show at The Bellagio. Done to the tune of "Viva Las Vegas", it was truly a spectacular show. So glad we got to see this.

The Simpsons - Monorail

We rode the monorail back towards our hotel afterwards. I love monorails!

Black Crowes - Share The Ride

That evening we saw Cirque Du Soleil Ka which I will write a separate review on. Once that ended we tried to catch a cab back to the hotel, but the cab stand line was too long so we footed it. Before Vegas, I had taken maybe two taxi cab rides in my life. In Las Vegas it was a daily necessity. It is so hot outside you have to find other ways to get around. Most of the taxi drivers were friendly and amiable, others not so much.

Nearer My God to Thee

The next morning we went to see the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor. On the one hand, it may not have been a good idea to delve into one of the greatest disasters in modern travel on the same day as catching a flight. On the other hand, it was a well done exhibit. It is solemn, informative and involving. To see the personal effects of the travellers and remaining pieces of the ship is so sad. The recreation of the grand staircase is impressive. But what really stuck with me is the facsimile of the side deck at night, it makes you feel like you're really on a ship. A feeling of calm and beauty, unaware of the disaster looming before them. Violin music played in the background, which I believe included this song that may have been performed while the boat sank. After Titanic we walked over to the Shark Reef to see an impressive display of animals and sea creatures.

Gym Class Heroes - Cupid's Chokehold / Breakfast In America

To cope with the flying I had to drink a lot before the flight. While downing a beer this song played in the background at the bar, my wife hadn't heard it before so it caught her by surprise. I had to break the news that yes, even Supertramp is not immune to sampling. Can't say I dislike this tho, it's Supertramp with a modern beat.

Led Zeppelin - Fool In The Rain

We sat in rush hour traffic through San Francisco to get home. The radio played three Led Zep songs in a row, after "Fool In The Rain" we talked about our trip matching the cadence of the verses.

Smokey Robinson - Being With You

Thank you for the trip honey, I loved being there with you :)

Weezer - Memories

While driving to get some food today, the radio was all advertisements so I threw in the Weezer cd I had in the car. This song was perfect for the moment. All the memories make me want to go back there...

Waiting For Macca

Last night I made my way out to AT&T Park in San Francisco to see one of the two remaining Beatles in action, Sir Paul McCartney. The last time McCartney had played the Bay Area was in 1966, before I was even born! It was a cold evening in San Fran, overcast and chilly. Something that helped screen from the cold was the fact that the Park was overcrowded, walking on the concourse was like being shoved onto a conveyer belt of human beings carted from one place to another. Despite the 7:30 start time on the ticket, there was a longggg wait for the show to start. An endless scroll of McCartney memories went up and the huge rectangular video screens flanking the stage as a remix of Macca/Beatles hits jammed on and on. By 8:30 I would have been happy if Beatlemania hit the stage, I started to think that 7:30 was the time McCartney boarded the plane in England instead of a show time. Had enough time to grab a grossly overpriced Giants Dog (AT&T Park is where the San Francisco Giants play) and a Diet Coke. Once McCartney started playing around 8:40, I felt more like it was about time than excited. Macca's set list went like this:

Venus and Mars - Rock Show / Jet / All My Loving / Letting Go / Got To Get You Into My Life / Highway / Let Me Roll It / The Long And Winding Road / Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five / Let 'Em In / My Love / I'm Looking Through You / Two Of Us / Blackbird / Here Today / Dance Tonight / Mrs Vandebuilt / San Francisco Bay Blues / Eleanor Rigby / Something / Sing The Changes / Band On The Run / Ob La Di Ob La Da / Back In The USSR / I've Got A Feeling / Paperback Writer / A Day In The Life - Give Peace A Chance / Let It Be / Live And Let Die / Hey Jude

Encore 1: Day Tripper / Lady Madonna / Get Back

Encore 2: Yesterday / Helter Skelter / Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

Opening with "Venus and Mars - Rock Show" would probably kill the start of most band's shows but with Sir Paul in the house people became unglued. "Jet" got the crowd more fired up as Mac proved his band was tight and capable of playing the big show. Macca was surrounded by a guitarist, a multi instrumentalist, a keyboardist and a large dramatic drummer. And then we did the time warp again as he launched into the first Beatles song of the night "All My Loving" complete with The Beatles: Rock Band graphics running in the background.

"Letting Go" slowed things down and let people sit before getting back up for a sharp take on "Got To Get You Into My Life". The bouncy ditty was one of the early highlights for me and showed how much of a workout the lone keyboardist was gonna have as he replicated the horn section parts on a synth. A surprise coda to "Life" was a brief instrumental run through Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" with some nice soloing by Sir Paul himself. He then told a nice story of meeting Hendrix and attending a show where Jimi asked Clapton to tune the guitar for him. Then it was back to obscureville for a song called "Letting Go". Dressed in a simple black suit, you could still see some hint of that cherubic youthfulness on Macca's aged mug.

"Let Me Roll It" was one I was looking forward to personally because it had that slow moving 70s rawk vibe I like. Mac then moved to a grand piano on the right of the stage to kick off the first of three (count 'em, three!) songs from The Beatles Let It Be album, "The Long And Winding Road". It was here I noticed how McCartney's voice was still in good shape for a man his age, still able to croon with some power and range. Also, it underlined how cold it was as you could see the steam from his breath as he sang. There was a misty condensation in the wet air, which happens in San Fran right next to the water.

The every-other-song-is-one-you-don't-know-unless-you're-a-true-fan pacing served up "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five" next and continued Sir Paul's sit at the piano. Then another of my faves "Let 'Em In" (or as Keane likes to call it "Somewhere Only We Know") happily drifted through. The piano visit gave the crowd more time to rest in their seats as the lovely ballad "My Love" played. Since my wife didn't go to this show, I thought of her during this song.

Then it was flashback Beatles time again as the jaunty "I'm Looking Through You" came up complete with 60's organ sounds. At this point the mother of two young kids in front of me was getting hammered and dancing up a drunken swaying storm, which the boy started recording on his phone to probably plant on You Tube tonight (I saw the kid give the sign to his Dad that Mom had drunk seven beers midway through the concert). We then went to Let It Be track numero dos, "Two Of Us". And I went to the can.

The acoustics of AT&T Park carries sound well, though despite some clarity there was a bit of distortion and echo throughout the concert. So even in the can the acoustic "Blackbird" sounded very nice. I grabbed a small bag of popcorn on the way back to my seat. Maintaining the one for you-one for me pattern Mac strummed out "Here Today" .

Another highlight for me was hearing "Dance Tonight" from Mac's last studio effort Memory Almost Full, I like that song. And then "Mrs Vandebuilt". In a real nice touch, Mac and crew played "San Francisco Bay Blues" giving a nod to his location. At some point, not sure if it was here, Macca pointed to a crowd member with a sign saying "I was there at the Cow Palace in 1964 remember?" and jokingly reacted like he did remember that person.

An excellent take on "Eleanor Rigby", an all time classic song if there was one, took place. Macca busted out a ukelale and told a story about how he told George Harrison he had learned one of George's song on the ukelale. He then proceeded to kick off "Something" solo on the uke. It was sort of silly but had the intimacy of revealing an inside joke until it got to the guitar solo. The full band immediately kicked in with Mac's lead guitarist perfectly replicating Harrison's creamy tone as images of George faded in and out of the video screens, it was the emotional peak of the evening.

To pull it back there was one last pay-the-piper sort of tune with "Sing The Changes" before flying into hitsville with "Band On The Run". Macca took off his jacket and moved to a small piano in the front of the stage for a big audience sing along on "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da". Finally free of the one you know and one you don't section of the set list, the crowd got its groove on for a romping "Back In The USSR". Which I felt should have shifted to "Spies Like Us" at the end, but that's just me. A nice tale of Mac meeting the Russian government after a show and finding out Russians learned their English from Beatles records ensued. Apparently one Russian officer said this and shook Macs hand saying "Hello Goodbye".

The Beatles songs steadily racheted up the audience excitement level even with a false start on "I've Got A Feeling" and the nicely blended harmonies of "Paperback Writer". The ushers began to allow people to crowd the aisleways and it started to get packed with people in our area. I went to the can during "A Day In The Life". Which is quite a trippy song to take a whizz to. Got back in time for the John Lennon "Give Peace A Chance" crowd sing along.

The hymn like "Let It Be" unified the audience in time for the theatrical high light of the night, the James Bond theme "Live And Let Die". Out of nowhere, flashpots, pillars of flame and 4th of July fireworks broke out on and behind the stage. The near sold out crowd roared after the song, because it just kicked ass. With momentum at its peak, Mac moved to the center of the stage only to find his little piano was out of tune. So he moved to the big piano for "Hey Jude". The audience sang along to the "Na na na na" ending which closed the main part of the set.

A gaggle of tweens made its way next to our seating and with them high pitched screaming so loud it cut through my ear plugs and turned to white noise. So I was annoyed during the first encore of "Day Tripper", "Lady Madonna" and "Get Back" as the little girls danced, posed for pictures and excitedly rambled to each other throughout. I tried to remind myself this was probably what Beatlemania was like in its hey day. And was surprised that modern day tweens would love this music this much. Guess I'm just an old guy with no patience for youngun's.

For a second encore, McCartney played "Yesterday" acoustically which was great. I saw seagulls flying around the lip of the stadium in time with the song. We moved seats away from the screaming tweens to enjoy the last two songs, a hard rocking "Helter Skelter" and a triumphant "Sgt Peppers / The End".

All in all Paul McCartney put on a very good show. He himself had a good amount of energy and musical ability left, plus an easygoing demeanor in addressing the crowd. And now I can say I've seen royalty! Sir means royalty? No?

No Foolin' Around

Today is one of the best holidays known to man, April Fools Day. I tried to think of something funny to say or a vid clip that could fit, but came up empty. So here's an off the cuff playlist of songs with the word "Fool" in it. As Scotty once said, "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Just for the hell of it, I'll call this feature the Playlist Of Pooh.

1. Def Leppard - Foolin'


2. Chris Rea - Fool (If You Think its Over)


3. The Beatles - Fool On The Hill


4. Foreigner - A Fool For You Anyway


5. Van Halen - Fools


6. Tesla - Mama's Fool


7. Elvin Bishop - Fooled Around And Fell in Love


8. Michael Bolton - Fools Game


9. The Cardigans - Lovefool


10. The Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes


11. Soul Asylum - April Fool


12. Styx - Fooling Yourself

And of course...

If anyone out there in cyberspace can remember other songs with the word "Fool" in it, feel free to let me know. I've had a beer and this is all I can think of.

Took a walk with my wife and mentioned this post, she listed a bunch of real obvious ones that I didn't remember.

1. Whitesnake - Fool For Your Loving
2. Robert Plant - Ship Of Fools
3. Foghat - Fool For the City
4. Steve Perry - Foolish Heart

Yep, I missed some of my favorites including "The Voice". Doh!

...The Quick And Easy Way...

...leads to the Dark Side of The Force. I wanted to make a quick post so I'm just gonna go on about whatever comes up in shuffle mode on my IPOD. It's a popular blog gimmick and I love it so here it goes!

1. Aerosmith "Rag Doll" (live)

My Ipod has been Aerosmith crazy lately, almost like it could sense a tremor in The Force. How has this year gone for the Beantown boys? Guitarist Brad Whitford got hurt, then I think drummer Joey Kramer got hurt, then I think bassist Tom Hamilton had an operation, then Steven Tyler fell off a stage-and all that before the recent drama. Tyler's revolving door answers to if he's in or out of Aerosmith gives me a headache. I'm so glad I got to see them live a few years ago, even with them playing a truncated set and Hamilton being absent (I believe he was battling Cancer at the time) they were great. "Seasons Of Wither" was awesome in that show.

2. White Stripes "Conquest"

One of my favorite White Stripes songs, unique with that Spanish sound added to the heavy drums / guitar combo that is their trademark. Jack White's vocal has a playful absurd tone to it which is very funny. I often skipped to this song on the CD during my commute to work a few years back, it got me pumped up like I was bull fighting or something.

3. Arcade Fire "Intervention"

Not since the glory days of Rick Wakeman can I recall this much church organ in a song. Off the excellent Neon Bible album, I like the downtrodden mood and cynicism balanced with longing for a way out in this track.

4. Led Zeppelin "Stairway To Heaven"

And she's buy-yuy-ying a sta-hair-way...to he-avennn. Well, I'm going to have some time to do some typing now won't I? For the first five years or so of my buying and listening to rock music, I did not hear this song. Heard it about it, yes, but actually heard it, no. Once I did hear it, I thought "Is that it?". Years later in college I had a tv production class where the assignment was to create a production about a poem. I asked if song lyrics counted (because I don't know poetry from jack) and was told yes, so my production was me reading the lyrics to this song while we did slow camera movements on pics taken from a Best Photos From Life Magazine issue. After reading the lyrics over and over from this assignment I came to appreciate the song more. While they didn't invent the soft to loud song pace, their influence is unmistakable on other rock bands that copy this structure. The best rip off? Whitesnake's "Sailing Ships" from the Slip Of The Tongue disc. Guitarist Steve Vai tears it up while Coverdale wails, blasphemous as it is I like "Sailing Ships" better than "Stairway".

5. Courtney Jaye "I Need Love"

This is off one of the Paste Magazine samplers, this is my first listen of it. Hmmm...pleasant Country rock with a sort of George Harrison slide guitar lick and clip cloppy percussion. A sort of updated 70's feel. Stuff like this is what I like about Paste samplers, it gives me exposure to new music that fits my style. Twangy female vocal is good. Nice song, it's growing on me.

6. Jake Shimabukuro "3rd Stream"

Another Paste Magazine track, very intricate acoustic guitar here. Sort of Hawaiian mixed with some Spanish guitar it sounds like. I like acoustic guitar solos where it's very complex with all these neato nimble finger moves you can hear. This is even better than the last song, good stuff. Makes me want to go to Starbucks and order a Mocha Latte. I think the free Itunes download I got from Starbucks for Roberto Y Gabriela is in the same vein. Impressive...most impressive. (An update, now that I've looked this up on You Tube dude is playing a ukelale. Wow)

7. The Beatles "Here Comes The Sun"

In my book, George Harrison is the best Beatle. For me, that is. Lennon's avant garde touches could get a little too "out there" for me, while McCartney's melodicism could get a bit wimpy. Harrison had a direct approach that balanced melody and guitars in a way that appealed to me...that is except for hippy trippy stuff like "Within You Without You" of course. When Harrison died, this song was featured in just about every televised tribute to the man and with good reason, its a great song. So breezy and hopeful without being slight. Awesome.

8. Boston "What's Your Name"

I have a ton of Boston on my Ipod, which would mean something except they only have like five albums. This came from the Walk On Cd aka the one where they started using synthesizers. Seemed totally wrong for Boston, who proudly advertised on their record jackets that they didn't use synthesizers, would turn around and use them. It's not like it saved them time in recording, the gap between Walk On in 1994 and the prior album Third Stage in 1986 was eight freakin' years. Oh, back to the song. I love the guitar solo part of "What's Your Name", where the multitracked guitars solo in unison while another guitar in the background makes this descending sound like a spaceship landing.

9. Tommy TuTone "867-5309 Jenny"

A classic of arena sized power pop, it instantly takes me back to 1982. All those news stories of people dialing this phone number, a number that belonged to real people, was funny or what we in '82 liked to call "gnarly". Too bad Tommy TuTone couldn't come up with another humdinger of a pop hit like "Jenny". This song still fires me up and has me dreaming of the numerous county fairs this song must be played at annually. I want me some corn dogs!

10. Mary J Blige "Real Love"

Mary Mary, why you buggin? Sorry, couldn't resist that. You know, as big a hit as this song was in the early 90's it was some tv commercial a year back that got me into this song. Was it a phone commercial? Probably. I like the occasional R&B song and Blige has come up with a winner on occasion, she had some song that sampled part of a soap opera theme (Young and the Restless?) for an aptly titled tune "No More Drama" that I liked too. Didn't care as much for her duet with U2 on "One" though, a little over the top on that one. Anyway, I like the groove here with the slow heavy bass and antsy piano figure on top while Mary soulfully wails away.

All right, that was painless - for me that is. Not as painful as being cut off at the legs with a light saber or anything. And now Lord Vader...rise!

Meet The Beatles Again

Thanks to Rock Band: The Beatles video game there is a renaissance of their music taking place, the likes of which hasn't been seen since 1995. 2009 may be the year of rediscovering old music, what with Michael Jackson's death sparking a flooding of the airwaves with his music a few months ago followed by this new wave of Beatlemania. What's next, the return of Frank Sinatra?

And who am I to stand in the way of a fad? I can't stop it so I may as well roll with it. I've already done a Top 10 favorite song list, so I'm just gonna hit the high points on the impact their music has had on my life and/or random memories about The Beatles

• My Mom is a fan of the Beatles, so I grew up with Beatles records in the house. Rubber Soul is her favorite album of theirs. My Mom thought Paul McCartney was cute.


• I watch Yellow Submarine whenever I can on tv as a boy, because its a cartoon


• "Revolution" is the first song not related to a tv show that I can remember really liking a lot. I liked the idea of a revolution.


• Being Asian, I have to hear a lot of Yoko Ono insults growing up.


• I start to like The Beatles a lot and so we go to see Beatlemania (The Beatles tribute band) live which may have been the first concert I went to, I had forgotten about that until now. I remember it being colorful and loud.


• The movie Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is released starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees. At the time I liked this movie a lot. Earth Wind & Fire's cover of "Got To Get You Into My Life" is still definitive over the original to me. Aerosmith kicks ass as the evil band performing "Come Together". And I found the dreamy segment for "A Day In The Life" spellbinding. Now, as an adult, I can see how dull and poorly constructed this movie really is. At the time I really dugged it, man. Give Frampton his Oscar now.


• John Lennon is assassinated :(


• Paul McCartney becomes the duet king. First he's the Ivory to Stevie Wonder's Ebony in "Ebony and Ivory" (spawning the classic SNL parody with Eddie Murphy as Stevie Wonder and Joe Piscopo as Frank Sinatra). Then he playfully argues with Michael Jackson that "The Girl Is Mine" (you can guess who won that argument) before having his last "Say Say Say". Then Jacko and McCartney stop being friends after the gloved one buys the Beatles catalog.


• Motley Crue cover "Helter Skelter". Cool.


• John Lennon's posthumous single "Nobody Told Me" is released and plays constantly everywhere. I hated this song and it drove me nuts it was played so much. Particularly that music video made up of old clips of Lennon in a boat or some kinda crap. Interestingly, this song came up on my IPOD a few months ago and I didn't mind it.


• Paul McCartney's song "No More Lonely Nights" plays constantly after its release as well, kinda gets on my nerves a bit after awhile. It doesn't bother me too much now though. The inclusion of "Eleanor Rigby" in McCartney's film Give My Regards To Broad Street catches my ear, it becomes a favorite Beatles tune for me. Friday Night Videos could not get enough of "No More Lonely Nights".


• I lost interest in The Beatles after that, except as a novelty. The inclusion of "Twist and Shout" in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off motivates me to buy the 45. Save Ferris!


• The movie Can't Buy Me Love is a teen classic!


• The Thompson Twins wreck "Revolution" at Live Aid. What the hell happened to my jam?


• In college, I have a roommate who loves The Beatles. Through him I hear every single Beatles album multiple times. For some reason Beatles '65 stands out to me from that time period. "I'll Follow The Sun" I liked at the time. But my favorite Beatles record to listen to at that time? A Hard Day's Night.


• George Harrison has a big hit with the catchy "I've Got My Mind Set On You", though I like Weird Al Yankovic's version "This Song Is Just Six Words Long" more.


• Late night at Tower Records, me and my friend hear the most bizarre version of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." My friend who is also a Star Trek fan pegs the voice as William Shatner. I buy the tape and become a lifelong fan of the great one's warblings.


• I get into James Bond movies, McCartney's "Live and Let Die" becomes a favorite of mine.


• U2 cover "Helter Skelter". Meh.


• "Imagine" becomes a standard, being covered by everyone with a half decent voice. I'm still fascinated that a song that openly states a wish for the end of religion could be so popular. Anyway, of the covers I've heard Tracie Spencer's comes to mind as being the best one.


• In the early 90's, my favorite tv show was the Sunday night family drama Life Goes On. The Beatles song "Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da" is used as the theme song. C'mon Corky, fight the power!
• Guns N' Roses revive "Live And Let Die" as their own, Axl does his damned best to try to make kilts cool.


• Shortly after being married, my wife and I take up record collecting. The Bunny becomes adept at spotting Vee Jay label counterfeits and mono recording Capitol label Beatles records. We become obsessed with and eventually buy a poor copy of the famous "butcher cover" record sleeve (featured at the top of the post). Which we later lost to a used record store guy named Zig when his shop closed (he was selling on consignment for us).


• The Anthology series is released on CD and as a tv miniseries. We take in all of it, I enjoyed the new Beatles singles "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love". The a capella version of "Because" is awesome. Everyone loves The Beatles even more.


• I think it's Intel that uses "Getting Better" as a theme song in commercials, so I get a copy of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to get that one.


• Ozzy Osbourne comes up with a memorable cover of "In My Life".


• Lennon's "Instant Karma" appears in shoe commercials, hooking me on that song.


• Eddie Vedder covers "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", which I like more than the original.


• Some loser stabs George Harrison in his own house.


• A few years later George Harrison passes away. "Here Comes The Sun" gets played all over the world.


• Paul McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard gets into heavy rotation on my CD player. I play "Jenny Wren" a lot.


• I go through a Beatles phase and pick up some of their CDs, Abbey Road becomes my favorite Beatles album. This happens around the time of The Beatles1. Coincidence? I think not!


• Tried to watch the movie Across The Universe, couldn't get past the first ten minutes. Something about a cute lesbian cheerleader singing about another cheerleader, it didn't grab me so I fell asleep. It looked like it was going to be one of those ensemble musicals.


• Paul McCartney and U2 perform the "Sgt Pepper" song at the start of Live 8. Cool.


• The Beatles: Rock Band video game is released. People party like it's 1995.

And that's my Beatles story. Not a lot too it, I was a big fan as a kid afterwards I thought they were good. Their music is legendary and has been everywhere throughout my life. In terms of influence, there isn't a rock band that has had more impact.

Happy Birthday Bunny

Today is my wife's Birthday! To celebrate, here's a song she was singing this morning with a clever animation drzaius77 on You Tube came up with. Happy Birthday Bunny! I hope you have a great day :)

Midnight Madness - Saint Sammy Edition

Jimmy Buffett's biggest threat - The Cabo Wabo lovin' Red Rocker Sammy Hagar.

While I can't say I agree with everything Sammy Hagar does or believes in as a person, I am convinced that his music has important life lessons that can lead to a happy life. I covered many of them on a previous post and with a new album on the horizon Sam has yet more wisdom to impart on us. "Cosmic Universal Fashion" from the album of the same name is a sequel to the classic Van Halen video Right Now in which Hagar comments on the state of the world today. Teach us, oh great one!

The Beatles are bigger than Sammy Hagar - Two items have popped up about the Fab Four, the first being Paul McCartney talking about releasing a 14 minute lost Beatles song. The song called "Carnival of Light" sounds like it will be one of those Brian Wilson sort of sound collages. It will be interesting if it sees the light of day. In other Beatles news, the Vatican has forgiven John Lennon for his famous remark of being more popular than Jesus. The comment is now taken as a "boast".

Free Axl! - Guns N Roses' Chinese Democracy is released today. After a decade plus of recording the world will finally hear these songs. I haven't heard it yet, but I still say its an album better heard about than actually heard. No way it can live up to the weight of expectations and hype. Because to do that, it would have to be the greatest album made by anyone anytime ever.

Hella Good - No Doubt is regrouping for recording and touring, good news for fun loving ska music lovers everywhere.

It Doesn't Suck? - Twilight is the #1 movie out right now in terms of ticket sales. I still can't stand the commercial.

Pieces of Me - In other star struck irrelevant celebrity news that I read as often as possible, Ashlee Simpson and Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz has had a baby named Bronx Mowgli. I could be wrong, isn't Mowgli the name of those creatures that turn into Gremlins?

So Predictable it's Uncanny - The X-Men franchise is going for the younger actors approach (read - cheaper) that was pointed to with the last X Men movie. They've brought in the guy who made Gossip Girl and one of my favorite shows, Chuck, to put it together. I love watching Chuck yet smell a Batman and Robin coming on here.

Working for the Boss - Bruce Springsteen announced a track listing for his upcoming January CD and his new song "Working On A Dream" is hitting radio. As is his talent, Springsteen manages to capture a moment in song. To hear it, click here.

Extreme Hoax - Tonight's WWE Survivor Series includes a story line that wrestler Jeff Hardy was found unconscious at the bottom of a stairwell in his hotel this morning. I don't know how the story was presented on WWE.Com where the story originated, but it seemed to catch on with the rest of the media as factual. While wrestling continuously blurs the line between fantasy and reality, I hope this trend doesn't continue or it might cause a "cry wolf" effect when real events happen.

WWE Survivor Series - Not just a title this year, the long running PPV has the traditional team vs team format back. Tonight's PPV was a solid effort for me, here's what I recall-

• Team HBK (Shawn Michaels, The Great Khali, Rey Mysterio, Cryme Time) vs Team JBL (JBL, Miz and Morrison, Kane and MVP)- An effective match and decent opener to the PPV with a lot of running and jumping courtesy of Mysterio. Team HBK gets the win.
• Smackdown Divas vs Raw Divas- I missed some of this match, it looked like fairly typical Divas stuff. The only parts that stood out to me were the pop Mickie James got on her entrance and the fun of watching Natalya apply the Sharpshooter on Candice Michelle. The Beth Phoenix team won, I don't know what team that is.
• Undertaker vs Big Show in a Casket Match - Heavily hyped and slowly paced, this match mainly consisted of lumbering moves that seemed to take forever. A normal thing for a "Big Guy" match to go slow but this one just seemed leaden. Even the part where Taker leg drops Show through a table didn't quite have the impact it should have. What's the new catch phrase out there? Meh.
• Team Orton (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, William Regal, Mark Henry and Shelton Benjamin) vs Team Batista (Batista, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk, R-Truth). The pace picks up again with another solid Survivor Series classic style match. Didn't see all of this one and didn't notice any real highlights, but nothing bad either.
• Triple HHH vs Vladmir Koslov for the WWE Championship - A pretty good match up, the two power houses actually focused on a mat wrestling style for most of it. This seemed to draw some "boring" chants but I liked it. Edge came back and was brought out at the end courtesy of Vicki Guerrero to be the third member of the Triple Threat match. Jeff Hardy's run in inadvertently helps Edge score the championship. To my surprise, Edge looked a little pudgy. I guess whatever Hell the Undertaker banished Edge to had a McDonalds. The extra weight didn't stop Edge from laying a killer spear on The Game.
• John Cena vs Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship - Cena's return to wrestling following major neck surgery. Like a lot of superstars returning from this type of injury, the match was the story of the neck. Jericho focused his attack on the neck, Cena sold the neck and babied it throughout the match as commentators hyped it to the point I was convinced a neck breaker might cause Cena's head to snap off the rest of his body. Cena did look rusty out there and a touch lost but one of his strengths is his ability to show emotion to the crowd. Bonus points to Jericho for sounding really concerned after kicking Cena in the head. He audibly yelled "Check him!" to the ref as Cena was left lying on the ground. It was predictable, but Cena got the win for the championship. He went into the audience to hug his family, but he looked dazed and I think he might have left a little boy hanging for a high five right in front of him. It was messy, but otherwise Cena is back on the Chaingang.
  

Cosmic Universal Fashion - The new vid is below. More greatness from the man Howard Stern proclaims "has the best teeth in Rock".

Sammy Hagar - Cosmic Universal Fashion

Midnight Madness - Ultraman Edition

I'll have to have my wife translate the writing on top. I bet Ultraman never had a problem finding a night light.

While visiting San Francisco's Japantown recently, there were a bunch of plastic dolls of fictional Japanese heroes including one of my childhood champions, Ultraman. Ultraman, the giant guy in the silver rubber body suit and a stoic finned head fighting Godzilla rejects crashing all over Japan. The guy that shoots lasers by crossing his arms. The dude that is summoned by a big pen light held by Hyata of the Science Police. What is a Science Police anyway? And why did they have to wear helmets?

Oops, got side tracked. All of these things seemed mystical as a kid, but a day later while drinking a beer at Chevy's and talking to my wife we came to an interesting conclusion. Ultraman was an early ecological role model. He received his power from the Sun and if he spent too much time on Earth he ran out of power. His chest light would start flashing like a low cell phone battery. So Ultraman had to leave the planet to get some pure sunlight, even if he was in the middle of a fight he had to take off for a little bit to get some Sun.

Ultraman was the original solar panel. He was a walking alternative energy source. His only flaw was low battery life, but it was the 1960s so maybe the fictional technology wasn't there yet. Saving the planet isn't easy. Ultraman brought us one step closer. Not really, but it was fun to say that. Now to the real madness!

Justify My Love - Madonna and Guy Ritchie are divorcing after seven years of marriage. Too bad, they seemed happy for a little while.

Peace and Love is time consuming - Beatles drummer Ringo Starr gave a drop dead date of October 20th for anyone wanting his autograph because he was too busy with "Peace and Love". I imagine being a retired rock star must be incredibly hectic, you have to decide which of multiple estates to stay at, which of however many cars you own you should take to the estate, think about what parties to attend. Yeah, with a life like that who has time for fans?

The Best Things in Life are Free - Radiohead's In Rainbows album, initially offered for any price you want including no price, made the band more money than their last major label release Hail to the Thief. Will other established bands go the same route?

Set Phasers to Stun - Star Trek XI's release date has been delayed to May of 2009. Dammit Jim, you need to get here sooner!

Faith in the Heartland - Journey's recent release Revelation has moved 500,000 copies which normally means a Gold record but because it's a double disc set it counts as Platinum. It's their first post-Perry Platinum disc. Another Wal Mart success story!

Passings - Composer Neal Hefti passed away age 85, he composed the famous Batman theme of the 60's tv series. Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops also passed on age 72, he sang lead on many of that group's classic hits. Both had created music that had an impact on my life.

Sunshine Day - Brady Bunch Actress Maureen McCormick reveals (or confirmed) the stories of sex and drugs from her past are true. I wonder if Chris Knight will include this info on his Trivial Pursuit game show?

Hustle and Flow - Actor Terrance Howard has been removed from Iron Man 2 for financial reasons. A real bummer because he seemed a perfect fit for the Jim Rhodes character. He's been replaced by Don Cheadle, one of my favorite actors because of his versatility. But Cheadle isn't who I think of when it comes to action, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Now It Makes Sense - Before the concept of music videos got old, many of them told stories that were a little abstract compared to the lyrics. Lately, there's someone rerecording these songs to have lyrics match the video. I found out about these videos from other websites including Rolling Stone so it probably means its at viral status. Below are the two videos released so far.

A- Ha "Take On Me" Literal Video Version

Tears for Fears "Head Over Heels" Literal Video Version

Magical Mystery Top 10 List

Here, There and Everywhere: The Beatles have made a lasting impression on modern culture.

It doesn't seem right to blog about rock music and not eventually hit on the touchstone that hits on all parts of the genre, The Beatles. When I was a kid I liked the Beatles, my Mom liked them and had a couple of their records which I would play often. I even liked them enough to want to see Beatlemania when it rolled through San Francisco in the 70's (a pretty good show). As I grew up I lost interest in the Fab Four, even in college when I had a roommate that played Beatles and Crowded House all the time and I just wasn't into it. Eventually, in the late 90's, I regained some fascination regarding John, Paul, Ringo and George to the point that they are sort of mood music. Mood as in if I'm not in the mood their music does nothing for me but if I am then it's sounds like pure genius. No rhyme or reason, just depends on how their songs hit me at that moment.

My casual indifference is to the point I can't even remember what originally prompted this post. Yet, whether I'm up for some Beatles or not there are certain songs of theirs I think are brilliant all the time. I tend to like their later part of their career where it got more experimental than their beat band period, but that's just personal taste. So here it is, my Top 10 favorite Beatles songs.

10. Strawberry Fields Forever

Hey, it's the beautiful sounds of "mind expansion". There is a hypnotic quality to this song with the echoey voices and off kilter mix of instruments to create a relaxed yet stimulated state. Freak Out!

9. A Hard Days Night

The one early era Beatles song on my list, I like the bopping chug a lug beat with the stark guitars and group vocals. Pure power pop from the band that practically originated it (or at least mass popularized it). I tried to find a video but came across this interesting Sims version instead. The Sims, that game was hard! I have a hard enough time trying to figure out what to do with my own time, seeing it on screen was way too much stress. Besides, my character always ended up on the floor dying and releasing his bowels. Not a pretty picture. It did give me an appreciation of the practical applications of IKEA furniture though.

8. Here Comes The Sun

Of the Beatles, George Harrison is my favorite. Not just because he is the "quiet one", but because his sturdy yet sincere approach to music works for me and of the group he's had the strongest influence on performers I like. This song seemed to be played often shortly after Harrison passed away. A pleasant, uplifting song.

7. I Am The Walrus

Another psychedelic classic, seeing this video I just had a Peter Griffin moment and thought "Holy crap, Paul McCartney is left handed!". Well hell, when wasn't he? Anyway, this nonsense spewing head trip is a triumph of tuneful melody, wound up production and bizarre impulses. So good I can't remember it ever being duplicated.

6. Eleanor Rigby

I'm surprised I didn't list this higher, seeing how strong an influence it had on progressive rock. An inspired melding of strings and vocals, the song has a unique elegance as the stabbing strings and empathetic singing takes hold. The starting point for Moody Blues and early Yes.

5. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

I like the sinister, slightly sleazy edge this song has. That plus the blues rock feel that leads up to the huge chorus "She's so...Heavy!" Even though Aerosmith later covered "Come Together", I think of that band when I hear this song.

4. Getting Better

A real upbeat, positive tune with a sharp guitar riff and some slightly trippy asides. And it makes me want to buy computers. Just a happy song, for me one of the high points of the Sgt Pepper album.

3. Revolution

I've blogged about this song before, a revved up ditty I used to listen to in my parents living room growing up. Nice memories of sitting on the rug, surrounded by fashionably dark green furniture while in my pinstriped orange and red pants (it was the early 70's). And after spending an early afternoon with Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion, who wouldn't want to change the world?

2. A Day In The Life

Although I had heard Sgt Pepper, the first time this song really turned my head was watching the Sgt Pepper movie with the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton. The next step in the evolution of progressive rock, a multisection masterpiece starting with a lonely piano based opening going to an upbeat middle before wrapping up with one of the best known final notes in Rock. Why that guy on American Idol tried to cover this is beyond me. Editing this song is like carving up the Mona Lisa to just the smile.

1. Something

George Harrison strikes again, there's a simplistic and comforting grace to this love song. The unplugged version on the Anthology album was even better. There are songs that just speak to me (not in the voices in my head way, but on an artistic level. What? The voices in my head say they agree). I wonder if Harrison wrote this song about the woman who later dumped him for Clapton? He was the dude that happened to, right?

That's my Top 10 Beatles songs, the most influential and remembered band in rock and yada yada yada. Just can't throw enough words in to state their importance to music and Rock & Roll.