Midnight Madness - Money In The Bank edition

Today's WWE Money In The Bank PPV is not going to be ordered by me (costs too much), although I'm pretty curious about what's going to happen. I watched this week's Raw and part of Smackdown tonight and saw some exciting stuff happen. Big Show vs Mark Henry is sporting some pretty big spots (smashed cages and tackles off the entrance stage), there are multiple ladder matches (as 'ol J.R. would say, look at the carnage!) and the CM Punk / John Cena feud is the most engaging one I've seen in the 21st Century (mainly due to Punk turning shoot (a parenthesis within a parenthesis, another level of the dream world (shoot is wrasslin lingo for going off script and speaking truthfully) here's the kick out of the second parenthesis) into a meta angle all to itself). It's a rare spike in WWE energy we're seeing here. Looks good.

Don't Talk To Strangers - Or police officers, Rick Springfield was recently charged with a DUI and not charged for allegedly threatening to kill the officer's family. It's hard to tell what's sadder, that the aging teen king is still (allegedly) wasted on drink or that a murderous threat from him is so feeble the police don't bother to do anything about it.

World Start Turning - For you Springfield fans, you may notice I used a RS song title here. Almost by accident I got into watching The Core, that disaster movie by numbers flick from 2003 starring The Next Karate Kid Hillary Swank. It was a surprisingly watchable Armageddon rip off. Being a Bay Area guy I did find the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge segment a bit insensitive imitating the Loma Prieta earthquake. Between the San Francisco fictional disaster depicted in the movie and the film title, I found my mind wandering to Eric Clapton's "The Core" and "Mean Old Frisco". It's all Slowhand's fault. Damn you Clapton, you're supposed to change the world not end it!

J.Lo and Marc Anthony split up - I'm not a huge fan of either one nor dislike them either, have the impulse to write something sarcastic about this but I actually feel bad for them.

Harry Potter and the something something something dark side is in theaters - and since I've seen none of these movies, I'm glad the series is ending. No more billboards or tv commercials clogging up my eyesight. Since I haven't seen any of these flicks who knows, maybe I missed out on the story of a lifetime. But I doubt it.

How I Met Your Stoner - Kai Penn is lined up to be in the upcoming season of How I Met Your Mother. Will they go for the obvious "eating sandwiches" gag?

Owner Of A Lonely Heart part 20: This Time It's Personal - Yes has released a video for their new single "We Can Fly". Enjoyed the song, the vid clip had a vision that waaayyy exceeded it's budget. It was reminiscent of their famous "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" clip except with the look and feel of a made for Syfy movie like Megapython vs Gatoroid. Still this is better than no video.

Midnight Madness - Clarence Clemons Edition

Sad to read about Clarence Clemons having a stroke over the weekend. I certainly hope the best for his recovery. He always comes across as a pleasant guy and I think anyone who cares to know is already aware of his many musical contributions. Update: Clarence Clemons passed away today Saturday June 18. RIP Big Man. Thanks for the memories.

Tears Are Falling - in less critical bummer news, looks like Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons are gonna break up on his reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Even though I thought a decent portion of the show seemed scripted in recent years, I thought they did a good job of appearing genuinely affectionate of each other. Guess not.

Yes They Can - as hypocritical as it is, I can't say I was terribly psyched when Yes replaced singer / lyricist Jon Anderson. Which is funny considering how many bands I still follow from the 80s that have changed singers more often than underwear. So I was only mildly interested in their upcoming CD Fly From Here until I saw Trevor Horn was producing. Making this a roundabout (wink, wink) way of following up 1980's Drama album. Damn you Yes, you got me psyched again!

How Super is Super 8? - the flick has good buzz and nice advertising which has me thinking it might be pretty good yet not wanting to run out and see it immediately. Or am I just resistant to the invocation that this might be classic Spielberg by proxy? 'Cause I find it hard to believe anything can be that good.

Stone Cold - it's sad and aggravating people were prepared to rob and kill singer Joss Stone. I assume she was targeted for being rich only, I don't remember anything controversial about her that would piss people off to the point they'd want her dead. That's some cold blooded stuff.

Attack Of The Reruns - in rerun season, relying on new eps of Tosh.0 and The Avengers for tv viewing survival.

It Was A Good Day - Between playing Grand Theft Auto IV and hearing Music Choice on occasion I've heard this Isley Brothers song a lot. "Footsteps In The Dark". It's really grown on me.

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July everyone! Today is Independence Day. This year I'm commemorating Holidays and what not with songs from Yes. It was a little tough picking a Yes song for this day, seeing how they are a British band and all, until I remembered they covered Paul Simon's "America". Let freedom ring...

Happy Fathers Day!

It's the end of Father's Day so I thought I would give a shout out to all the Daddies in the house. I've been commemorating a bunch of stuff with Yes songs this year so I don't see why today should be different. So today's selection will be "Circus Of Heaven" from the Tormato album of 1978. Yes music can be a little twee sometimes and this certainly qualifies, though it totally mass retains a certain innocent charm. Happy Father's Day everybody!

On To The Heart Of The Sunrise

The Fragile record came with a small booklet that included this picture, another fantastic painting from my favorite artist Roger Dean. His stuff is freakin' awesome!

I'm getting pretty pumped about finishing off this list, we're just two places away from reaching the creme de la creme, A#1, numero uno, top dog, big cheese, ichiban-my favorite album of all time. We're not there yet though, so here's the next to check off the list:

Number 3: Yes - Fragile (1971)

1. Roundabout

The first time I heard this song was the shortened version at my first Yes concert during the 90125 tour. While I liked the tune, I didn't love it until I borrowed my Aunts three record live set Yessongs (1973). Where the 90125 band's version was faster and swervy, the Classic Yes live version had the thrilling rapidfire keyboards of Rick Wakeman and the jagged riffs of Steve Howe. I was so used to the heavy electric guitar driven live version that it took years to get used to the record version, driven by Howe's acoustic guitar. "Roundabout" with it's light touch eventually liked the best, Howe's feathery riffs and Bill Bruford's syncopated style gave Chris Squire's gutteral bass, Wakeman's swirling keys and Anderson's childlike voice room to roam. Of the live performances I've seen of the band (I've seen them eight times), my favorite was on the Union tour (1991). But then, I can say that about a lot of Yes songs because the Union concert is one of my all time favorite concerts. The double drum work of Bill Bruford and Alan White together in the midsection was incredible!

The song has become the litmus test of all Yes members, each player has put their own spin on it through the years. Below is 1973 and you can also see 1975, 1985, 1991 and 2004.

2. Cans And Brahms

Each member of the band got a solo track on Fragile, the first on the record was Rick Wakeman. Fragile marked Wakeman's debut with Yes and on this track it shows why they enticed him to join. A cavalcade of keyboard sounds mark this cut. Very regal and fancy sounding. Though my favorite solo is the "Excerpts From The Six Wives Of Henry VIII" with the police siren sounds on Yessongs, this was good too. My Dad likes Classical music, when he heard this in the car he was happy to tell me what song it was.

3. We Have Heaven

Jon Anderson had his solo song next, the characteristically spacey riddle filled "We Have Heaven". Sort of Beatlesish with the jangly guitar and a gaggle of repetitive phrases sung in different melodies. A riddle trapped inside of an enigma. Peace, Brother! Jon Anderson can get a little Hippie Dippy on his own. Are you not of The Body? Do you not know the will of Landru?

4. South Side Of The Sky

An unusually dark sounding song for Yes, with it's burgeoning groove and climbing vocal melody. Storm sounds add to the mystique as I feel more and more like one of those Lord of the Rings characters listening to this track. Let me help you Mr. Frodo! Like "Heart Of The Sunrise" it breaks down to a Wakeman piano bit in the middle before going into a softer vocal driven part of "La la la la la"s. Sort of like the eye of the tornado, all peaceful before the raging wind resumes. That section was a beautiful moment when I saw them perform this on the Classic Yes tour of 2002. The first time I heard "South Side..." was when my College roommate (also a big Yes fan) brought the record to our dorm room. It's still amazing.

5. Five Per Cent Of Nothing

The two Yes drummers, Bill Bruford and Alan White, are two of my favorites at that instrument in music history. Bruford's style was heavily jazz influenced and his solo cut reflects this as the band lays out its jazziest track for about a minute or so. I think the song was named for the band manager's cut, it's been awhile I think that's what it's for. I'm too lazy to look it up.

6. Long Distance Runaround

It took me time to warm up to this song, it seemed to simplistic at first. The piano and guitar running in this matching pattern that goes around and around, speeding up and slowing down in harmony. Another song that grew on me, particularly after the aforementioned Union tour where the Fragile lineup held the stage together for the last time. Listening to these five musicians attack the song twenty years after it was released was a marvel. Yes is about the synergy of talented musicians to me and "Long Distance Runaround" with it's scampering tact, pensive chorus and snazzy grooves is pure genius.

7. The Fish

Chris Squire had the best solo, the spidery "The Fish" that fades directly from the close of "Long Distance Runaround". That pick axe beat of Bruford and Squire's chipping and bubbling bass lines create a unique experience in sound. Add some chanting and you've got some Hippie madness going on. Squire is a killer bass player, one of the few to really expand on it as a lead instrument. Long a staple of his live bass solo (along with part of "Tempus Fugit"), when the Doctor is in you've got to pay attention as he plucks the strings and bounces around the stage. "The Fish" makes me think of those 70's style films where you see images in their negatives, little white fish darting around against a green backdrop like they were X-Rayed through a mist.

8. Mood For A Day

When it comes to acoustic guitar, Steve Howe is the best for me. His playing on "Mood For A Day" is like a nice sunny afternoon at the Renaissance Faire. Huzzah! Howe is one of the most physically expressive guitar players I've seen, not flashy but honest. His moves are awkward and gawky which enhances the honesty of his playing. When my wife and I saw them in '97 we had good seats and caught Howe on a night when he was gettin' down. The way he kicked into "Siberian Khatru" was stellar. Thanks Bunny!

9. Heart Of The Sunrise

It was rumored to be partially influenced by King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" which does have a slight resemblance. Listening to "Heart Of The Sunrise" is like watching the seasons pass by, the rapid fire groove repeats and changes gradually each time it repeats again. Maybe the organ pattern has changed, maybe there's a drum roll instead of a straight beat, but it changes. One of their most dynamic songs, it rises and falls like the Ocean and geez it makes me feel all spiritual and shit. My strongest memory is seeing this song heavily featured in the movie Buffalo '66 where the flash editing matches the beat down to the sudden arch breaks. In second is when I recorded Classic Yes off the radio in the early 80's, I had an epiphany when I realized Anderson was using his voice purely as an instrument. Up to that point, I had never heard singing like that.

For fun, the link is of Yes in '98 so you can get a little Igor Khoroshev in on the keyboards. A fine keyboardist.

Yes has had many different musicians over the years and I'm a fan of pretty much all the incarnations of this group (though the jury is still out for me on temp singer David Benoit. I just don't know about him). They are the pinnacle of Art Rock and heady ambition. One last thing, I often wondered if Bachman Turner Overdrive's Not Fragile album was titled as a response to Yes? Probably not, but it sounds good doesn't it?

Change Making Changes

I'm making some changes to the blog to see if I can make it more interesting, I felt like it was getting a little stale so I put on a new coat of paint to make it look purtier. Along with the change of template I would like to make more changes to the look of the thing if I can figure out how to do it. I'll also try to be a little more creative with my posts, until this week I thought my writing was stuck in a rut so I'm going to try being a little looser. So we'll have to see what I can come up with. In the meantime, I noticed this year I've been using Yes songs to landmark things so this means it's time to feature "Changes" from the 90125 album.

Mr Mike's AOR Project 1989

In 1989 Arena Rock saw equality towards the sexes as the number of female rockers rose. It was like the 25th century had arrived.

Here we are, the dream we all dream of. It's 1989, the last year of my car CD set of 80's Arena Rock. In 1989, the tide shifted towards female rockers as Lita Ford, Vixen and others took hairspray and spandex back from the boys for a moment. '89 was also the start of the last wave of Arena Rock that would last until Kurt Cobain would wipe them all off the face of the earth in '92. But that is the future, it's now 1989.

Disc 1:

Danger Danger - Naughty Naughty

The the band band with with a a love love of of repetition repetition enjoys their moment in the sun.

Joe Cocker - When The Night Comes

Bryan Adams was a killer ghost writer, coming up with gems for Loverboy, 38 Special and Mr. Cocker in addition to his own sizable catalog. I got into this song when it was heavily advertised in commercials for the Tom Sellick flick An Innocent Man. I'm innocent I tell you! Can't you hear the Joe Cocker song in the background? If that doesn't say innocent, I don't know what does.

Vixen - Edge Of A Broken Heart

Speaking of songwriting, the all girl rock band that clearly took inspiration from the Wilson sisters turn out a Richard Marx jam.

Great White - Once Bitten Twice Shy

Before they became synonymous with tragedy, Great White was a second tier hard rock unit that rode a Mott the Hoople tune to #1.

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe - Brother Of Mine

4/5ths of Classic Yes unite for some of that ten minute razzle dazzle excess they were famous for.

Signal - Does It Feel Like Love

To my surprise, this group finally became available thru ITunes so I now have this album after all these years. Brilliant power ballad cheese.

Blue Murder - Jelly Roll

Guitarist John Sykes came up with a lot of those magic sub-Zep riffs that Whitesnake's David Coverdale howled into hits before a failed coup attempt led to his dismissal. With "Jelly Roll", Sykes made some nice backwoods Metal.

Winger - Seventeen

Kip Winger took a second away from crafting his perfect hair and stubble beard to write this pop metal classic. Guitarist Reb Beach shreds all over the place and Winger goes for the perfect bass player spin move.

Bulletboys - Smooth Up In Ya

You can't have an Arena Rock set and not include the Bulletboys. You just can't.

Tesla - Love Song

Sac Town's favorite sons made it to the big time thanks to this power ballad. I know it's just me, when I hear the acoustic opening some of it sounds like the Buck Rogers theme to me. Love is gonna find a way Wilma Deering!

Lee Aaron - Whatcha Do To My Body?

Canada's Metal Queen has important questions and demands answers.

Joan Jett - I Hate Myself For Loving You

Jett's second #1, who would have known this would become better known than "I Love Rock and Roll"? This is now her signature tune.

Richard Marx - Satisfied

Marx wrote the Vixen track while still riding high on his own success, the lead single from his Repeat Offender album was pop rock brilliance.

Guns N Roses - Patience

Axl Rose chills out for a pleasant acoustic ballad. Maybe a song that best describes GNR fans who have to wait decades between albums.

Bad English - When I See You Smile

A Reeses peanut butter cup of a supergroup, ex-members of Journey and The Babys team up for one of Diane Warren's best known power ballads.

Disc 2:

Doobie Brothers - The Doctor

The Bay Area boogie band lays off the McDonalds and returns to their "China Grove" roots. Still my favorite Doobie Bros song.

Alice Cooper - Poison

70's shock rocker Alice Cooper couldn't get arrested most of the decade until he toned down and glammed up a little.

TNT - 10,000 Lovers (In One)

10,000 lovers? Better get tested wanna be Wilt Chamberlain.

Joe Satriani - Big Bad Moon

The Satch man shreds a plenty on Coldplay's next hit. Really looking forward to Chickenfoot, hope it lives up to the hype.

Shooting Star - Touch Me Tonight

Long running AOR group makes it to the end of the decade with their biggest smash hit (I think it made it to like #76 on the pop charts).

Warrant - Heaven

This group felt like a paint by numbers sort of rock band to me, case in point - generic power ballad. And yes, I play this one loud because that's what I like!

Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood

The Crue close out their peak period with one of their best riffs, no one could deny the power of it.

Lita Ford - Kiss Me Deadly

Where ex-Runaways band mate Joan Jett went for leather and attitude, Ford was about curves and sex appeal. Years later Weezer would borrow the verse melody from "Deadly" for their hit "Hash Pipe".

The Cult - Fire Woman

All of those believers were validated when The Cult finally crossed over to a broad audience thanks to this blazin' hit.

Skid Row - 18 And Life

I'm not a fan of Skid Row yet it seemed wrong to deny their place in history...

Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire

...or as Billy Joel would say "Flash in the Pan / Sebastian Bach / on the Rolling Stone cover / AIDS shirt / punch out fans / Slave to the Grind / We Didn't Start The Fire..."

XYZ - Inside Out

Don Dokken had protege's, yes, I'm not kidding. XYZ, not to be confused with the failed Yes and Led Zep combo, were actually pretty good and got on the radio with this chugging anthem.

Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You

After resisting releasing "Never Say Goodbye" as a single from Slippery When Wet, Jon Bon Jovi gave in to the power ballad loving audience demands with awesome results.

Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator

The Beantown boys cemented their comeback with one of their best jams, a swinging ode to being stuck between floors.

Queen - I Want It All

A few years before his demise, Freddie Mercury and the band still had that talent for triumphant rock anthems.

Strangeways - After The Hurt Is Gone

Smooth AOR as it was meant to be done.

Trevor Rabin - Something To Hold On To

80's Yes fans left in the lurch by Jon Anderson jumping ship to ABWH were given something to hold on to with Trevor Rabin's solo album Can't Look Away.

And that was the '80's. I haven't decided if I'll continue up to '92 or back track thru the 70's yet so that's all for this project for now. Seacrest out.

Midnight Madness - Record Store Day

This week is support your local record store week so today I will be doing my duty by going to the only store in town. While I don't purchase vinyl anymore and don't plan to today, Rasputin's is the local record store in my town (though I guess Best Buy counts too now that they've been pushing some vinyl for collectors). After starting to listen to a lot of music in my early teens, I have a lot of memories of going to record stores. I've been to Tower Records (now defunct) all over California and in Seattle, perusing through 45's of the Top 100 singles and latest releases of the day. The overpriced music chains Wherehouse, Musicland and Sam Goody, now all but extinct, also have a lot of hours of my time logged.

As much as I like digital music's convenience (I like it a lot), I also like the shopping and evaluating of the physical artifact. That's why one of my favorite things to do is to go to Rasputin's and shop through their $3.00 bin of used CDs. It's a thrill to sort through a pile of crap like Britney Spears or N'Sync Cds to find Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks or Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare hidden in the crowd. So support your local music store, because someday soon they will probably be gone.

Go Bunny! - My wife made her weight loss goal this week (as posted on her blog here). Great job Bunny! She is also doing really well on Wii Sports Tennis. Her score is now over 2000.

Close to the Edge - A Prog Rock fan's dream tour is coming up with Yes and Asia hitting the road together. It will be the original Asia lineup along with the Jon Anderson-less Yes. I should be more excited about this tour but having seen outstanding performances from both bands in the past coupled with my expectation that they couldn't top what I've already seen, I feel indifferent. That is, until the actual tour date in my area arrives at which time I'll regret not going but probably forget about it the next day.

American Idol Update - The judges finally exercised their "get out of jail free" card by sparing Matt Girard from elimination this week. My question is, why? Girard is likeable and has talent but I don't think he stands a chance of winning. They're going to feel real stupid if a front runner gets voted off next week. Performance wise for movie week Quintan Tarantino directed the singers and did a good job of it. Particularly with Anoop Desai, Tarantino gave direction to sound more like Bryan Adams on "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" which I thought was a huge mistake until I actually heard it sung. It was one of Desai's best performances. Underdog Kris Allen gave a committed, emotional performance of "Falling Slowly", my favorite performance of the night. The judges, or at least Simon, have their sights set on 'Lil Rounds after she gospelized "The Rose" and was accused of copying the original. I think it was a bad move to use the save this week because next week is Disco week. On that week anybody can burn baby burn their way out of the show.

Hogan Knows Best? - Hulk Hogan was recently quoted as saying he "understands O.J." after being asked about his ex-wife. Fortunately, I don't think Hogan would really do anything to his ex, it's just not a good thing to say though. But if Linda Hogan suffers an injury by a leg drop, we'll know who to point the finger at.

Live To Tell - Madonna was injured after falling from her horse when it was startled by photographers. I didn't know she rode horses, I thought horses...never mind.

The Spector of Guilt - Famous record producer Phil Spector was found guilty of murder after what seemed like a long trial. He can now add iron bars to his wall of sound.

Drunken Master - Jackie Chan offended a huge chunk of his own Country by saying that Chinese people "need to be controlled." If that were true, shouldn't China outsource it's government to another race of people then? Because the government there I assume is made up of Chinese people. Just doing the math here.

No Home On The Horizon - Malibu residents object to plans for a new home planned by U2's guitarist The Edge. The makers of MTV's Cribs begin crying in their sleep.

Passings - Bad week for superstars from the '70's. Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, a Detroit Tigers pitcher who had a big start to his career before it tailed off, passed away this week. Also one of the first porn stars, Marilyn Chambers, met an untimely end.

Rule Brittania - Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle pulled off two amazing feats: Delivering a tremendous performance of a Les Miserable song and making a magic moment in reality tv.

Not Obsessed - The latest movie to saturate the television is Obsessed, the Beyonce' hatin' on cheaters film coming up. It's commercial is on like every ten minutes. What troubles me is apparently all movies must be one word titles now. Like we don't have the attention span left for a two or more word title.

Speaking of hatin' on cheaters...-Mel Gibson is in for an expensive divorce from his wife of 28 years and is rumored to have been a little on the unfaithful side. You know that point where a celebrity has had so many public embarrassments where they stop being funny and are just sad. I'm sorry to say Mad Mel has hit that point. Still like most of his movies though.

The Best of What's Around - I don't know if it's still going, the Dave Matthews Band is giving away their first single from the new album as a free download on their website. "Funny The Way It Is" is a pretty good tune.

Passion and Warfare - Since buying it from the $3.00 bin, I've been playing Steve Vai's CD a lot because it's really really good. Great pick Bunny! So to wrap things up, here's a video for the best known song from the album, "For The Love Of God".

Steve Vai "For The Love Of God"

Mr Mike AOR Project 1987

I had this poster up on my wall back in the day, right next to James Bond.

1987, the year that will live in infamy. It lives in infamy because it was the year that Arena Rock's most infamous incarnation took hold of the mainstream. Hair Bands! Spandex, hairspray, makeup, party hearty anthems to work up a sweat and mushy ballads to make mascara run, went for middle America's jugular and took first blood. So flick your bic and hold it high because we're rocking like Amadeus into 1987 (and yes, "Rock Me Amadeus" was 1986).

Disc 1:

Sammy Hagar - Give to Live

The Red Rocker was feeling very "peace on earth and goodwill to men" on his contractually obligated solo album a year after joining Van Halen.

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

Remember back when Tawny Kitaen wasn't all jacked up? Doing cartwheels on fancy cars seemed so simple then. She gave David Coverdale a reason to twirl his mic stand.

Guns N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle

One of the definitive rock anthems of the decade, Axl Rose's screeching over Slash's rampaging riff is 80's rock magic. It's still often used as a story telling device when a show or movie wants to introduce urban blight. As for me, I thought of this song often when I worked at a Marine animal theme park a year later.

Survivor - Is This Love

The last Top 10 hit for the AOR legends was this spiffy pop rocker with a Steve Perry style vocal hook. Love the cascading keyboards on this one.

Yes - Rhythm of Love

Guitarist Trevor Rabin thought it would be funny to make a Yes song about sex. And in that context, it is pretty funny.

Genesis - Tonight Tonight Tonight

What started as an eight minute prog album track turned into a 30 second beer commercial phenomenon which led to a three minute pop hit. They don't call Progressive Rock "Math Rock" for nothing!

Bonfire - Sleeping All Alone

Cutout bin classics Bonfire generate some heat.

Europe - Carrie

Swedish meatballs Europe wipe away the tears with sheer power balladry.

Bob Seger - Shakedown

What was supposed to be Glenn Frey turned into Bob Seger's monster hit to the Beverly Hills Cop 2 soundtrack. Shakedown...take down...you're busted!

Heart - Alone

One of the best remembered of all the power ballads, Heart's dramatic take on I Ten's song raised the bar on glossy theatrics. That's why it gets sung every year on American Idol.

Patty Smyth - Downtown Train

Before an, er, trainload of people got the idea to cover this Tom Waits song the ex Scandal singer had her take on it.

Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive

Ok, there's such a thing as too much ego and Jon Bon Jovi's comparisons of this song to "Stairway to Heaven" back in the day is a clear example. It's a great song, who doesn't want to be a cowboy on a steel horse or see a million faces and rock them all ?

Motley Crue - Girls Girls Girls

Some magazine had a caption for this song I can't beat. It said something like "L.A. Rockers ode to the titty bars they love." That's downright poetic.

Bryan Adams - Heat of the Night

A guaranteed hit song as the first single of a new album following Reckless, Adams hits a heavy groove that he would never touch again in the years of movie soundtrack love songs that would come later.

Aerosmith - (Dude) Looks Like A Lady

And with one fell swoop, Aerosmith replaced the Dallas Cowboys as "America's Team" with a fired up declaration to transgender issues.

Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms

A big year for (parenthesis), I was watching VH1's one hit wonders of the 80's and everyone came to the conclusion that this song is about sexual climax. Huh huh, I said "came". I still think that guitar lick was pilfered from "Der Kommisar".

Andy Taylor - Take it Easy

Barney, Opie and the gang get together for one last song on the porch before Otis stumbles in and eats Aunt Bea's Apple Pie. Ex-Duran Duran guitarist took his shot at Arena Rock glory and came up with this decent nugget for Mitch Gaylord's American Anthem movie.

Disc 2:

Dokken - Dream Warriors

One, two Dokken's after you. Guitarist George Lynch tries to outshred Freddy Kruger and wins.

The Outfield - Since You've Been Gone

I saw the band perform this live before the second album dropped, I was so sure this was going to be a big hit. Little did I know the public had enough Outfield from the first record.

Tesla - Little Suzi

It was practically Sacramento, CA's theme song in the late 80's as the local boys made good. Last year during MTV's celebration of their channels launch I found out this was originally a new wave song by a different band. Had no idea!

Cinderella - Nobody's Fool

You know, that girl's tilted clock hat fad never really took off. Cinderella started with flash and glam before bloozing things up a few years later.

Night Ranger - The Secret of My Success

Nothing says Flashback like a theme song to a Michael J Fox movie co-written and produced by David Foster. Throw in the synth horns and this is like Chicago on steroids.

Bon Jovi - Livin On A Prayer

Jon Bon Jovi delivers his masterpiece, a brilliant mix of talk box effects and escalating chorus vocals. I watched this interview with Desmond Child one time, he said he gave this song a Latin flair. Another one of those things I would have never guessed.

Georgia Satellites - Keep Your Hands To Yourself

The Satellites gave Southern Rock a good name and for a second seemed to have a strong future.

Ace Frehley - Into The Night

Space Ace took his leave of KISS to record some decent songs including this sly rocker. Last night the video came on VH1 Classics, it's powerful stuff.

Great White - Rock Me

Maybe one of the best song titles in Arena Rock, this long cut stealthily sneaks up on you and then shifts into overdrive. So sad what happened at that club years later.

Boston - We're Ready

A sort of forgotten hit even though it made the Top 10, it is almost never included in Boston's greatest hits comps. I have no idea why, it's wicked awesome.

Jet Boy - Feel The Shake

A great 80's rock band name if there ever was one, Jet Boy hit the afterburners on this anthemic tune.

REO Speedwagon - That Ain't Love

It threw everyone for a loop, Kevin Cronin grew a mustache! He looked all old and goofy with that thing on, made it hard to take him seriously. Ironically, with a bitter song like "That Ain't Love" Cronin was asking to be taken seriously. He looked like a snake oil salesman.

Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly

This was all over the radio back then, it was the first Pink Floyd song to be listenable since The Wall in 1980. Tongue tied and twisted just an Earth bound misfit, I.

Foreigner - Say You Will

No more head games, Foreigner made one of their patented midtempo pop rock jams the first single. A game of wordplay reigns supreme, say you will, say you won't, say you do, say you don't...damn, they've got a lot to say.

Rick Springfield - Rock of Life

It was rough not being able to squeeze more Genius into these CDs, but fortunately '87 was a weak year for AOR. Springfield takes a Sting like quality in the verses before slamming into the shifting chorus.

Fleetwood Mac - Big Love

I was so convinced it was Stevie Nicks making those little gasps countering Lindsey Buckingham's. Turned out both gasp noises were Buckingham, he just sped up his voice on the second set.

Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

You may think being in love with a Mannequin is wrong, but who are you to judge? You can't put limits on love! The heart wants what it wants.

Looks like we're heading towards the end, just two more years to go in this magnificent decade. Don't hate '88, it's almost here.

Mr Mike Project 1984

Game, Set and Match: The future Mrs. McEnroe transforms into a Kabuki looking super heroine armed with fingers that can shoot walls of heartache.

In 1984 MTV became the undisputed center of the music world and three things happened to AOR as a result: First, the channel pushed a lot of L.A. Pop Metal in the wake of Quiet Riot's success leading to a lot of exposure for bands from the Sunset Strip. Second, established AOR bands saw a lot singers either get pushed to the forefront or make solo albums to become full on "stars" in their own right. You ended up with lengthy titles like Scandal featuring Patty Smyth, leaving no secret who the star of the show was regardless of the band name. Third, AOR started to become more homogenized as outside songwriters like Holly Knight ("Better Be Good To Me", "Never", "The Warrior") became standard issue to aspiring pop rockers. Because of this I tend to think of '84 as the Star Search year or Go Solo. Here's my two CDs for 1984.

Disc 1:

Russ Ballard - Voices

The erstwhile songwriter (Santana's "Winning") recorded some stuff of his own, including this track that became a minor hit following heavy exposure on Miami Vice.

The Firm - Radioactive

Jimmy Page + Paul Rodgers should equal greatness, yet all they could muster was one memorable song. I guess the name Bad Zeppelin would have been too definitive.

Motley Crue -Looks That Kill

The kings of the lipstick and leather crowd, Motley Crue first hinted at Satanic danger on their second record led by this lethal dose of Pop Metal.

Arc Angel - Tragedy

Really from 1983, Arc Angel (not to be confused with the post Double Trouble band) pushed themselves to the bottom rung of the charts with this nice ditty.

Ratt - Round and Round

Few mastered the "street urchin" look (bright colored torn clothing, fishnet and poodle hair) like Ratt did and for four minutes they were in hook city with this winner. And every guy air guitared that Warren DeMartini guitar solo and then mimicked the finger pointing straight up on the part where Robbin Crosby takes over.

Gary Moore - Empty Rooms

Back in the day, my neighbor friend used to tape records for me and put a Gary Moore album on the B side of each cassette in an effort to make me a fan. All these years I'm still not a fan, but this song is good.

Honeymoon Suite - New Girl Now

Another artist to gain a lot of exposure via Miami Vice, this Canuck quintet hit pay dirt with this synth backed hard rock anthem.

The Cars - Drive

Talk about a no brainer of a song title, Ben Orr's lovely ballad was a monster hit.

Black n Blue - Hold on to 18

I often regarded this band as a sort of pleasant joke, hard to believe when they started out they actually rocked pretty hard. Probably should have included later material from them when they were more plastic.

Stone Fury - Break Down The Wall

In the Reagan era everyone wanted to break down walls. Lenny Wolf was no exception, rockin it a few years before Kingdom Come.

Utopia - Crybaby

Todd Rundgren's prog rock dream child turned in a decent Pop Rocker with a classic Runt style swaying chorus.

Autograph - Turn Up the Radio

Another band that caused some name confusion (The Russian band of the same name was featured during Live Aid) distinguished itself with a tall ass lead singer and a drummer that defines 80's music vid posturing.

Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart

The song that started a way of life for me as a Yes fan, spiffy Trevor Horn production puts a nice shine on Trevor Rabin's pop rock glory.

Orion the Hunter - So You Ran

Guitarist Barry Goudreau strikes, filling the Boston void with his version of the beantown AOR band. And he does a real fine job of it here. Would you believe the singer's name is Fran Cosmo?

Steve Perry - Oh Sherrie

The Journey singer proves he doesn't need anyone else to find success on this ode to his then girlfriend. Although he would record two more Journey albums, Steve Perry's solo hits marked the end of an era for me. Journey was never the same afterwards. Doesn't change the fact that this song rules!

Tommy Shaw - Girls with Guns

The Styx axe slinger escapes Mr. Roboto land and turns in his most upbeat song...ever? Zippy synths and slammin drums power this track about - you know what it's about.

Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane

Every sports program and half time show owes a debt to the German metal band's best known song, one of the greatest Pop Metal songs ever. Here I am!

John Waite - Missing You

After dismissing Jon Cain's "Open Arms" as too syrupy, the ex-Baby's singer lets out a ballad of his own backed by a track made for school dance remixes.

Disc 2:

Van Halen - Jump

Eddie Van Halen adds more synthesizer to their antics and David Lee Roth finds inspiration in suicide jumpers leading to the band's biggest pop hit.

LRB- Playing to Win

The Aussie Country rockers drop the Country and most of the letters in their name (Little River Band) putting manic keyboards in its place. Freakin' love this cheesy song.

Whitesnake - Slow and Easy

Proof that before David Coverdale was ripping off Led Zep he was...ripping off Led Zep. But few have done it better then or now.

Sammy Hagar - I Can't Drive 55

This seems less rebellious now that the speed limit is 65, at the time this was probably the biggest protest song of the 80's. Sure other generations protested wars, social injustices and what not but we, we protested the speed limit. Take that!

Giuffria - Call to the Heart

One of the great unsung AOR bands led by keyboardist Gregg Giuffria (ex-Angel). They were the minor leagues of AOR with ex band members later going to Quiet Riot, Dio and Boston.

Dennis DeYoung - Desert Moon

Now free of Tommy Shaw, nobody could stop DeYoung from going full on Broadway or his sappy love songs. This led to one of DeYoung's best ballads, the reverie of "Desert Moon".

Bryan Adams - Summer of 69

In the 90's Adams revealed this song was not about the year '69 but the sexual position. And if anyone wants to imagine his pockmarked craggy mug between some girl's legs all I can say is Nasty!

ZZ Top - Legs

The Texas trio found a stream of never ending gold with this cut. Long beards, spinning guitars and Playboy models made this simple yet effective rocker easy to swallow.

Foreigner - I Want to Know what Love Is

For better or worse, Mick Jones and Lou Gramm turn the corner from rock band to balladeers with this unforgettable #1 smash. The gospel choir puts magic in this slow moving inspirational track.

Night Ranger - Sister Christian

Soaring guitars, bic lighter choruses about "motoring" and earnest vocals mark one of the definitive power ballads of the decade. Or if you watch Boogie Nights, great background music for drug dealers.

Slade - Run Runaway

Quiet Riot's cover of their "Cum On Feel The Noize" brought this British glam rock band back for one more round of goofy fun.

Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It

Speaking of goofy fun, Dee Snider's costumed metal band summed up media inspired teen rebellion with a classic vid clip placing them against the bad guy from Animal House. Between this and Sammy Hagar, teen rebellion seemed so canned back then.

Scandal featuring Patty Smyth - The Warrior

Or if you go with Smyth's New Yawk enunciation, "The War-Re-Uh", shootin up them walls of heartache. Bang! Bang! I remember a friend of a friend gettin' pissed off whenever this song came on, he considered it the dumbest song ever. Good times (I didn't care for that guy).

Van Stephenson - Modern Day Delilah

Sleek pop rock that makes me want to cruise L.A. at one AM. Don't ask me why.

Survivor - I Can't Hold Back

Two of the greatest voices in AOR, Jimi Jamison and Starship's Mickey Thomas, combine on one of the Chicago band's best songs. And that music video was pure Risky Business.

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band - On The Dark Side

Bruce Springsteen's chief acolyte came up with a strong Boss pastiche. Michael Pare', where are you now?

Toto - Stranger in Town

"Stranger in Town" has been sort of shunned by the band after its release rarely making Greatest Hits or Best of comps despite the fact that it charted. Sure it's a silly song with boogie man vocals and a lyrical theme that makes no sense on the surface other than bizarre xenophobia. But still, it charted (it hit like #30 on the pop charts or something like that).

John Parr - Naughty Naughty

You know what really sold me on this song? When they used it for commercials in a vampire movie called Near Dark. Something about that advertisement really got the rhythm hook jammed in my brain and I haven't forgot it ever since.

And that was 1984. Next we go to the heart of the 80's, 1985!

Anniversary Day Flashback

Friday March 6th is the 15th anniversary of my marriage to my wonderful wife. To commemorate this day, I will flashback to 1994. We were driving through the mountains to go to our wedding and there were two songs that came on the radio that always remind me of that day.

The first is "Amazing" by Aerosmith. The song was part of some countdown on the radio and the dj told the story of Steven Tyler. Tyler was described on the radio as a shy person who changed after high school into the extrovert he is now. My wife (fiancee' at that moment) pointed out that I could make changes too, like Steven Tyler. While I am no where near the extrovert that Steven Tyler is today, I have made some changes along those lines to be more outgoing. Anyway, when I hear this song I often think of the support I received and the time spent with the person who would become my wife.

The second song is "The Calling" by Yes. I am a big Yes fan and was unaware at the time that the prog rockers were recording a new album. The surprise and thrill of hearing a new song from a favorite band I took to be a good omen (though I am generally not superstitious).

I was hoping to get this post up during my anniversary but fell short of finishing it off in time. It's been a wonderful 15 years and many more to come! I love you Bunny!

Valentine's Day

For my wife I say "I love you, will you be my Valentine?"

It's Valentine's Day! Some consider this to be a great romantic Holiday. Others consider this to be a day created by marketers of the florist, greeting card and chocolate industry. My personal experience has been if you're with someone it's a great day and if not, it just magnifys the fact that you're single. Sort of like a societal annual audit of your love life. Thankfully, I have been happily married to my wonderful wife for almost 15 years. 15 great years. I really couldn't be a luckier guy.

So I dedicate this song to my wife. It doesn't sound romantic, but she'll know what it means :)

Yes "And You And I"

The Mr. Mike Project

I haven't been posting much lately, mainly because my free time has been spent burning CDs for my car. Burning CDs for car stereo playing should be an easy task - unless you're a music obsessed person who likes to hear things a certain specific anal retentive way. In my case, for a long time I've wanted a set of CDs to play that focus on my favorite genre of Rock music: Arena Rock.

Arena Rock aka AOR for Album Oriented Rock is the ultimate expression of Rock music for me. Rock music stripped of deep meaning, endlessly hooky with flashy instrumentation and choruses meant to be shouted in basketball stadiums and hockey rinks. This is the least respected of all Rock music genres. It's referred to as Corporate Rock, Commercial, Lowest Common Denominator Appeal, the list goes on. Heavy Metal, Punk, Alternative rock all have nice shiny well researched box sets to sum up their styles nicely. But Arena Rock? Arena Rock gets clumsily slapped together comps from Time Life or what not, endlessly repackaging Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" with Warrant's "Cherry Pie" in every way conceivable. Plugged, unplugged, original recording, re-recording - so many different ways to do the same thing over. So I've set out to make my own box set of sorts, a bunch of CDs that follow the evolution of Arena Rock from it's early 80's zeitgeist to it's evolution into Hair Metal with bits of Soft Rock, Hard Rock and Prog Rock thrown in. And yes, "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" is included.

I debated on if it was worthwhile to blog about this, but dammit if you can't be excessively self indulgent on your own blog then where can you do it? I burned two CDs for each year in the 80's and to kick this thing off is the magical year 1980. The Seventies had just ended, Disco was dead, Punk and the New Wave were threatening to become the main voice of Rock as 70's Arena Rockers steamlined their sonics to include comfy synthesizers. To represent this wonderful time of tube socks and George Brett chasing a .400 batting average, here's my two CDs of 1980.

Disc 1:

The Tubes - Talk To Ya Later

Fee Waybill and his Bay Area gang of theatrical misfits tried to have it both ways by selling out and being ironic simultaneously. With the help of Producer David Foster and axe man Steve Lukather, they made it work for two albums.

Santana - All I Ever Wanted

I didn't hear this blazing track until I bought the Greatest Hits CD, my wife was sooo happy she knew a song that I didn't.

Jefferson Starship - Girl With The Hungry Eyes

A Bay Area trifecta, Paul Kantner lays down his last decent song about the girl with the perfect lips.

The Sherbs - I Have The Skill

Cheap guitars and cheaper synths make the magic on this ditty with the brain dead lyric "If there's a chance, I'll take my chances". And yet this song's hook sticks in my head for days.

Greg Kihn - The Break Up Song

Bay Area rock continues with this Kihntageous track. they don't write 'em like this anymore. They also don't write "Jeapordy" or allow it for download either. WTF!

Ted Nugent - Wango Tango

Well, had to include something from the Motor City Madman even if the 80's weren't kind to him. Wango Tango has a good dose of the wild crazy Nuge that he's famous for.

Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight

The first single from Phil Collins as a solo artist suggested he would be keeping a Genesis based prog pop approach, but a few years later he was bopping to Su-Su-Suddio and lamenting every social cause under the Sun.

Alan Parsons Project - Games People Play

Before Dr Evil had them create the "LASER", Alan Parsons had this driving ode to empty nest syndrome.

Meat Loaf - Dead Ringer For Love

The follow up to Bat Out Of Hell didn't disappoint, other than in terms of popularity, song quality and record sales. But still, this manic riff on "Summertime Blues" is outrageous fun with a game Cher throwin' 'tude to boot.

AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long

It's now a rock & roll standard, AC/DC's biggest hit delivers a monster hook with all their sleazy urgency intact.

Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell

C'mon, it's Sabbath with Dio. How can anyone say no?

Joe Walsh - All Night Long

Another oddball (same disc as Ted Nugent), Joe Walsh's struttin' rocker is a classic good time jam.

Journey - Any Way You Want It

The definitive Arena Rock band kicks out the definitive Arena Rock anthem or at least a killer ring tone.

Queen - Another One Bites The Dust

Freddie Mercury and co. find a way to make a slightly menacing dance song with a disco beat. Probably one of the best remembered songs of my generation.

J. Geils Band - Love Stinks

The Boston rockers serve up Stonesy swagger with a biting sense of humor to create an anti-love song.

Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Pat in her original sexed up body suit wearin' tough chick persona, taunting the object of her affection backed by future husband Neil Geraldo's slashing guitar.

Kenny Loggins - I'm Alright

The beginning of his Soundtrack God reign started with this feel good classic that broke him out of his Yacht Rock shell and powered the film Caddyshack.

Rossington Collins Band - Don't Misunderstand Me

Surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd initally formed this unit, showing that while Ronnie Van Zant's charismatic story telling was gone they could still stir up a commotion.

Disc 2:

Yes - Tempus Fugit

The only Yes album to not feature spacey singer Jon Anderson showed the aging proggers in a more punky, new wavey form.

Donnie Iris - Ah Leah!

He looked like Buddy Holly while bringing a unique personal touch to anthem rock.

AC/DC - Back in Black

The Aussie rockers bring down a burgeoning riff that makes every man, woman and child believe they're a badass.

Loverboy - Turn Me Loose

Like a Reeses Peanut Butter cup, this Canadian quintet mashed together Arena Rock with New Wave in an innovative way. And they even brought tha funk too.

Genesis - Turn It On Again

Nobody writes concert opening tracks like Arena Rock bands and Genesis fired up rock geek nation with proggy classiness.

REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You

One of the original power ballads, REO drove to the top of the charts with this love song for guys who like to hear their voice echo and the girls who like to hear them.

Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train

Randy Rhoads plays on this. You do the math.

Touch - Don't You Know What Love Is

I didn't find out about this band until a few years ago, they're fondly remembered among the melodic rock crowd. I've got to admit after hearing this song for a week, I'm hooked.

Angel - I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out

Still not sure if this is from 1980 or 1978 but I figured what the hell, gotta have some Angel. Mainly known as the dorky band that wore all white and tried to rip off Van Halen's version of "You Really Got Me" a few months before VH's debut, Angel keyboardist Gregg Giuffria would go on to form a group I really liked, Giuffria.

Michael Stanley Band - He Don't Love You

Remember when hard working bar bands could write clean cut good time rock & roll and sell it to people?

Judas Priest - Living After Midnight

A headbanging party anthem for the ages all done up in spikes and leather.

April Wine - I Like To Rock

Canada strikes again, no other country (not even the States) had an appreciation for meat and potatoes Arena Rock quite like our neighbors to the North. Watch in awe as the Myles Goodwin simply states his case and then interpolates the Beatles "Daytripper" towards the end.

Heart - Even It Up

The last gasp of classic era boogie rock Heart, when the public would see them again they would have gaudy clothes and hair teased up to the stratosphere.

The Babys - Back On My Feet Again

Just before joining Journey, keyboardist Jon Cain teamed up with AOR mainstay John Waite for two albums of strong Arena Rock. This clean, anthemic ballad hinted at what was to come.

Jackson Browne - Boulevard

Browne was still trying to keep up with the times in the 80s as he applied his literate lyrics to straight ahead pop rock like this tune.

707 - I Could Be Good For You

I just wrote about this song recently, a sleek piece of pop rock straight from the Bay.

Billy Squier - The Stroke

'Ol Billy dominated Arena Rock for a few short years, kicking it off with this inventive ode to, uh, rowing his boat?

Rush - The Spirit of Radio

"But glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity, yeah." Is there a better lyric in 1980? I think not!

That's it, my first two CDs of my Car CDs are done. Of course I couldn't fit in nearly all the songs I wanted to, but if I did include all those songs I would end up burning probably 100 CDs instead of just 20. Next time this story continues, we'll be in 1981!

A Historic Day

Wow, time files. I meant to post on MLK Day but did something else and now I've almost missed Inauguration Day. As everyone on the planet knows, today was Barack Obama's first day as our new Commander in Chief. I watched the CNN coverage until a little bit after his official inauguration and his excellent speech. It's great to have a President who is up front about the challenges facing us and inspires hope with intelligence and leadership. But enough politics, I was going to use Aretha Franklin's song from today to end this post but I thought that was a little lazy, so I racked my brain to see what other song I could come up with to fit this moment. Journey's "Don't Stop Believin"? Great song, though I still think of the White Sox and The Sopranos. A Bruce Springsteen song? That's as predictable as using an Aretha Franklin song. Stevie Wonder, U2? Both are great inspirational artists that often get used for these purposes. Van Halen's "Dreams"? It fits, I just usually think of military action from that song. Must have been that Blue Angels video. Nope, I wanted to dig a little deeper. Oddly, the song that eventually sprang to mind is one of the lesser known songs from one of my favorite bands . Yes' "Open Your Eyes" was a pretty good fit for me, it espouses optimism and breaking free from old established ways. So on this great day can I post some Yes? Yes I ...well, you know the rest.

Yes "Open Your Eyes"

Midnight Madness - Lethal Weapon 2 Edition

Riggs and Murtaugh go after the bad guys in Lethal Weapon 2

The first two Lethal Weapon movies are among my favorites of all time, the mix of action and humor enhanced by Richard Donner's splashy direction are film making benchmarks to me. Lethal Weapon 2 had more jokes so I tended to like it a little more than the first film. The combo of Mel Gibson's tortured yet amused killing machine cop and Danny Glover's retiring old school family man cop had great chemistry, enough to carry them through two more sequels. I'll have to expand on this more some other time, but for now I just want to give a shout out to the Lethal Weapon movies, back when L.A. cops were considered cool, Mel Gibson was fun instead of demeaning and action was done with actual stunt people instead of CGI. Am I getting too old for this sh*t? Nope, just wanted to throw in a movie quote.

I've got two weeks to catch up on for media news, so here it goes -

Phish Food - The 90's jam band Phish are reuniting for live dates. I'm too lazy to come up with a good joke so here's the words "granola", "hacky sack", "porta potties", "hemp" - use as needed to have a laugh.

Get the Led Out - Robert Plant confirmed he's not involved with any Led Zep reunion, which is probably the right thing for Plant to do for himself but bums out millions of people. We should try to convince Plant to do it as part of an economic rebuilding plan for America and Europe. Because if they reunited they could charge just about any price they wanted to, why not pay off some national debt with it? C'mon Robert, the world needs you!

Apple of my Itunes - Catastrophe was averted a week ago when ITunes successfully beat back a rate hike from the record companies this week. If the hike had gone through, ITunes was threatening closure from loss of profitability. Sure ITunes has lower bit rates and lousy DRM in their downloads compared to say Amazon, but it's still hecka convenient. And I'm still lazy!

Living in the Future - Bruce Springsteen is set to play the halftime show to this season's Super Bowl. Please-no wardrobe malfunctions or phallic guitar stances, Boss. That would be scary.

The Magic is Back - There's talk of a Lethal Weapon 5 going around which would be great, except it sounds like the whole thing is going to be recast. That means no Mel Gibson, who has been away for awhile following his bad press and could probably use a comeback vehicle. Bring Gibson back I say, all he has to do is be nice to people of other races, sexes and sexual orientation. On second thought, maybe they should recast. Mel Gibson, dude, what happened to you?

Dr Bombay, come right away - Both Janet Jackson and Meat Loaf recently spent time in the hospital for undisclosed illnesses. Hopefully both performers will recover soon.

Ain't It Fun - The latest word all over the media is that Axl N' Rose's, er, Guns N' Roses long gestating album Chinese Democracy is set for a November release. And once it hits shelves, if it sells well I'm betting on a flurry of lawsuits over writing and performance credits because so many people have come and gone from these sessions over the years.

Romeo's Delight - After a very public divorce from Valerie Bertinelli, guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen is engaged to be married a second time. I wonder if EVH plays at his own weddings? It's not like he can find someone else that's better, plus I bet he gets really good rates on the wedding band.

Tempus Fugit - Yes is continuing with tour plans sans Jon Anderson, who bassist Chris Squire claims now supports the newly configured band. Hopefully if Anderson doesn't return to Yes, he'll be able to form another band out of ex-Yes members. It's happened before, why not again? Anderson, Bruford, Moraz and Rabin??

"I'm a smart person, what the hell was I thinking?" - is the sound byte in the making from the early word on Spears upcoming MTV special. Britney Spears continues on her carefully paced comeback trail with the release of the new single "Womanizer" complete with "Toxic" style video. Later there will be the aforementioned special coming where she allegedly explains some of her recent behavior. Personally, I've never been that into Spears music beyond "Toxic" (a good pop song, regardless of who sings it in my opinion) and have found her meltdown mildly entertaining but it's probably best for her own health to get sane again. But what you say about her company is what you say about society, I think Spear's recent career has said a lot about the pressure on young performers, the invasiveness on celebrities lives by media and the public's need for provocative dancing girls. If I was still in college, she would be a thesis paper onto herself.

Lethal Weapon 2 Trailer

Midnight Madness - Family Guy edition

It's been a crazy week not just in media but for the country. $700 Billion dollar bailouts, Failed banks, Presidential debates with circular language, dizzying number talk and endless references to meeting General Petraeus (my ignorance is revealed in that I had no idea who this guy was before the debate, but I do like that there's a bit of a Star Wars quality to the name). It helps to have a laugh in times like these so I'm happy to say tonight is the season premiere of Family Guy. Freakin' Sweet!

Paul Newman - The screen legend of great movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke and The Sting passed away this week. Newman was the rare type of movie star that had talent, intelligence, charisma and a sense of modesty.

One More Try - George Michael was arrested for drugs yet again. C'mon George, get that monkey off your back!

Yours is No Disgrace - Jon Anderson has revealed that he was on the outside of the decision to replace him. This makes Anderson join the long list of lead singers ousted due to illness and means Yes must be pretty hard up for some cash these days. Sad to see one of my favorite bands sink this low. Yes has often been about exaggerated prestige, but at this rate it won't be long before Yes has to play "Roundabout" at county fairs; right between the puppet show and the mime troupe. Yes...now hear Tales From Topographic Oceans with free kettle corn on admission.

So much for the little training cruise - Star Trek actor George Takei married his boyfriend.

Done With Mirrors - Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler is suing to stop impersonators of him online. I hope he's successful, anything that reduces internet identity fakery is a good thing.

Mainstream Rock Chart: Thought I would check out what's on Billboard this week. After watching these videos, I thought it was interesting that there is a return to sleaze and hot girls in a big way with mainstream rock. More of a party atmosphere instead of the sad tales of woe style held over from the 90's. Let's see what the kids are listening to these days:

5. Staind - Believe : Speaking of sad tales of woe, Staind excelled at that when I first heard them. I casually liked Staind in 1999 when they ushered in the alt rock power ballad era with "It's Been Awhile". I haven't listened to them since that Break the Cycle disc, the sound here is a little more upbeat than before yet still manages to be mopey. The video here is all about going against the grain, being that rock n roll rebel in a slightly spiritual way. It's alright, I don't love it or hate it.

4. Hinder - Use Me : If Steven Tyler is suing impersonators, he may want to check out the :20 second mark of this vid. Hinder is a band where I don't always feel the song but appreciate the approach. A young band that plays music the way they envisioned 80's hard rock was (girls, big guitar solos, sleazy themes, girls, Cribs style houses, fancy cars and girls) I saw them open for Aerosmith a while back and thought their songs needed work. "Use Me" doesn't really change my mind I think the song is decent but not mind blowing. Nice video though.

3. AC/DC - "Rock N Roll Train" : They still do one thing only. And they still do it better than anyone else. And both numbers 4 and 1 owe a debt to this band, it's like they knew the original was coming and wanted to jump on the bandwagon.

2. Metallica - "The Day That Never Comes" : I think I've covered this song twice before, I can't think of much else to add.

1. Theory of a Deadman - Bad Girlfriend : This song continued the Hinder theme as the vid was all about a band rocking out while strippers entertained a bunch of guys. I like the song, hadn't heard it before tonight, nice slide guitar part and rushed vocals placing the group somewhere between alt hard rock and bar band. And now I know what TOaD is, I've seen the name around but never heard an actual song. Not bad. Well played, Deadman, well played.

Song of the Moment- The news has been depressing lately on almost all issues affecting the country and some other issues have come up which has brought this song to mind. It doesn't fully fit the situation, but the chorus about going to hell in a bucket but at least I'm enjoying the ride works for me.

Grateful Dead "Hell in a Bucket"

Midnight Madness - Sledgehammer Edition

While looking this old tv show up, it turns out that Sledgehammer co-star Anne Marie Martin (right) married and divorced author Michael Crichton to the tune of 30 million plus. That's a big chunk o' change!

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Couldn't help but notice Sledgehammer actor David Rasche got a featured role in the new movie Burn After Reading, bringing back fond memories of the short lived tv show. The Clint Eastwood / Dirty Harry take off was a fun dose of exaggerated action movie and detective show cliche's. Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

More Drama? - Yes has announced they've gone the You Tube route to find a singer to fill in for the ailing Jon Anderson. It seems to be done with Anderson's consent and he's been replaced once before (by the immensely talented Trevor Horn), though with mixed results. But it really seems pointless for Yes to do this, since they have not been an active band for a few years and the reason for a 40th anniversary tour is to celebrate the existing group members being together. And while the new singer can copy Anderson's voice well, you just can't duplicate his space hippie Jesus juice persona that is key to a lot of Yes music. Singers in other bands can be replaced successfully if they're better known for a vocal style rather than a distinct personality. Anderson's random lyrics, trippy talk about other dimensions of existence and the ethereal nature of the songs need his mojo to function. Looks like this is a done deal, so I guess all I can say is good luck Yes.

Barracuda: The musical - A week after debunking the RNC for using "Barracuda", Heart hits the press again to announce intentions of recording a concept album. I hope they use this opportunity to expand on the story from the "What About Love" video. We can get to the bottom of why Nancy Wilson had to be poured out of a bronze mold and how come there's not fifty of her if you can do that? And why is Ann Wilson wearing a mask with a lit blowtorch when you're waiting for bronze to cool? And why are the rockers in Victorian garb while sweaty models work in dirty rags? I sense class warfare and alchemy at work. The answers to these questions that have plagued my mind can finally be brought to light!

Riddle me this, Batman - Johnny Depp is either confirmed or not confirmed but definitely heavily rumored to be the Riddler in the next Batman flick. You can always expect the unexpected with Depp so if its true it should be interesting.

WoOoOoOoOoOo! - Retired Wrestler Ric Flair got a black eye from a fight with his daughter and another person. The daughter was arrested for assaulting an officer arriving on the scene (she got tazed). Apparently, Flair's daughter didn't understand that the whole "To be the man, you've got to beat the man" wasn't meant for outside the ring. I find it interesting that this isn't considered elder abuse, Flair is 59 years old.

It's not women's figure skating - Movie critic Roger Ebert was intentionally hit in the leg by another movie critic during a film screening. Ebert had wanted the other critic to stop blocking his view of the screen by leaning out of the seat. Somewhere, Tonya Harding is saying "Good, Good! Let the hate flow through you."

Is there a guitar legend he won't work with? - http://www.melodicrock.com/ reports the band Chickenfoot is recording. Made up of Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony (Van Halen) and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) the group is said to have a Led Zep feel. Following the demise of Planet Us, this news has potential.

Speaking of guitar legends... - http://www.melodicrock.com/ also reports that Ywgnie Malmsteen has a new album coming out as well.

?Se Habla Espanol? - I find some humor in the song below called "One Semester of Spanish Love Song". A brief note, you may have to turn up the volume on the You Tube bar at the bottom of the menu because it starts off at zero volume for my computer. It may do the same on yours.

"One Semester of Spanish Love Song"

Mr Mike's High School Record Collection: Yes - Big Generator (1987)

Yes looked to generate some heat after a lonnnggg lay off in 1987's Big Generator

This is a tale that begins in November of 1983. When I first started to listen to a lot of music in the early 80's, I had a neighbor next door (also named Mike) who was into rock and would lend me his records and tapes. When not trying to push Gary Moore on me (Mike was convinced Moore was the talent of the century) he would send other items of interest and one was Yes. I knew of Yes because my Aunt was a fan, though I didn't know any of their music at that time. My friend said "You like Asia, well Yes is better because they have two singers. Listen to this." He handed me Yes 90125 and it started a worship for this band that has never stopped.

I played 90125 to death, I knew it backwards and forwards. I saw Yes not once, but twice on tour in support of this great album. The catchy pop rock choruses, the psuedo intellectual lyrics, the whiz bang production and sterling musicianship made this a constant favorite. So after their tour ended in 1984 I anxiously waited for a follow up. In 1985, a new Yes record was coming! Uh...Yes! No! It's a crappy live album 9012Live: The Solos. '86. There's got to be a new Yes album in '86, look how long they have to record it. Well, then again, maybe not because no new album. And then, Big Generator was released in 1987.

When it was released, my College roommate and I were both big fans of Prog rock so I often think of that guy when I think about Big Generator. We even went to the Yes concert together in 1988 and played this CD often in the dorm room. So, Clive, this one's for you where ever you are buddy.

1. Rhythm of Love

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This song had a lot to live up to, Yes West fans like me had waited for an eternity to hear new Yes and all we had been given was the toss off 9012Live (1985) record instead. The frilly opening was perfect and then the track lunged into an OK pop rocker about sex. Over time, the song would grow on me as it became a staple of Yes West performances. I love the guitar solo as it is great to hear guitarist Trevor Rabin cut loose while bassist Chris Squire lumbers about. This was the second single from the record and the biggest hit (I think it reached #30 on Billboard). There was a dance remix of this song that was pretty crazy and was used to open shows on this tour.

2. Big Generator

...or as I like to think of it, the Yes jumble. A sort of scrambled song with a slowed down "Owner of a Lonely Heart" guitar riff, heavily mixed vocals, cascading keyboards and a great part where drummer Alan White and guitarist Rabin race each other on their instruments. The song sort of represents the album which was alleged to take a long time to make due to the band's famous ego battles following the success of 90125. Once the dust had settled, 90125 producer Trevor Horn had left taking his art of noise with him. But my main memory of this song was live, where lead singer Jon Anderson decked out in all white with white eye makeup prancing from one end of the stage to the next for the audience sing along of the chorus. Ever the Astral Traveller, Anderson is a one of a kind performer and I mean that in the best way.

3. Shoot High Aim Low

Arguably the biggest hit on the album wasn't a single, "Shoot High Aim Low" dominated album rock radio for a few years and deservedly so. The song showed Yes West stretching out with juxtaposed lead vocals by Rabin and Anderson plus an ominous mood. Fine guitar work by Rabin textures the track and drummer Alan White shines as the song pairs down to a single beat. When cranked up over the Dorm PA system, that beat kicked ass! That and the jackhammer sound at the beginning and end of Rush's "Force Ten". At any rate, this track was the artistic pinaccle of Yes West.

4. Almost Like Love

So what song should follow one of the best on the album? One of the worst. "Almost Like Love" was almost like bad as a hippie trippy rocker with Blues Brothers style horns plastered on top. The lone redeeming feature was hearing Trevor Rabin cut loose in a way he usually reserved for live performance. There's many bands that benefit from dipping into their R&B roots. Yes ain't one of them.

5. Love Will Find A Way

The lead single that hit about #40 on Billboard, "Love Will Find A Way" has been pointed to by Yes fans as the deal breaker for the Classic Yes following. I guess there was a lot of backlash about the poppiness of the song, personally it's one of my favorites. From the fancy strings at the beginning to the vocal trade off between Rabin in the verses and Anderson in the chorus, its all magic to me. Even the harmonica solo couldn't bring me down. And keyboardist Tony Kaye even does a little something (many of the keyboards of Yes West were by Trevor Rabin though Kaye gets full performer credit). Originally intended for use by Stevie Nicks, Rabin took the song back after the other band members heard the tune and wanted to do it. Giving us another Yes song with a totally awesome dance mix.

6. Final Eyes

A sort of rewrite of "And You And I" for the 80's, its a great song with Rabin's pleasant strumming guitar and atmospheric synths. A nice vocal blend in the chorus and Anderson really shines with some of his best lyrics of the album.

7. I'm Running

One of the strangest songs in the Yes canon, combined with "Final Eyes" it showed some of the Classic Yes mentality starting to creep into Yes West. A song filled with Nuclear fear, "I'm Running" brings back some of the epic longform songwriting the band was once known for. But what makes it different is this inexplicable Latin feel. The song jumps from this dancing Latin beat to a sleek Arena Rock groove and then the Classic Yes style of revisiting the chorus with a slightly faster performance each time around. It's a really good song, even if it is the equivalent of chocolate in peanut butter. And Tony Kaye shines again with a great keyboard part.

8. Holy Lamb (Song for the Harmonic Convergence)

During my summer job, I had this foreman that was asking each employee if they knew what the Harmonic Convergence was when he was handing out pay checks. If they said they didn't know, he threw their pay check on the ground for them to pick up. So when my turn came up, I said Yes. He asked me what it was and I faked it and said it was when all became like one. So he handed my pay check. I had no flippin' clue what the Harmonic Convergence was, but thanks to the song title I had heard the words before and could get by. Even after hearing this song, I had no clue. I looked it up once, I still can't remember what it meant. So what this song means to me is I got handed my pay check instead of picking it up out of the dirt. Thanks Jon Anderson!

Big Generator was a commercial disappointment compared to the previous record. Hmmm...I wonder if the four year wait had something to do with that. Anderson was very unhappy at this point in the bands career, he had come in at the tail end of the 90125 recording sessions so he didn't have a lot of influence over the bands sound at that time. He asserted himself more during Big Generator leading to...what's the phrase? Too many leaders and not enough followers? Anyway, between Anderson, Yes West creative guru Trevor Rabin and super Producer Trevor Horn the ego battles tore down the band. After the tour, Anderson would jump ship to form Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe in an attempt to reboot Classic Yes. But that is another story.