Best Music Video EVER!

I miss the days when you could turn on Much Music and you knew you were going to see an actual music video. I suppose the same thing goes for MTV in the U.S.

Back in the 80's when these two channels came on the scene they were driven by the music video and to be honest, there have been some amazing, groundbreaking, controversial and technically stunning music videos over the years.

When I think back to my teen years and the hours I spent watching Much Music and the videos, I think of it not as time wasted but as the soundtrack of my youth.

The first video that really peaked my interest was by the Canadian singer, Gowan and the song "A Criminal Mind". As it turns out, it's still one of my favourite songs by a Canadian but the video sold me on it. "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits was another cool video back in the day and arguably the best of all-time is probably "Thriller" by Michael Jackson.

Of course there were some duds in there as well. Among those I'd include the group Right Said Fred with "I'm Too Sexy" and Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" to name just a couple. Honestly, there are just too many to mention.

One video was filmed not too far from where I live and is by the Canadian band Honeymoon Suite. They shot the video in Prince Edward County in Ontario and at Sandbanks Provincial Park. The song was "Wave Babies" and it starts off by taking a ride on the Glenora Ferry which of course is still in operation today.

But on rare occasions a video comes along that just makes you stop and stare. You become transfixed by what you're watching and no matter how hard you try, you just can't look away. Such a video came along in 2004 and it has the rare combination of falling into the category of being just an awful song with a compelling video. Have a look at it for yourself and see if you agree. I give you Eric Prydz with "Call On Me".

Live Aid 25th Anniversary

Twenty-Five years ago on this very day I witnessed one of, if not the greatest concert of all-time. I am of course speaking of Live Aid which took place on July 13, 1985. The concert was held in two different countries in both London and Philadelphia and was seen by a record worldwide audience.

I’ve written about Live Aid once before on my blog so I won’t go too deeply into the details and my memories but this was the concert for my generation. You can read my Live Aid blog from 2007 here.

Sir Bob Geldof of the band The Boomtown Rats was the driving force behind the show. He saw the shocking images of people starving in Africa and felt compelled to act in some way. Money needed to be raised to help those who were starving to death. The “Global Jukebox” was his idea. Not knowing if it could be done or if people would be interested in getting involved, Bob went about contacting fellow performers both young and old and one by one they answered the call. Any artists who didn’t take part likely wished they had after it was over.

I don’t think I fully understood how truly amazing the concert was as a then 16-year-old music fan. To me it was something that had never been done before with separate concerts on two different continents and performances from other locations. Live satellite feeds were still relatively new and untested for something of this magnitude and there were a few minor glitches but nobody seemed to care.

Sitting in front of my television from the early morning hours until late in the night I was tuned to the concert on Much Music; the relatively new Canadian music video channel. Every so often J.D. Roberts (now known as John Roberts on CNN) would come on between sets and talk with other VJ’s about what we were seeing and who was yet to come.

The line-up of performers was as star-studded as it could possibly be. Anyone who was worth listening to at that time in history made their way on stage. Among my personal favourites were Queen, U2, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Phil Collins, Duran Duran and Howard Jones. Of course they were all fantastic. Freddie Mercury was at his best with Queen and sadly we lost his amazing talent only six years later.

It was a concert that defined a generation; much like Woodstock had in the 60’s. Many others have tried to duplicate the impact of Live Aid but none have succeeded. It was one of those events that happened at the exact moment in time it needed to with the right cause to unite the world.

Classic Tunes That Should Never Be Covered

I love music. Well, I love most music. I'm not a big country fan but every now and then one or two will slip through and make it on to my iPod.

As a music lover there's one thing I absolutely hate and that's when new artists are so talentless that they can't write their own music and have to record another singers music from the past. Now if that original song sucked to begin with, then I don't mind so much. However, when some musical "genius" takes a classic song by a legendary artists that has no business being covered, that really irks me to no end.

There are too many songs to mention here that I feel should either never be covered or if they have already been destroyed, they should never be covered again.

The one song that I instantly think of that never should have been touched by anyone is "(Sittin' On The Dock) of The Bay" by Ottis Redding. Here's a song that is not only a classic but was recorded by a legend who died shortly after. Sadly it was later recorded by several artists including Glen Campbell, Percy Sledge and Willie Nelson, but when Michael Bolton recorded his brutal version that just about killed me. Even to this day when I listen to it I want to rip off my ears.

Another that comes to mind is one that my older readers might not know much about but for anyone who grew up in the 70's and 80's The Ramones were the leaders of the Punk movement and their song "Blitzkrieg Bop" was both influential and fun to dance to. It sickens me to see other groups taint the legendary status of this song but the version by Rob Zombie is just awful.

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" recorded by the Rolling Stones in 1965 is probably their most well known song and in the realm of rock classics, they don't come much better. Yet in 1977 the American New Wave band Devo did their best to kill this song.

The whole reason I thought this would be a good topic is because I heard one of my all-time favourite rock songs of the 70's was remade yet again and I believe it is one song that nobody should be allowed to touch. The song is "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. The sad part is that this song is probably one of the most covered tunes in history with at least 100 different interpretations but none compare or ever will compare to the original. The latest version, while being sung by a great female vocalist, still makes me want to cry...and not tears of joy. Mary J. Blige, while giving it her own variations, remained somewhat true to the original. However, I doubt she's ever seen a hedgerow in her life.

Like I said, there are so many classic songs that in my mind should never ever be recorded by anyone other than the original artists and I don't have the room here to mention them all since I've barely scratched the surface.

I think what really makes me shake my head in disbelief is how kids today hear the remake of a great song and they have no clue that another group or artist recorded it first. A prime example of that would be the song "Africa" by Toto which was recorded in 1982. It was recently redone with a modern twist by Karl Wolf. So sad.

If you think there's any other songs (I know there are) that should never be covered, please feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

Holiday Ho Hum

I'm having a heck of a time trying to get into the holiday spirit this year.

Why I'm not feeling jolly is a mystery to me. Perhaps it's just the fact that it doesn't feel like Christmas yet. It's plenty cold enough and we've already had snow but I can't come to grips with the fact that it's mid-December already.

I've finished half of my Christmas shopping and still have a few more gifts to buy. Actually, I'll have to come up with some ideas before I make any more purchases before the 25th.

Of course having to take my car into the shop to replace my second windshield in less than a year has me feeling somewhat humbugish.

I think what I need is some holiday punch and some musical holiday tunes to put me in the mood.

So, here are a couple of my favourite Christmas tunes to jump start my cheer and for you to enjoy as well.

Merry Christmas Baby by Bruce Springsteen


The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole

1980's - Best Decade Fer Sure

The years 1980 to 1989 were by far the most radical years for almost everything gnarly. The decades that followed gagged me with a spoon. The 80's were bad (meaning good) while the 90's and 2000's were just plain groody.

OK, I'll cool it on the 80's speak for now since many of you would probably just be lost if I kept it up. The language of the 80's had a life of its own and was quite colourful to say the least. Words and sayings like "Tubular", "Bodacious", "Hoser", "Like, oh my God", "That's the Ticket","Psyche" and "Totally Awesome" were being used in every day conversations. I have to admit I used them all quite often back in the day.

I consider myself quite lucky to have been a teenager during the 80's as it was truly the greatest decade I've experienced so far for so many reasons.

NEWS
The 80's had its share of news events both good and bad as well. Among the most memorable for me were:
- Terry Fox and the Marathon of Hope and his passing - 1980
- Mount St. Helen's Volcano eruption - 1980
- John Lennon being killed - 1980
- Attempted Assasination of Ronald Reagan - 1981
- The death of John Belushi - 1982
- The Live Aid Concert - 1985
- Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion - 1986
- Nuclear Accident at Chernobyl - 1986
- The Berlin Wall falls - 1989
- Tanks in Tiananmen Square - 1989

There were countless other moments but these stand out to me. Here's video of the attempt on Ronald Reagan's life.


MUSIC
When it comes to music, your efforts to convince me otherwise will fail as the 80's were by far the best decade for tunes. I really don't even know where to start. Some of the best artists and groups that excelled in the 80's were around prior to then but their popularity soared during this time. Bands and artists like Pink Floyd, Queen, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Journey, AC/DC, Billy Joel, Elton John, Michael Jackson and The Police were already established but flourished with huge hits.

The bands and individuals that came along in the 80's created the soundtrack for my youth. To this day I still love U2 and they are by far my favourite band of all time. Other great hit makers that I loved included Prince & The Revolution, Madonna, Phil Collins, The Cure, The Cult, The Smiths, Howard Jones, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Motley Crue

When it came to names of bands, they didn't come any better or stranger than a-ha, Alphaville, Bananarama, Flock of Seagulls, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Kajagoogoo, Men At Work, Psychedelic Furs, Scritti Politti, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, Nik Kershaw, and Wang Chung. The 80's music is still as popular today as it was back then.

Of course one big change was how we listened to music. Today's it's mp3's, CD's and digital files. Back then I spent my money on records, 45's and cassettes to hear the songs I loved.

One of my favourite videos from the 80's came from the band a-ha and the song Take On Me. Here's that video.


MOVIES
When it comes to 80's cinema, I'm going to steer clear of the "Chick Flicks" and "Artsy Fartsy" type movies. For me, a trip to the theatre in the 80's was about seeing what I liked as a teen and being entertained. In later years I learned to like many other movies from the decade but at the time my favourite movies from the 80's included:
- Some Kind of Wonderful, Sixteen Candles, E.T., The Sure Thing, The Star Wars movies (Empire and Jedi), Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Cannonball Run, Goonies, Gremlins, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Better Off Dead, The Breakfast Club, The Karate Kid, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, Footloose, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Batman, Ghostbusters and Back to the Future to name a few.

There were some great movie quotes from the 80's as well. Who can forget:
- "We're gonna need some new FBI guys I guess." - Die Hard
- "Wax on, wax off." - Karate Kid
- "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." - Apocolypse Now
- "Wait til they get a load of me." - Batman
- "I spent seven years in high school, I'm no dummy." - Better Off Dead
- "Listen...you smell something?" - Ghostbusters
- "Does Barry Manilow know you stole his wardrobe?" - Breakfast Club
- "I'll be back." - Terminator
- "They're here." - Poltergeist
- "Yippe-ki-yay Mother****er." - Die Hard

Here's an original movie trailer from 1985 for The Breakfast Club.


FADS / FASHIONS & GAMES
The 80's had it's own distinct style to match the awesomeness of the decade. Is that a word?

Who can forget the leg warmers the girls wore over their jeans, Swatch Watches, Rubik's Cube, Guys with one earring (guilty as charged), Neon everything, Spandex, Mullets and Rat tails, Dungeons and Dragons, Arcades with games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, Valley Girl Talk, wearing your collar up, feathered hair, 20-Minute Workout, Boat Shoes, Break Dancing, Atari video games, Rollerskating Rinks, Sleeveless Shirts, Sony Walkmans, Pop Rocks, Ghetto Blasters, Ghost Hunting at haunted houses and Moonwalking.

TELEVISION
Finally, I spent countless hours parked in front of the T.V. working on my couch potato physique and watching some of the best and worst sitcoms and shows the networks could produce. M*A*S*H was by far my favourite in the early years. Others that I never missed included WKRP in Cincinnati, Mork & Mindy, The A-Team, The Love Boat, WWF Wrestling, BJ and the Bear, Battlestar Galactica, The Cosby Show, CHiPs, Fantasy Island, Family Ties, Fame, Dukes of Hazzard, That's Incredible, Welcome Back Kotter, Wonder Years, Laverne & Shirley, Charlie's Angels and The Incredible Hulk. I'm sure there were many others but I can't list them all.

Here's the opening theme to The Love Boat. I love the guest stars.


The 80's were an awesome decade to grow up in and to experience and it was the perfect decade for me. I look back fondly on those 10 years and although I like to look ahead to the future, it's nice to have my memories to remember the past.

I Must Be Old, Today's Music Stinks

For years I wondered when I'd turn into my parents and complain about everything or most everything the cool young kids are in to. OK, my parents didn't complain about everything but when you're young it just seems like it.

Of course the biggest thing was the music I used to listen to. I could appreciate and I enjoyed the oldies that they liked. In fact I can recall dad and I sitting by the radio when I was just a kid listening to the Sunday Night Oldies on the radio. I don't recall the station but it was the music of the late 50's and the 60's.

Buddy Holly

We'd sit and listen and sing along with Elvis, Bobby Vinton, Bill Haley, The Crests, Supremes, Frogman Henry, Buddy Holly and all of the great performers of that era. Kids today don't understand that these guys were the beginning of Rock and Roll and they paved the way for the crap they listen to today.

Did I say crap? I mean music. No...I think I mean crap. Now I know I'm old.

It's not all music today that I don't like but to be honest, since about the mid-90's there hasn't been a lot of great music to choose from. I'll admit I'm not a fan of most Rap or Hip-Hop. By the way, for those of you even older than me, Hip Hop is not something the Easter Bunny does.

It also seems like every song that comes out has to have foul language in it. I don't know why today's musicians feel they have to swear to sell records. They say they're just being "real" and speaking from experience. I say they're just showing how poorly raised they were and how disrespectful they are. I don't care how much money they make or records they sell, there are plenty of other words that rhyme with "duck", "stitch" and "trigger".

There are some songs that have come out today that I enjoy but it's usually in the Adult Contemporary or Rock and Alternative categories. The odd dance song also grabs me from time to time but not too often. I don't go out too often anymore to the bars and certainly not the dance clubs of my youth but I will frequent a pub on a Friday night after the hockey game with my buddies and there's a small dance floor there where the 20-something girls are gyrating to some of today's biggest hits. Oddly enough, I don't mind that at all.

My all time favourite music comes from the 80's. I can listen to almost anything from that decade and I love it. Honestly; for me; that was the best decade of music. Who can forget bands like A Flock of Seagulls, Alphaville, Van Halen, The Cult, Kajagoogoo, Mr. Mister, Scritti Politti, Wang Chung and Depeche Mode? Or solo artists like Jackson Browne, Eddie Money, Howard Jones, Kim Carnes and Peter Schilling?

Kajagoogoo

So maybe you don't remember all of those or any of those great artists from the 80's but trust me, they were awesome.

No, my musical choices are an obvious giveaway that I'm getting older. Plus I don't even listen to my own music very loud anymore. I'm so uncool.

You may have noticed I haven't even talked about country music. There's a reason for that. I can't stand country music. My dad's a Johnny Cash fan and I can tolerate a little Cash from time to time but I'll only listen to country music if I'm forced to.

The only time that seems to happen is when I'm driving in my brothers truck in Florida since he's a redneck good 'ol boy in the south. He and his wife just built a new house and I'm sure it won't be long before he has an old Ford truck on blocks in the front yard and a swimmin' hole in the back where his future youngin's can swim when they're not whittling knives to kill the local wildlife. Yee Haw!

The one thing Country music is good for is some creative song titles. Here are a few of my favourites (these are real):

1. Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth 'Cause I'm Kissing You Goodbye
2. Her Teeth Was Stained, But Her Mouth Was Pure
3. I Wish I Were In Dixie Tonight, But She's Out Of Town
4. She Got The Ring And I Got The Finger
5. You're The Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly
6. She Got The Gold Mind And I Got The Shaft
7. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, And I Sure Do Miss Him
8. If My Nose Were Full Of Nickels, I'd Blow It All On You
   

Now those are Country songs I can enjoy.