Welcome to part ___ of my series on 90s albums that i kind of liked
This post is about another album that sometimes can be a little hard to listen to (especially the song "Truly Madly Deeply). Why is it hard for me to listen to? Like many bad things, you can link this one to a girl i was dumb enough to fall for. Anyway, back to the album.... Savage Garden was an Australian duo that hit the charts with a vengeance in 1996 and 1997. Their self-titled debut sold ok and was a pretty good album. They followed this up with a decent 1999 release Affirmation.
Notable Singles:
* "I Want You"
* "To The Moon and Back"
* "Truly Madly Deeply" - aargh
Other Singles:
* "Break Me Shake Me"
* "Universe"
* "Tears of Pearls"
The Rest of the Album: (decent or better)
* "Carry On Dancing"
* "Violet"
* "A Thousand Words"
* "Promises"
* "Santa Monica"
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Decent Albums of the 90s: Ronan Keating - Ronan
Welcome to part ___ in my series of 90s albums that, while not necessarily as good as 80s albums, were still listenable.
This post is for an album that i actually still own. The CD in question is Ronan Keating's 2000 single debut album (he was part of Boyzone), Ronan. This may actually be one of my earliest import albums. Ok, so i heard about Ronan Keating first because he was one of the main vocalists for Boyzone ("No Matter What"), then i heard some of his solo work on soundtracks - "When You Say Nothing at All", which i think was on Notting Hill Soundtrack and "If I Don't Tell You Now" from the Boys and Girls soundtrack (for some reason i like that movie). After that, i decided to look into this album and eventually bought it at Amazon.
Singles (not in US):
* "When You Say Nothing at All"
* "Life is a Rollercoaster"
* "The Way You Make Me Feel"
* "Lovin' Each Day" - on re-release, not my copy
Other Songs I Kind of Like: (that i have on my computer)
* "If I Don't Tell You Now" - one of my top 2 songs on the album
* "Once Upon a Lifetime"
The Rest of the Album: (which is definitely decent)
* "In This Life"
* "Heal Me"
* "Keep on Walking"
* "Brighter Days"
* "If You Love Me"
* "Only for You"
* "Addicted"
* "When the World Was Mine"
* "Believe"
This post is for an album that i actually still own. The CD in question is Ronan Keating's 2000 single debut album (he was part of Boyzone), Ronan. This may actually be one of my earliest import albums. Ok, so i heard about Ronan Keating first because he was one of the main vocalists for Boyzone ("No Matter What"), then i heard some of his solo work on soundtracks - "When You Say Nothing at All", which i think was on Notting Hill Soundtrack and "If I Don't Tell You Now" from the Boys and Girls soundtrack (for some reason i like that movie). After that, i decided to look into this album and eventually bought it at Amazon.
Singles (not in US):
* "When You Say Nothing at All"
* "Life is a Rollercoaster"
* "The Way You Make Me Feel"
*
Other Songs I Kind of Like: (that i have on my computer)
* "If I Don't Tell You Now" - one of my top 2 songs on the album
* "Once Upon a Lifetime"
The Rest of the Album: (which is definitely decent)
* "In This Life"
* "Heal Me"
* "Keep on Walking"
* "Brighter Days"
* "If You Love Me"
* "Only for You"
* "Addicted"
* "When the World Was Mine"
* "Believe"
Decent Albums of the 90s: All 4 One - All 4 One
Welcome to part ____ of my series on albums released in the 90s that i can listen to - well if i still had the album.
This is another post about an album i no longer have. Some people might call this light R&B. Much like fictional character Chris Brander (Just Friends), i kind of liked this album, All 4 One's self titled debut. i guess this was part of my mid 90s fascination with vocal R&B too. Their second album And The Music Speaks was decent also.
Notable Singles:
* "I Swear"
* "So Much In Love"
Other Singles:
* "Breathless"
* "(She's Got) Skillz"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Oh Girl"
* "A Better Man"
* "Down to the Last Drop"
* "Without You"
* "Something About You"
* "The Bomb"
* "Here If You're Ready"
This is another post about an album i no longer have. Some people might call this light R&B. Much like fictional character Chris Brander (Just Friends), i kind of liked this album, All 4 One's self titled debut. i guess this was part of my mid 90s fascination with vocal R&B too. Their second album And The Music Speaks was decent also.
Notable Singles:
* "I Swear"
* "So Much In Love"
Other Singles:
* "Breathless"
* "(She's Got) Skillz"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Oh Girl"
* "A Better Man"
* "Down to the Last Drop"
* "Without You"
* "Something About You"
* "The Bomb"
* "Here If You're Ready"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Shai - If I Ever Fall In Love
Welcome to part ___ of my series on the defining sounds of the 1990s - that i could tolerate. Sorry no grunge or rap.
This is another album that i haven't had for a while - the 1992 debut by R&B group Shai, If I Ever Fall In Love. For some reason, i have always liked vocal harmony - and these guy were good. i guess this album was part of my early/mid 90s brief fascination with vocal R&B. i remember going with my alleged father to a Mariners game in the Kingdome and hearing "Baby I'm Yours" blasting on a car stereo. In order for me to hear a group like Shai, they would have had to had at least a little cross-over success. i think this was probably the most successful the group ever was - mainstream. One of the problems i ultimately have with R&B is the lack of subtlety - in pop we know what they want, but they don't come out and say exactly what they want.
Notable Singles:
* "If I Ever Fall In Love"
* "Comforter"
* "Baby I'm Yours"
Other Singles:
* "Together Forever"
Other Songs on the Album i Don't Really Remember:
* "Sexual (Interlude)"
* "If I Ever Fall In Love" (Remix)
* "Sexual"
* "Flava"
* "Waiting for the Day"
* "Changes"
* "Don't Wanna Play"
* "Lord I've Come"
This is another album that i haven't had for a while - the 1992 debut by R&B group Shai, If I Ever Fall In Love. For some reason, i have always liked vocal harmony - and these guy were good. i guess this album was part of my early/mid 90s brief fascination with vocal R&B. i remember going with my alleged father to a Mariners game in the Kingdome and hearing "Baby I'm Yours" blasting on a car stereo. In order for me to hear a group like Shai, they would have had to had at least a little cross-over success. i think this was probably the most successful the group ever was - mainstream. One of the problems i ultimately have with R&B is the lack of subtlety - in pop we know what they want, but they don't come out and say exactly what they want.
Notable Singles:
* "If I Ever Fall In Love"
* "Comforter"
* "Baby I'm Yours"
Other Singles:
* "Together Forever"
Other Songs on the Album i Don't Really Remember:
* "Sexual (Interlude)"
* "If I Ever Fall In Love" (Remix)
* "Sexual"
* "Flava"
* "Waiting for the Day"
* "Changes"
* "Don't Wanna Play"
* "Lord I've Come"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Boyz II Men - II
Welcome to part ___ of my series on decent albums from the 90s.
This post is on the second album (1994) by Boyz II Men - called II. i guess this is what you would call their mainstream peak. i have been to three concerts in my life, this was one of them - i saw them at the Tacoma Dome. That is what i expect a pop concert to be - thousands of screaming girls, and me being able to hear very little. i guess this was my gateway into a little more R&B (which happened in the mid 90s). For some reason, i seem to have misplaced my CD and can't find it - so i'll go with what i remember.
Notable Singles:
* "I'll Make Love to You"
* "On Bended Knee"
* "Water Runs Dry"
Other Singles:
* "Vibin'"
* "Thank You"
Other Songs on the CD:
* "All Around the World"
* "U Know"
* "I Sit Away"
* "Jezzebel"
* "Khalil" (Interlude)
* "Trying Times"
* "50 Candles"
* "Yesterday" - decent version
* "Falling"
This post is on the second album (1994) by Boyz II Men - called II. i guess this is what you would call their mainstream peak. i have been to three concerts in my life, this was one of them - i saw them at the Tacoma Dome. That is what i expect a pop concert to be - thousands of screaming girls, and me being able to hear very little. i guess this was my gateway into a little more R&B (which happened in the mid 90s). For some reason, i seem to have misplaced my CD and can't find it - so i'll go with what i remember.
Notable Singles:
* "I'll Make Love to You"
* "On Bended Knee"
* "Water Runs Dry"
Other Singles:
* "Vibin'"
* "Thank You"
Other Songs on the CD:
* "All Around the World"
* "U Know"
* "I Sit Away"
* "Jezzebel"
* "Khalil" (Interlude)
* "Trying Times"
* "50 Candles"
* "Yesterday" - decent version
* "Falling"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Richard Marx - Rush Street
Welcome to part ___ of my series on 1990s albums that i still find tolerable today. This is part of post deluge of April 30, 2011.
This post is all about Richard Marx's 1991 follow-up to Repeat Offender, Rush Street. Richard Marx has long been a favorite artist of mine, growing up with my older sister playing the album in heavy rotation. There is something about his songs that i find appealing - maybe because i like love songs and his writing/production style. He doesn't exactly have the greatest voice. Richard Marx was the first concert that i ever went to - the Paid Vacation tour (the album after this one). It was an awesome concert despite him being kind of heavily medicated with cold medicine (at times it really showed) - it was at the Puyallup Fair. This was one of the first two CDs that i ever purchased (i want to say at a Target or Fred Meyer).
Notable Singles:
* "Keep Coming Back"
* "Hazard"
* "Take This Heart"
* "Chains Around My Heart"
Other Songs On This CD That i Kind of Really Like:
* "Hands In Your Pocket"
* "Big Boy Now" - i listened to this song a lot after my dad died
Other Songs On This CD That i Kind of Like
* "Playing With Fire"
* "Love Unemotional"
* "Calling You"
* "Superstar"
* "Streets of Pain"
* "I Get No Sleep"
* "Your World"
This post is all about Richard Marx's 1991 follow-up to Repeat Offender, Rush Street. Richard Marx has long been a favorite artist of mine, growing up with my older sister playing the album in heavy rotation. There is something about his songs that i find appealing - maybe because i like love songs and his writing/production style. He doesn't exactly have the greatest voice. Richard Marx was the first concert that i ever went to - the Paid Vacation tour (the album after this one). It was an awesome concert despite him being kind of heavily medicated with cold medicine (at times it really showed) - it was at the Puyallup Fair. This was one of the first two CDs that i ever purchased (i want to say at a Target or Fred Meyer).
Notable Singles:
* "Keep Coming Back"
* "Hazard"
* "Take This Heart"
* "Chains Around My Heart"
Other Songs On This CD That i Kind of Really Like:
* "Hands In Your Pocket"
* "Big Boy Now" - i listened to this song a lot after my dad died
Other Songs On This CD That i Kind of Like
* "Playing With Fire"
* "Love Unemotional"
* "Calling You"
* "Superstar"
* "Streets of Pain"
* "I Get No Sleep"
* "Your World"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Jennifer Paige - Jennifer Paige
Welcome to part ____ of my series of albums that sort of rocked (for me) in the 1990s. This series should serve as a testament to how odd my musical tastes are.
This post is about the 1998 self-titled debut album from Jennifer Paige. At the same time that boy bands were really starting to take off, there were also a few female artists to come along. Many people have heard of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, but they might have heard of Jennifer Paige's 1998 single "Crush". In many ways i liked her more than those two. There is just something about this album that somehow seemed more organic/appealing - maybe it deals with the lyrics. Maybe it was the slightly different song selection or vocal approach. Apparently, she released another album or two.
Notable Single:
* "Crush"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Sober"
* "Always You"
Other Songs on the CD i Kind of Like:
* "Between You and Me"
* "Busted"
* "Get to Me"
* "Just to Have You"
* "Let it Rain"
* "Questions"
* "Someday, Somewhere"
* "Always You" (Remix)
This post is about the 1998 self-titled debut album from Jennifer Paige. At the same time that boy bands were really starting to take off, there were also a few female artists to come along. Many people have heard of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, but they might have heard of Jennifer Paige's 1998 single "Crush". In many ways i liked her more than those two. There is just something about this album that somehow seemed more organic/appealing - maybe it deals with the lyrics. Maybe it was the slightly different song selection or vocal approach. Apparently, she released another album or two.
Notable Single:
* "Crush"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Sober"
* "Always You"
Other Songs on the CD i Kind of Like:
* "Between You and Me"
* "Busted"
* "Get to Me"
* "Just to Have You"
* "Let it Rain"
* "Questions"
* "Someday, Somewhere"
* "Always You" (Remix)
Decent Albums of the 90s: 98° - 98° and Rising
Welcome to part ___ of my series of decent albums from the 1990s.
This post will pretty much cover my trilogy of boy bands in the 90s. i consider the big three (actually it is really big two) to be NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and 98°. Incidentally, if you have a PC, the degree symbol is mapped to ALT + 0176 (on the numeric keyboard). That is why i sometimes refer to them as 98 ALT 0176 - yes, i have some nerd-dom (surprise?). Anyways, back to the topic... before Nick Lachey became a TV host (the underrated The Sing-Off) and his brother Drew won Dancing With the Stars - they were part of a 5 part boy band.
98° were probably the most talented, but least successful of the big three. The first time i heard this album i thought it was awesome. It has since lost some of its luster. i liked the songs on the album (and the album), but my evil girlfriend at the time did not. So, i wasn't supposed to sing along to songs i like, but she didn't. For some reason, 98° seems to be a little more fun to sing along to than a lot of other bands of that era (maybe because i was vocally closer to them). Their follow-up album Revelation was decent too, but more pop-ish. Nick Lachey probably has the second best voice among those in boy bands (JC Chasez is first). Nick Lachey had a decent solo debut album too, Soul-O.
Notable Singles:
* "The Hardest Thing"
* "I Do (Cherish You) - it's still kind of hard for me to hear this song & the Mark Wills version
* "Because of You"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "True to Your Heart"
Other Songs on the Album i Kind of Like
* "If She Only Knew"
* "Fly With Me"
* "Still"
* "To Me You're Everything"
* "She's Out of My Life"
The Rest of the Album:
* "Intro"
* "Heat it Up"
* "Give It Up" - interlude
* "Do You Wanna Dance"
This post will pretty much cover my trilogy of boy bands in the 90s. i consider the big three (actually it is really big two) to be NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and 98°. Incidentally, if you have a PC, the degree symbol is mapped to ALT + 0176 (on the numeric keyboard). That is why i sometimes refer to them as 98 ALT 0176 - yes, i have some nerd-dom (surprise?). Anyways, back to the topic... before Nick Lachey became a TV host (the underrated The Sing-Off) and his brother Drew won Dancing With the Stars - they were part of a 5 part boy band.
98° were probably the most talented, but least successful of the big three. The first time i heard this album i thought it was awesome. It has since lost some of its luster. i liked the songs on the album (and the album), but my evil girlfriend at the time did not. So, i wasn't supposed to sing along to songs i like, but she didn't. For some reason, 98° seems to be a little more fun to sing along to than a lot of other bands of that era (maybe because i was vocally closer to them). Their follow-up album Revelation was decent too, but more pop-ish. Nick Lachey probably has the second best voice among those in boy bands (JC Chasez is first). Nick Lachey had a decent solo debut album too, Soul-O.
Notable Singles:
* "The Hardest Thing"
* "I Do (Cherish You) - it's still kind of hard for me to hear this song & the Mark Wills version
* "Because of You"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "True to Your Heart"
Other Songs on the Album i Kind of Like
* "If She Only Knew"
* "Fly With Me"
* "Still"
* "To Me You're Everything"
* "She's Out of My Life"
The Rest of the Album:
* "Intro"
* "Heat it Up"
* "Give It Up" - interlude
* "Do You Wanna Dance"
Decent Albums of the 90s: *NSYNC - No Strings Attached
Welcome to part ___ in my series of decent albums of the 90s - now with typographical erors.
This is another album from 2000 (what i consider to be the last year of the 90s, at least musically). This was at the peak of the boy band "revolution" - which in retrospect is probably the last decent era for the recording industry. Anyway, i decided to pick this over NSYNC's solo debut - because it is probably their best work. Their debut album was pretty good too though. This album was the one before their annoying "dirty pop" sound of Celebrity. NSYNC had probably the best vocalist in the "boy band era", JC Chasez - though his solo stuff is questionable. He has the talent, the song selection - not so much. The album's title is a reference to NSYNC liberating itself from their old management.
Notable Singles:
* " Bye Bye Bye"
* "It's Gonna Be Me"
* "This I Promise You" - a Richard Marx penned/produced hit
Lesser Known Singles: (thank you wiki)
* "I'll Never Stop" - not on US album
Other Songs on the Album i Kind of Liked:
* "No Strings Attached" - i thought this was a single
* "That's When I'll Stop Loving You"
* " I Thought She Knew"
The Rest of the Album:
* Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay)
* "Just Got Paid" - a cover of the 80s song
* "It Makes Me Ill"
* "Digital Get Down"
* "Bringin' Da Noise"
* "I'll Be Good for You"
This is another album from 2000 (what i consider to be the last year of the 90s, at least musically). This was at the peak of the boy band "revolution" - which in retrospect is probably the last decent era for the recording industry. Anyway, i decided to pick this over NSYNC's solo debut - because it is probably their best work. Their debut album was pretty good too though. This album was the one before their annoying "dirty pop" sound of Celebrity. NSYNC had probably the best vocalist in the "boy band era", JC Chasez - though his solo stuff is questionable. He has the talent, the song selection - not so much. The album's title is a reference to NSYNC liberating itself from their old management.
Notable Singles:
* " Bye Bye Bye"
* "It's Gonna Be Me"
* "This I Promise You" - a Richard Marx penned/produced hit
Lesser Known Singles: (thank you wiki)
* "I'll Never Stop" - not on US album
Other Songs on the Album i Kind of Liked:
* "No Strings Attached" - i thought this was a single
* "That's When I'll Stop Loving You"
* " I Thought She Knew"
The Rest of the Album:
* Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay)
* "Just Got Paid" - a cover of the 80s song
* "It Makes Me Ill"
* "Digital Get Down"
* "Bringin' Da Noise"
* "I'll Be Good for You"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Go West - Indian Summer
Welcome to part ___ of my series of albums of the 1990s that were decent.
This next album is one that i purchased used, but no longer have (i replaced it with a greatest hits album). The album is 1992s Indian Summer by Go West. Go West is a pop duo from England. i first heard them on an 80s compilation ("We Close Our Eyes") and thought they sounded interesting - kind of like Climie Fisher (but better). i always wondered who sung the song "King of Wishful Thinking" - it turns out it was Go West.
Notable Singles:
* "King of Wishful Thinking"
* "Faithful"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "What You Won't Do for Love"
* "Still In Love"
Other Songs on the Album: (i don't remember most of these)
* "Tell Me" - on Greatest Hits Album
* "That's What Love Can Do"
* "The Sun and the Moon"
* "Count on Me"
* "Crystal Ball"
* "Forget That Girl"
* "Bluebeat"
* "I Want You Back"
* "A Taste of Things to Come"
This next album is one that i purchased used, but no longer have (i replaced it with a greatest hits album). The album is 1992s Indian Summer by Go West. Go West is a pop duo from England. i first heard them on an 80s compilation ("We Close Our Eyes") and thought they sounded interesting - kind of like Climie Fisher (but better). i always wondered who sung the song "King of Wishful Thinking" - it turns out it was Go West.
Notable Singles:
* "King of Wishful Thinking"
* "Faithful"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "What You Won't Do for Love"
* "Still In Love"
Other Songs on the Album: (i don't remember most of these)
* "Tell Me" - on Greatest Hits Album
* "That's What Love Can Do"
* "The Sun and the Moon"
* "Count on Me"
* "Crystal Ball"
* "Forget That Girl"
* "Bluebeat"
* "I Want You Back"
* "A Taste of Things to Come"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Foreigner - Mr. Moonlight
Welcome to the part XXX of my series on albums from the 90s that don't make me want to pull a Kurt Cobain.
This post will be an album from a band that had most of its success in the late 70s-80s, Foreigner. The album, 1995s Mr. Moonlight was kind of a comeback album in that the lead singer Lou Gramm hadn't been on a Foreigner album for a while - and it was the last. This album wasn't exactly well received by critics, but i kind of like it. If this album would have been released in the 80s, it probably would have been better received.
Notable Singles:
* "Until the End of Time"
Other Singles: (should have been more)
* "Under the Gun"
Other Songs i Kind of Like: (or really like)
* "Rain"
* "White Lie"
* "I Keep Hoping"
* "Real World"
* "All I Need to Know"
* "Running the Risk"
* "Hand on My Heart"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Big Dog" - worst song on the album
* "Hole In My Soul"
This post will be an album from a band that had most of its success in the late 70s-80s, Foreigner. The album, 1995s Mr. Moonlight was kind of a comeback album in that the lead singer Lou Gramm hadn't been on a Foreigner album for a while - and it was the last. This album wasn't exactly well received by critics, but i kind of like it. If this album would have been released in the 80s, it probably would have been better received.
Notable Singles:
* "Until the End of Time"
Other Singles: (should have been more)
* "Under the Gun"
Other Songs i Kind of Like: (or really like)
* "Rain"
* "White Lie"
* "I Keep Hoping"
* "Real World"
* "All I Need to Know"
* "Running the Risk"
* "Hand on My Heart"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Big Dog" - worst song on the album
* "Hole In My Soul"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Color Me Badd - C.M.B.
This is part 9 (i think) of my series of albums that may not necessarily have been awesome, but that were good enough in the apathetic 90s.
C.M.B. was the 1991 debut album of Color Me Badd. No, this isn't the band featuring Kenny and George Michael - that was just a joke surrounding it. This is a kind of maligned group that a lot of people listened to (at least this album), but didn't admit it. i guess you could call this a cross between light R&B and pop. As a younger version of myself, this was an album i could sing along to. This was one of the first 2 CDs that i purchased.
Notable Singles:
* "I Wanna Sex You Up"
* "I Adore Mi Amor"
* "All for Love"
* "Thinkin' Back"
* "Slow Motion"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Color Me Badd"
* "Heart Breaker"
Other Songs on the Album (the songs, not bad):
* "Groove My Mind"
* "I Wanna Sex You Up" (Reprise)
* "Roll the Dice"
* "I Adore Mi Amor" (Interlude)
* "Your Da One I Onena Love"
C.M.B. was the 1991 debut album of Color Me Badd. No, this isn't the band featuring Kenny and George Michael - that was just a joke surrounding it. This is a kind of maligned group that a lot of people listened to (at least this album), but didn't admit it. i guess you could call this a cross between light R&B and pop. As a younger version of myself, this was an album i could sing along to. This was one of the first 2 CDs that i purchased.
Notable Singles:
* "I Wanna Sex You Up"
* "I Adore Mi Amor"
* "All for Love"
* "Thinkin' Back"
* "Slow Motion"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Color Me Badd"
* "Heart Breaker"
Other Songs on the Album (the songs, not bad):
* "Groove My Mind"
* "I Wanna Sex You Up" (Reprise)
* "Roll the Dice"
* "I Adore Mi Amor" (Interlude)
* "Your Da One I Onena Love"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Boyzone - Where We Belong
Welcome to part 8 (or something) of my series on 1990s albums that i can still listen to.
Boyzone's 1998 album Where We Belong, what can i say? This album will always hold a place of infamy for me... you see, i received this album in the mail from Amazon the day my first serious girlfriend broke up with me over email (making other songs slightly painful to hear too). The first song on the album was ""I'll Never Not Need You" - thank you very much music gods. The second song was a lot more honest, "Walk On". As for the group... i think i first heard about them on a compilation disc ("Love Me For a Reason"). Then i heard "No Matter What" and decided to get the album. One of the lead vocalists, Ronan Keating released a decent solo album (which might make show up later in the series, i haven't decided yet). Anyway now for the "fun" stuff....
Notable Singles (apparently not in the US):
* "No Matter What" - the only single i knew of before buying this album.
* "Picture of You" - only song on video game Lips that i have Infinity on, somehow
* "Baby Can I Hold You"
* "All That I Need"
* "I Love the Way You Love Me" - awesome cover
Other Songs I Kind of Like:
* "All the Time in the World"
* "I'll Never Not Need You"
* "One Kiss at a Time"
* "That's How Love Goes"
* "Where Did You Go"
* "Will Be Yours"
The Rest of the Album:
* "And I"
* "Must Have Been High"
* "Walk On (So They Told Me)
* "You Flew Away"
Boyzone's 1998 album Where We Belong, what can i say? This album will always hold a place of infamy for me... you see, i received this album in the mail from Amazon the day my first serious girlfriend broke up with me over email (making other songs slightly painful to hear too). The first song on the album was ""I'll Never Not Need You" - thank you very much music gods. The second song was a lot more honest, "Walk On". As for the group... i think i first heard about them on a compilation disc ("Love Me For a Reason"). Then i heard "No Matter What" and decided to get the album. One of the lead vocalists, Ronan Keating released a decent solo album (which might make show up later in the series, i haven't decided yet). Anyway now for the "fun" stuff....
Notable Singles (apparently not in the US):
* "No Matter What" - the only single i knew of before buying this album.
* "Picture of You" - only song on video game Lips that i have Infinity on, somehow
* "Baby Can I Hold You"
* "All That I Need"
* "I Love the Way You Love Me" - awesome cover
Other Songs I Kind of Like:
* "All the Time in the World"
* "I'll Never Not Need You"
* "One Kiss at a Time"
* "That's How Love Goes"
* "Where Did You Go"
* "Will Be Yours"
The Rest of the Album:
* "And I"
* "Must Have Been High"
* "Walk On (So They Told Me)
* "You Flew Away"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Bon Jovi - Keep the Faith
Welcome to part 7 of my series on decent-ish albums of the 1990s.
This post is about Bon Jovi's 5th studio album Keep the Faith (released in 1992). So, basically this was the "comeback" album after they took a few years off after releasing New Jersey. If you don't know much about the rock group Bon Jovi, consult your local library and the album Slippery When Wet.
Notable Singles:
* "Keep the Faith"
* "Bed of Roses"
* "In These Arms"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"
* "I Beleive"
* "Dry Country"
Other Songs i Kind of Liked:
* "Woman in Love"
* "I Want You"
* "Little Bit of Soul"
The Rest of the Album (ok songs):
* "If I Was Your Mother"
* "Fear"
* "Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll"
This post is about Bon Jovi's 5th studio album Keep the Faith (released in 1992). So, basically this was the "comeback" album after they took a few years off after releasing New Jersey. If you don't know much about the rock group Bon Jovi, consult your local library and the album Slippery When Wet.
Notable Singles:
* "Keep the Faith"
* "Bed of Roses"
* "In These Arms"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"
* "I Beleive"
* "Dry Country"
Other Songs i Kind of Liked:
* "Woman in Love"
* "I Want You"
* "Little Bit of Soul"
The Rest of the Album (ok songs):
* "If I Was Your Mother"
* "Fear"
* "Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll"
Decent Albums of the 90s: BB Mak - Sooner or Later
Welcome to part 6 of my series on albums of the 90s that i could listen to without making my ears bleed.
This post is on the British group BB Mak's debut album Sooner or Later. Remember i said that i count 2000 releases as 90s. This may be the first (but not last) time i do that here. BB Mak was a three member group consisting of Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally (do you kind of get where the name might have come from?). They arrived when the boy band craze was on, but are not really a boy band themselves. Some of these songs are a little on the downbeat side (at least lyrically/subject matter - like getting dumped). i would have like to have seen "I'm Not in Love" and "Can't Say" as singles instead of the last two i listed. The band released a decent (though not as good as their debut album) in 2002 called Into Your Head ("Out of My Head" being a decent single).
Notable Singles:
* "Back Here" - awesome
* "Still On Your Side"
* "Ghost of You and Me"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Love is Leaving"
Non-Single Songs i Kind of Like:
* "I'm Not In Love"
* "Next Time"
* "Unpredictable"
* "I Can Tell"
* "Love on the Outside"
* "Can't Say"
Other Songs:
* "Always" - kind of an interlude
* "Again"
This post is on the British group BB Mak's debut album Sooner or Later. Remember i said that i count 2000 releases as 90s. This may be the first (but not last) time i do that here. BB Mak was a three member group consisting of Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally (do you kind of get where the name might have come from?). They arrived when the boy band craze was on, but are not really a boy band themselves. Some of these songs are a little on the downbeat side (at least lyrically/subject matter - like getting dumped). i would have like to have seen "I'm Not in Love" and "Can't Say" as singles instead of the last two i listed. The band released a decent (though not as good as their debut album) in 2002 called Into Your Head ("Out of My Head" being a decent single).
Notable Singles:
* "Back Here" - awesome
* "Still On Your Side"
* "Ghost of You and Me"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Love is Leaving"
Non-Single Songs i Kind of Like:
* "I'm Not In Love"
* "Next Time"
* "Unpredictable"
* "I Can Tell"
* "Love on the Outside"
* "Can't Say"
Other Songs:
* "Always" - kind of an interlude
* "Again"
Are Christians Symbolic Cannibals?
i have been thinking about this since Easter. Easter is another pagan holiday taken over by Christianity (look up Easter - you should find a pagan goddess). Is there such a thing as a Christian holiday that has not been superimposed over the top of a "pagan" one?
It is possible that differing sects within the religion have differing practices. i know when i had to suffer through going to church they had this. What i was wondering has to do with a somewhat disturbing phenomenon in this particular religion. i am of course referring to the sacrament/communion/etc.
Personally, i find nothing symbolically great about eating the body of Christ (the same could be said about drinking his blood). The symbolism is creepy. Sure, human flesh may be tasty (i have no intention of trying it anytime soon). Is there no better way to remember (the purported) religious figure than eating him and drinking his blood? If you applied it to a real person (say a deceased father), how crazy would people think you were? Couldn't they have come up with something better in 2,000 years than eating representations of human flesh or blood? It is kind of creepy if you think about it. How i miss the days of ritualistic human sacrifice in the name of a god who may or may not exist.
It is possible that differing sects within the religion have differing practices. i know when i had to suffer through going to church they had this. What i was wondering has to do with a somewhat disturbing phenomenon in this particular religion. i am of course referring to the sacrament/communion/etc.
Personally, i find nothing symbolically great about eating the body of Christ (the same could be said about drinking his blood). The symbolism is creepy. Sure, human flesh may be tasty (i have no intention of trying it anytime soon). Is there no better way to remember (the purported) religious figure than eating him and drinking his blood? If you applied it to a real person (say a deceased father), how crazy would people think you were? Couldn't they have come up with something better in 2,000 years than eating representations of human flesh or blood? It is kind of creepy if you think about it. How i miss the days of ritualistic human sacrifice in the name of a god who may or may not exist.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Hockey Sucks and Canadians are Weird
So my alleged brother's favorite horkey squadron, the Vancouver Canadian Slurs, proved its ability to choke in the playoff by achieving the most difficult of feat - choking at choking. Apparently, they had a 3-0 series lead and had to win in extra ends of the last game. They do know that the term Canuck is pretty much a derogatory slur against Canadians, right?
What is the deal with Canadians, ice and cylindrical solid shaped "sporting equipment". i guess it is bad enough they like curling (hurry hard), but then you add hockey. Hockey is kind of like soccer (football to the rest of the world) on skates and on a thin layer of ice. Think of a hockey stick as a foot substitute that you can hit people with. The positions are the same, it is just on ice and using a smaller ball and bigger goalie (relative to the goal) - i guess the "ball" does travel a couple ofmiles kilometers per hour faster.
Hockey is probably one of the worst "sports" to televise. i guess it is fitting that the game is played on ice, because watching it feels glacial. Yes, i have been to an NHL game - i think in Columbus, Ohio. Another big problem is with the structure of the game itself. Apparently the game is segmented into 5 periods of 20 minutes each. Unfortunately, every other period is dead air (kind of like 2 half times). Three periods, why three periods of game play? Another television problem with hockey is that it really lack marketability. i mean the average hockey player (assuming they speak English) is less interesting than a Mormon missionary.
Now for weird Canadian stuff. i take it that Canadians are generally pacifist (except hockey) hockey loving hoseheads. So, they are basically a hybrid between Dudley Do-Right and the McKenzie brothers (from Strange Brew) - with universal health care. It is an odd mix of American and British influence. Apparently, they really like their Molson and Elisonore beers. The land is also in a state of permafrost - requiring outdoor activities to be done on ice. Apparently, they have a weird, yet superior, system of measurements and speak two languages. i think the whole nation of Canada (come on Quebec - you can get the .1% you missed last time) is smaller in population than the state of California. Canadians also have a habit of ending every sentence with the word "eh?" - making every statement they say seem like a question?
Get this, Vancouver (not the better one in WA) is not on Vancouver island - but Victoria is. i guess British Columbia (why is there no American Columbia?) does have its uses though - where else would movies/tv show be filmed?
What is the deal with Canadians, ice and cylindrical solid shaped "sporting equipment". i guess it is bad enough they like curling (hurry hard), but then you add hockey. Hockey is kind of like soccer (football to the rest of the world) on skates and on a thin layer of ice. Think of a hockey stick as a foot substitute that you can hit people with. The positions are the same, it is just on ice and using a smaller ball and bigger goalie (relative to the goal) - i guess the "ball" does travel a couple of
Hockey is probably one of the worst "sports" to televise. i guess it is fitting that the game is played on ice, because watching it feels glacial. Yes, i have been to an NHL game - i think in Columbus, Ohio. Another big problem is with the structure of the game itself. Apparently the game is segmented into 5 periods of 20 minutes each. Unfortunately, every other period is dead air (kind of like 2 half times). Three periods, why three periods of game play? Another television problem with hockey is that it really lack marketability. i mean the average hockey player (assuming they speak English) is less interesting than a Mormon missionary.
Now for weird Canadian stuff. i take it that Canadians are generally pacifist (except hockey) hockey loving hoseheads. So, they are basically a hybrid between Dudley Do-Right and the McKenzie brothers (from Strange Brew) - with universal health care. It is an odd mix of American and British influence. Apparently, they really like their Molson and Elisonore beers. The land is also in a state of permafrost - requiring outdoor activities to be done on ice. Apparently, they have a weird, yet superior, system of measurements and speak two languages. i think the whole nation of Canada (come on Quebec - you can get the .1% you missed last time) is smaller in population than the state of California. Canadians also have a habit of ending every sentence with the word "eh?" - making every statement they say seem like a question?
Get this, Vancouver (not the better one in WA) is not on Vancouver island - but Victoria is. i guess British Columbia (why is there no American Columbia?) does have its uses though - where else would movies/tv show be filmed?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Decent Albums of the 90s: Gary Barlow - Open Road
Welcome to part 5 +/- 2 of my series on 90s albums that i found worth listening to
This post is on the first of two solo albums of Take That front-man and chief songwriter Gary Barlow. This album, Open Road, is underrated (released in 1997). This is also one of the albums that my Zune keep mislabeling the songs regardless of what i try (evil meta-tag) . It may not have found the success it deserved. Gary Barlow released another solo album 12 Months 11 Days that was decent too. i got this after hearing (and really liking) the lead single "So Help Me Girl". This album was obviously bigger in the UK (and internationally than the US). Barlow seems to be at his best at the mid-tempo and slower songs, which is what most of this album is. One of the problems with a US release is that most of the songs on the album didn't play well at the times as singles. The sticker on the CD listed; "So Help Me Girl", "Love Won't Wait", "Hang on In There", "Back For Good" and "Superhero" as featured songs.
Singles:
* "Forever Love"
* "Love Won't Wait"
* "So Help Me Girl" - awesome cover
* "Open Road"
* "Hang on in There Baby"
* "Superhero" - sort of re-released on his second album as "For All That You Want"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "I Fall So Deep"
* "My Commitment"
* "Everything I Ever Wanted"
* "Lay Down for Love" - why wasn't this a single?
* "Never Knew"
* "Back for Good (Live)"
This post is on the first of two solo albums of Take That front-man and chief songwriter Gary Barlow. This album, Open Road, is underrated (released in 1997). This is also one of the albums that my Zune keep mislabeling the songs regardless of what i try (evil meta-tag) . It may not have found the success it deserved. Gary Barlow released another solo album 12 Months 11 Days that was decent too. i got this after hearing (and really liking) the lead single "So Help Me Girl". This album was obviously bigger in the UK (and internationally than the US). Barlow seems to be at his best at the mid-tempo and slower songs, which is what most of this album is. One of the problems with a US release is that most of the songs on the album didn't play well at the times as singles. The sticker on the CD listed; "So Help Me Girl", "Love Won't Wait", "Hang on In There", "Back For Good" and "Superhero" as featured songs.
Singles:
* "Forever Love"
* "Love Won't Wait"
* "So Help Me Girl" - awesome cover
* "Open Road"
* "Hang on in There Baby"
* "Superhero" - sort of re-released on his second album as "For All That You Want"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "I Fall So Deep"
* "My Commitment"
* "Everything I Ever Wanted"
* "Lay Down for Love" - why wasn't this a single?
* "Never Knew"
* "Back for Good (Live)"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Backstreet Boys - Backstreet Boys
Welcome to part 4 of my ??? part series on albums of the 90s that didn't totally suck (in my opinion)
This post will be what i consider to be the genesis of the new wave of boy bands in the US - Backstreet Boys self titled 1997 release. Apparently this album drew its song list from the first two Backstreet Boys international releases. Backstreet Boys are probably my 3rd favorite boy band (4th if you include BB Mak). i no longer have this album (replaced it with a Greatest Hits album).
Notable Singles:
* "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)"
* "As Long As You Love Me"
* "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" - not available on some versions
* "I'll Never Break Your Heart"
* "All I Have Tog Give"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "We've Got It Goin' On"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Anywhere for You"
* "Hey Mr. DJ (Keep Playing This Song)"
* "Darlin"
* "Get Down (You're the One for Me)"
* "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"
* If You Want it to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)"
This post will be what i consider to be the genesis of the new wave of boy bands in the US - Backstreet Boys self titled 1997 release. Apparently this album drew its song list from the first two Backstreet Boys international releases. Backstreet Boys are probably my 3rd favorite boy band (4th if you include BB Mak). i no longer have this album (replaced it with a Greatest Hits album).
Notable Singles:
* "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)"
* "As Long As You Love Me"
* "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" - not available on some versions
* "I'll Never Break Your Heart"
* "All I Have Tog Give"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "We've Got It Goin' On"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Anywhere for You"
* "Hey Mr. DJ (Keep Playing This Song)"
* "Darlin"
* "Get Down (You're the One for Me)"
* "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"
* If You Want it to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Ace Of Base - The Sign
This is part 3 in my ?? part series of decent albums of the 90s (a less awesome decade than the 80s)
This post is about the 1993 Ace of Base album The Sign (Happy Nation in other regions). Ace of Base is a Swedish pop/dance band. Apparently the band is still going with new female singers (as the two who were on this album have since left the group).
Notable Singles
* "All That She Wants"
* "Don't Turn Around"
* "The Sign"
Lesser Known Singles (in US):
* "Living in Danger"
* "Happy Nation"
* "Wheel of Fortune"
* "Waiting for Magic"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Young and Proud"
* "Dancer in a Daydream"
* "Voulez-Vous Danser"
* "My Mind"
* "All That She Wants (Banghra Version)
This post is about the 1993 Ace of Base album The Sign (Happy Nation in other regions). Ace of Base is a Swedish pop/dance band. Apparently the band is still going with new female singers (as the two who were on this album have since left the group).
Notable Singles
* "All That She Wants"
* "Don't Turn Around"
* "The Sign"
Lesser Known Singles (in US):
* "Living in Danger"
* "Happy Nation"
* "Wheel of Fortune"
* "Waiting for Magic"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Young and Proud"
* "Dancer in a Daydream"
* "Voulez-Vous Danser"
* "My Mind"
* "All That She Wants (Banghra Version)
Monday, April 25, 2011
Decent Albums of the 90s: Take That - Nobody Else
This is part two of my cursory series of ablums of the 1990s that i consider decent.
The post is on Take That' 1995 swan song (before the really, really good comeback album in 2006), Nobody Else. This was the first i had heard of the group and its lead singer/writer Gary Barlow, though apparently they were huge in the UK. This will be for the US version, which apparently includes songs from a previous Take That album. i may have gotten this used - as i was looking for the song "Back for Good". The problem i had with Take That back then was that i really liked Gary Barlow's voice, but i was not a fan of Robbie Williams' voice - yes it stood out in a bad way). i later picked up the pretty good greatest hits album.
Notable Singles (US):
* "Back for Good"
Other Singles:
* "Sure"
* "Babe" - previous album
* "Pray" - previous album
* "Never Forget"
* "Love Ain't Here Anymore" - previous album
Other Songs on the CD (some pretty good):
* "Nobody Else" - awesome
* "Holding Back the Tears"
* "Every Guy" - awesome
* "The Day After Tomorrow"
Songs on the UK Version (not US one):
* "Sunday to Saturday"
* "Hanging Onto Your Love"
* "Holding Back the Tears"
* "Hate It"
* "Lady Tonight"
The post is on Take That' 1995 swan song (before the really, really good comeback album in 2006), Nobody Else. This was the first i had heard of the group and its lead singer/writer Gary Barlow, though apparently they were huge in the UK. This will be for the US version, which apparently includes songs from a previous Take That album. i may have gotten this used - as i was looking for the song "Back for Good". The problem i had with Take That back then was that i really liked Gary Barlow's voice, but i was not a fan of Robbie Williams' voice - yes it stood out in a bad way). i later picked up the pretty good greatest hits album.
Notable Singles (US):
* "Back for Good"
Other Singles:
* "Sure"
* "Babe" - previous album
* "Pray" - previous album
* "Never Forget"
* "Love Ain't Here Anymore" - previous album
Other Songs on the CD (some pretty good):
* "Nobody Else" - awesome
* "Holding Back the Tears"
* "Every Guy" - awesome
* "The Day After Tomorrow"
Songs on the UK Version (not US one):
* "Sunday to Saturday"
* "Hanging Onto Your Love"
* "Holding Back the Tears"
* "Hate It"
* "Lady Tonight"
Decent Albums of the 90s: Bryan Adams - Waking Up the Neighbours
Welcome to the first part of my series on decent albums of the 1990s.
The first album i chose (for alphabetical reasons) is Bryan Adams 1991 album Waking Up The Neighbours. It is spelled that way because Bryan Adams is a Canadian. This album was quite popular when i was in school. My favorite song on the album is "Can't Stop This Thing We Started". i briefly had this on cassette tape, but no longer have the album. This is the album that forced Canada to change its "Canadian content" definition to include collaborations.
Notable Singles:
* "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You"
* "Can't Stop This Thing We Started"
* "There Will Never Be Another Tonight"
* "Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven"
* "Do I Have to Say the Words"
Other Singles:
* "All I Want is You"
* "Touch the Hand"
The Rest of the Album (some songs better than others":
* "Is Your Momma Goin' to Miss You"
* "Hey Honey - I'm Packin' You In"
* "Not Guilty"
* "Vanishing"
* "House Arrest"
* "All I Want is You"
* "Depend on Me"
* "If You Wanna Leave Me (Can I Come Too?)"
* "Don't Drop That Bomb on Me"
The first album i chose (for alphabetical reasons) is Bryan Adams 1991 album Waking Up The Neighbours. It is spelled that way because Bryan Adams is a Canadian. This album was quite popular when i was in school. My favorite song on the album is "Can't Stop This Thing We Started". i briefly had this on cassette tape, but no longer have the album. This is the album that forced Canada to change its "Canadian content" definition to include collaborations.
Notable Singles:
* "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You"
* "Can't Stop This Thing We Started"
* "There Will Never Be Another Tonight"
* "Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven"
* "Do I Have to Say the Words"
Other Singles:
* "All I Want is You"
* "Touch the Hand"
The Rest of the Album (some songs better than others":
* "Is Your Momma Goin' to Miss You"
* "Hey Honey - I'm Packin' You In"
* "Not Guilty"
* "Vanishing"
* "House Arrest"
* "All I Want is You"
* "Depend on Me"
* "If You Wanna Leave Me (Can I Come Too?)"
* "Don't Drop That Bomb on Me"
Decent Albums of the 90s: The Preface
So i looked deep within myself to figure out what to post here next. What i came up was to use the Hollywood version of originality - just release a sequel or remake. So, i am doing a decent albums of the 90s series of posts. i am including 2000 as the last year of the 90s.
The 90s should have been a more memorable decade for me. Parts of it were ok and part of it really sucked. So, what did i listen to in the 90s? Mostly pop/rock (surprising, huh?) though there was a brief period in the mid 90s where i listened to a little more R&B (i like vocal harmonies - probably why i liked several of the late 90s boybands). i do not like rap, grunge (even though i'm from the Seattle metro area) or heavy metal. So, now you have been warned about potential content.
Some of the posts will be artists who i had listed in the 80s (Richard Marx, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams). i think there will be less obscure albums this time around. i still have most of these albums in CD form (some i will include i only had on tape, but i no longer have a tape player).
i went crazy with CD purchases in the 90s - i think my first two were Rush Street by Richard Marx and C.M.B by Color Me Badd. Spoiler Alert: both of those CDs are in the series. My first CD player was an Emerson portable player, which i haven't had for a while (i think i got it in the early/mid 90s). At its peak, my CD collection was over 400 albums. Ironically, i think i bought more 80s albums (and compilations) in the 90s than 90s albums. This was also the first time i ever bought any media used (mostly obscure 80s stuff). i briefly had a Columbia House membership in the 90s too.
Edit:
The 90s were kind of a hard decade for me. i started writing some things in the late 90s that tried to cope with strange emotions like "wuv". Actually, there is no more confusing emotion than love (and the minefield that is dating). These basically are really, really (i can underscore how bad) bad "lyrics" that i wrote without any sense of music (well maybe some of the 2000 stuff). However they never turned out exactly how i wanted. i hope that i'll never actually have to post them here - but i do have a bunch of them. Consider this a possible, but unlikely warning of badness. So... i am not only a bad singer, but a bad writer too.
Ok, so if karaoke games are anything to go by - i'm an above average singer. That didn't make as good of a sentence.
The 90s should have been a more memorable decade for me. Parts of it were ok and part of it really sucked. So, what did i listen to in the 90s? Mostly pop/rock (surprising, huh?) though there was a brief period in the mid 90s where i listened to a little more R&B (i like vocal harmonies - probably why i liked several of the late 90s boybands). i do not like rap, grunge (even though i'm from the Seattle metro area) or heavy metal. So, now you have been warned about potential content.
Some of the posts will be artists who i had listed in the 80s (Richard Marx, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams). i think there will be less obscure albums this time around. i still have most of these albums in CD form (some i will include i only had on tape, but i no longer have a tape player).
i went crazy with CD purchases in the 90s - i think my first two were Rush Street by Richard Marx and C.M.B by Color Me Badd. Spoiler Alert: both of those CDs are in the series. My first CD player was an Emerson portable player, which i haven't had for a while (i think i got it in the early/mid 90s). At its peak, my CD collection was over 400 albums. Ironically, i think i bought more 80s albums (and compilations) in the 90s than 90s albums. This was also the first time i ever bought any media used (mostly obscure 80s stuff). i briefly had a Columbia House membership in the 90s too.
Edit:
The 90s were kind of a hard decade for me. i started writing some things in the late 90s that tried to cope with strange emotions like "wuv". Actually, there is no more confusing emotion than love (and the minefield that is dating). These basically are really, really (i can underscore how bad) bad "lyrics" that i wrote without any sense of music (well maybe some of the 2000 stuff). However they never turned out exactly how i wanted. i hope that i'll never actually have to post them here - but i do have a bunch of them. Consider this a possible, but unlikely warning of badness. So... i am not only a bad singer, but a bad writer too.
Ok, so if karaoke games are anything to go by - i'm an above average singer. That didn't make as good of a sentence.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Just for Fun: Countries i've Got Hits From on Blogger
This is yet another extraneous post. However, i think it would be kind of interesting (to me) to check out how many countries are counted for hits on any of my flavor of really bad blogging. i tend to be a burst writer too (a bunch of posts in a limited time, then nothing for a while). Sorry people who actually got roped in and read any of my posts (or curious one time lookers).
i know i'm not a great or interesting writer, but it is just kind of strange how connected the world now is. Even a few years ago i wouldn't have expected such an international flair to the Internet. There must be something more interesting than reading any of my horrible blog posts. i'll probably never even break double digit views in a day (legitimately) - but that is ok.
This data is from the Audience section of my Blogger Dashboard. Funny how some are only available in different sections (like month or week).
As of April 22, 2011 (in no order)
* Australia
* Austria
* Belarus
* Canada
* China
* Denmark
* Germany
* India
* Iran
* Malaysia
* Mexico
* New Zealand
* Norway
* Russia
* South Korea
* Ukraine
* United Arab Emirates
* United Kingdom
* United States
Edit: Let's Add A Few More (i missed some/added later)
* Costa Rica
* Ecuador
* Japan
* Uruguay
* Argentina
* Indonesia
i know i'm not a great or interesting writer, but it is just kind of strange how connected the world now is. Even a few years ago i wouldn't have expected such an international flair to the Internet. There must be something more interesting than reading any of my horrible blog posts. i'll probably never even break double digit views in a day (legitimately) - but that is ok.
This data is from the Audience section of my Blogger Dashboard. Funny how some are only available in different sections (like month or week).
As of April 22, 2011 (in no order)
* Australia
* Austria
* Belarus
* Canada
* China
* Denmark
* Germany
* India
* Iran
* Malaysia
* Mexico
* New Zealand
* Norway
* Russia
* South Korea
* Ukraine
* United Arab Emirates
* United Kingdom
* United States
Edit: Let's Add A Few More (i missed some/added later)
* Costa Rica
* Ecuador
* Japan
* Uruguay
* Argentina
* Indonesia
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Awesome 80s Albums: Bonus Post - Honorable Mentions
Welcome to my bonus post on awesome albums of the 80s. In the series i decided that only one album from an artist could appear. The list wasn't truly exhaustive (despite how many posts there actually were). This post is to give a few additional 80s albums that didn't fit the criteria.
i would like to also note that there are some albums that i never have acutally owned - like Def Leppard, Air Supply, Duran Duran, Foreigner, Journey, Poision, etc - so i excluded them. i consider 1990 the last year of the 80s (and 1980 the last year of the 70s). That is where the internet comes in - if you want to, you can nominate 1980s albums that i excluded (for whatever reason)
Honorable Mentions (in no order whatsoever)
* Icehouse - Man of Colors (1987)
* Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl (1988)
* Bon Jovi - New Jersey (1988)
* Breathe - Peace of Mind (1990)
* Chicago - Chicago 16 (1982)
* Culture Club - Colour By Numbers (1983)
* Debbie Gibson - Out of the Blue (1987)
* Donny Osmond - Eyes Don't Lie (1990)
* Erasure - The Innocents (1988)
* Genesis - Invisible Touch (1986)
* Howard Jones - Dream Into Action (1985)
* Huey Lewis and the News - Fore! (1986)
* INXS - Kick (1988)
* Janet Jackson - Control (1986)
* Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)
* Lou Gramm - Ready or Not (1987)
* Michael Damian - Where Do We Go From Here (1989)
* Michael Jackson - Bad (1987)
* Mike + the Mechanics - The Living Years (1988)
* Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True (1989)
* Various - Top Gun Soundtrack (1986)
* Various - Beverly Hills Cop II Soundtrack (1987)
* Various - Footloose Soundtrack (1984)
* Peter Cetera - Solitude/Solitarie (1986)
* Phil Collins - No Jacket Required (1985)
* REO Speedwagon - Wheels are Turnin' (1984)
* Richard Marx - Richard Marx (1987)
* Rick Astely - Hold Me In Your Arms (1988)
* Steve Winwood - Roll With It (1988)
* Survivor - Vital Signs (1984)
* Wang Chung - Mosaic (1986)
* Wham! - Music From the Edge of Heaven (1986)
* Whitney Houston - Whitney (1987)
* Weird Al Yankovic - Even Worse (1988)
i would like to also note that there are some albums that i never have acutally owned - like Def Leppard, Air Supply, Duran Duran, Foreigner, Journey, Poision, etc - so i excluded them. i consider 1990 the last year of the 80s (and 1980 the last year of the 70s). That is where the internet comes in - if you want to, you can nominate 1980s albums that i excluded (for whatever reason)
Honorable Mentions (in no order whatsoever)
* Icehouse - Man of Colors (1987)
* Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl (1988)
* Bon Jovi - New Jersey (1988)
* Breathe - Peace of Mind (1990)
* Chicago - Chicago 16 (1982)
* Culture Club - Colour By Numbers (1983)
* Debbie Gibson - Out of the Blue (1987)
* Donny Osmond - Eyes Don't Lie (1990)
* Erasure - The Innocents (1988)
* Genesis - Invisible Touch (1986)
* Howard Jones - Dream Into Action (1985)
* Huey Lewis and the News - Fore! (1986)
* INXS - Kick (1988)
* Janet Jackson - Control (1986)
* Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)
* Lou Gramm - Ready or Not (1987)
* Michael Damian - Where Do We Go From Here (1989)
* Michael Jackson - Bad (1987)
* Mike + the Mechanics - The Living Years (1988)
* Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True (1989)
* Various - Top Gun Soundtrack (1986)
* Various - Beverly Hills Cop II Soundtrack (1987)
* Various - Footloose Soundtrack (1984)
* Peter Cetera - Solitude/Solitarie (1986)
* Phil Collins - No Jacket Required (1985)
* REO Speedwagon - Wheels are Turnin' (1984)
* Richard Marx - Richard Marx (1987)
* Rick Astely - Hold Me In Your Arms (1988)
* Steve Winwood - Roll With It (1988)
* Survivor - Vital Signs (1984)
* Wang Chung - Mosaic (1986)
* Wham! - Music From the Edge of Heaven (1986)
* Whitney Houston - Whitney (1987)
* Weird Al Yankovic - Even Worse (1988)
Awesome 80s Albums: Alias - Alias
Welcome to part 32 of my 32 parts series on awesome albums of the 80s.
This album is the self-titled debut from Alias. i think i got this album (used) for the song "More Than Words Can Say". This is another low expectation album that actually turned out decently. Alias apparently was the vocalist and guitarist from Sheriff ("When I'm With You") and some ex-Heart band members. This album was released in 1990. i consider 1990 the last year of the 80s.
Notable Singles:
* "More Than Words Can Say"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Waiting for Love"
* "Haunted Heart"
Other Songs on the Album (some are kind of good)
* "After All the Love is Gone"
* "Heroes"
* "One More Chance"
* "Say What I Wanna Say"
* "Standing in the Darkness"
* "The Power"
* "True Emotion"
* "What to Do"
This album is the self-titled debut from Alias. i think i got this album (used) for the song "More Than Words Can Say". This is another low expectation album that actually turned out decently. Alias apparently was the vocalist and guitarist from Sheriff ("When I'm With You") and some ex-Heart band members. This album was released in 1990. i consider 1990 the last year of the 80s.
Notable Singles:
* "More Than Words Can Say"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Waiting for Love"
* "Haunted Heart"
Other Songs on the Album (some are kind of good)
* "After All the Love is Gone"
* "Heroes"
* "One More Chance"
* "Say What I Wanna Say"
* "Standing in the Darkness"
* "The Power"
* "True Emotion"
* "What to Do"
Awesome 80s Albums: Jude Cole - A View from 3rd Street
Welcome to part 31 of my 32 (plus bonus) part series on awesome albums from the 80s.
You may ask why this (and the next one) are on my list of awesome 1980s albums when they were released in 1990. Well, i don't consider 1980 to be the first year of the 80s - therefore, i regard 1990 as the last year of the 80s. 1980 had more in common musically with the 70s, 1990 still had a kind of late 80s feel (especially pop music).
Anyway, this album A View from 3rd Street was Jude Cole's second album. i got this mostly for the song "Baby It's Tonight". i found this album (used) and found several other decent songs.
Notable Singles:
* "Baby It's Tonight"
* "Time For Letting Go"
Other Songs i Kind of Liked (the only 4 i have on my Zune)
* "House Full of Reasons"
* "Compared to Nothing"
Other Songs on the Album (i probably liked at least 50% of these too):
* "Hallowed Ground"
* "Get Me Through the Night"
* "Stranger to Myself"
* "This Time It's Us"
* "Heart of Blues"
* "Prove Me Wrong"
You may ask why this (and the next one) are on my list of awesome 1980s albums when they were released in 1990. Well, i don't consider 1980 to be the first year of the 80s - therefore, i regard 1990 as the last year of the 80s. 1980 had more in common musically with the 70s, 1990 still had a kind of late 80s feel (especially pop music).
Anyway, this album A View from 3rd Street was Jude Cole's second album. i got this mostly for the song "Baby It's Tonight". i found this album (used) and found several other decent songs.
Notable Singles:
* "Baby It's Tonight"
* "Time For Letting Go"
Other Songs i Kind of Liked (the only 4 i have on my Zune)
* "House Full of Reasons"
* "Compared to Nothing"
Other Songs on the Album (i probably liked at least 50% of these too):
* "Hallowed Ground"
* "Get Me Through the Night"
* "Stranger to Myself"
* "This Time It's Us"
* "Heart of Blues"
* "Prove Me Wrong"
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Awesome 80s Albums: Waterfront - Waterfront
Welcome to part 30 of my >0 part series on awesome albums of the 80s
The album today is the 1989 self-titled debut album by the group Waterfront. This is kind of an obscure album (only selling 600,000 or so copies worldwide). Apparently, the group broke up after this album and took some time off - apparently they got back together in 1989. US listeners may know the song "Cry" (as it is supposedly nearing 1 million air plays) about a 16 year old girl who was looking all of 21. This is another used/blind buy album - i got it for the song "Cry". At first, a couple of songs stood out - but this album really grew on me.
Notable Singles:
* "Cry"
Other Singles:
* "Nature of Love" - i like this song
* "Broken Arrow"
* "Move On"
Other Songs on the CD:
* "Tightrope"
* "Platinum Halo"
* "Dancing With Strangers"
* "Set You Free"
* "Soul Survivor"
* "Waterfront"
* "Saved"
This (experiment) goes out to someone who thinks he hasn't done anything fun today.
<iframe title ="Preview" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" frameborder="0" style="width:98px;height:115px;padding:0;background-color:#fcfcfc;" src="http://cid-c67fdccca0fc034e.office.live.com/embedicon.aspx/Public/Experiment.wma"></iframe>
Ok, so that didn't exactly work. The "joke" was that my alleged brother was criticizing me for my abnormal amount of 80s related posts lately. He said "i'm not reading 7 posts in one day". So i kind of recorded some rough audio using Sound Recorder - kind of the audio book version of my post. i will leave this up as a sign of a bad idea. i thought that SkyDrive might give me a link location, not an embed code. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
The album today is the 1989 self-titled debut album by the group Waterfront. This is kind of an obscure album (only selling 600,000 or so copies worldwide). Apparently, the group broke up after this album and took some time off - apparently they got back together in 1989. US listeners may know the song "Cry" (as it is supposedly nearing 1 million air plays) about a 16 year old girl who was looking all of 21. This is another used/blind buy album - i got it for the song "Cry". At first, a couple of songs stood out - but this album really grew on me.
Notable Singles:
* "Cry"
Other Singles:
* "Nature of Love" - i like this song
* "Broken Arrow"
* "Move On"
Other Songs on the CD:
* "Tightrope"
* "Platinum Halo"
* "Dancing With Strangers"
* "Set You Free"
* "Soul Survivor"
* "Waterfront"
* "Saved"
This (experiment) goes out to someone who thinks he hasn't done anything fun today.
<iframe title ="Preview" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" frameborder="0" style="width:98px;height:115px;padding:0;background-color:#fcfcfc;" src="http://cid-c67fdccca0fc034e.office.live.com/embedicon.aspx/Public/Experiment.wma"></iframe>
Ok, so that didn't exactly work. The "joke" was that my alleged brother was criticizing me for my abnormal amount of 80s related posts lately. He said "i'm not reading 7 posts in one day". So i kind of recorded some rough audio using Sound Recorder - kind of the audio book version of my post. i will leave this up as a sign of a bad idea. i thought that SkyDrive might give me a link location, not an embed code. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
Awesome 80s Albums: Wham! - Make it Big
Welcome to part 29 of my 32 part-ish series of awesome albums of the 80s. i don't go in depth, because that would be too deep.
Now for one of my most listened to albums growing up, the little known album Make It Big by Wham! You know they were awesome when they used an exclamation point in their group name. If you haven't heard a Wham! song and are an 80s fan, i would doubt your claim. Wham! was comprised of George Michael and his friend Andrew Ridgeley (now known as the other guy from Wham!). Wham! released 3 albums: the more disco like Fantastic (which had some decent songs on it), this one, and Music From the Edge of Heaven. This album was released in the awesome mid-80s (1984 to be exact). There are different versions/mixes of "Everything She Wants" and "Freedom" that were released as the singles. These versions are available on The Final - greatest hits album. Some of the better songs off of Fantastic, Wham!'s first album are not on their greatest hits album.
Notable Singles:
* "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
* "Everything She Wants" - i like the single/video version is better
* "Freedom"
* "Careless Whisper"
Other Songs on the Album (some awesome):
* "Heartbeat"
* "Like a Baby"
* "If You Were There"
* "Credit Card Baby" - should have been a single
Now for one of my most listened to albums growing up, the little known album Make It Big by Wham! You know they were awesome when they used an exclamation point in their group name. If you haven't heard a Wham! song and are an 80s fan, i would doubt your claim. Wham! was comprised of George Michael and his friend Andrew Ridgeley (now known as the other guy from Wham!). Wham! released 3 albums: the more disco like Fantastic (which had some decent songs on it), this one, and Music From the Edge of Heaven. This album was released in the awesome mid-80s (1984 to be exact). There are different versions/mixes of "Everything She Wants" and "Freedom" that were released as the singles. These versions are available on The Final - greatest hits album. Some of the better songs off of Fantastic, Wham!'s first album are not on their greatest hits album.
Notable Singles:
* "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
* "Everything She Wants" - i like the single/video version is better
* "Freedom"
* "Careless Whisper"
Other Songs on the Album (some awesome):
* "Heartbeat"
* "Like a Baby"
* "If You Were There"
* "Credit Card Baby" - should have been a single
Awesome 80s Albums: Tears for Fears - Songs From The Big Chair
Welcome to part, we'll call it 28 of my 32-450 part series on awesome albums of the 80s.
The album was the 1985 (good year, eh?) hit second album from British group Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair. No, this was not Roland Orzabel performing with Michael Jackson or Billy Ocean, this was Roland Orzabel performing with Curt Smith (and others). There are no Psych references at all in this post, though YouTube their version of "Everybody Want to Rule the World" with Curt Smith.
Notable Singles:
* "Everybody Want to Rule the World"
* "Shout"
* "Head Over Heels" - video is odd, single version is better
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Mother's Talk"
* "I Believe"
Other Songs on the CD:
* "The Working Hour"
* "Broken"
* "Listen"
The album was the 1985 (good year, eh?) hit second album from British group Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair. No, this was not Roland Orzabel performing with Michael Jackson or Billy Ocean, this was Roland Orzabel performing with Curt Smith (and others). There are no Psych references at all in this post, though YouTube their version of "Everybody Want to Rule the World" with Curt Smith.
Notable Singles:
* "Everybody Want to Rule the World"
* "Shout"
* "Head Over Heels" - video is odd, single version is better
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Mother's Talk"
* "I Believe"
Other Songs on the CD:
* "The Working Hour"
* "Broken"
* "Listen"
Awesome 80s Albums: Survivor - When Seconds Count
Welcome to part 27 of my 30 - 30 something part series on awesome albums of the 1980s.
This album is from Survivor (famous for "Eye of the Tiger"). This album supposedly is now out of print. Oh yeah, the album was released in 1986 and called "When Seconds Count". Some critics apparently really didn't like this album, but there is some vocal quality in the lead singer that i like. The preceding album Vital Signs (released in 1984) was pretty good too and more successful - apparently.
Notable Singles:
* "Is This Love"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "How Much Love"
* "Man Against the World"
Non-Single Songs on this Album i Kind of Like:
* "Keep It Right Here"
* "Rebel Son"
* "Oceans"
* "When Seconds Count" - probably should have been a single
* "Backstreet Love Affair"
* "In Good Faith" - a bittersweet song for me to hear for some odd reason
* "Can't Let You Go"
This album is from Survivor (famous for "Eye of the Tiger"). This album supposedly is now out of print. Oh yeah, the album was released in 1986 and called "When Seconds Count". Some critics apparently really didn't like this album, but there is some vocal quality in the lead singer that i like. The preceding album Vital Signs (released in 1984) was pretty good too and more successful - apparently.
Notable Singles:
* "Is This Love"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "How Much Love"
* "Man Against the World"
Non-Single Songs on this Album i Kind of Like:
* "Keep It Right Here"
* "Rebel Son"
* "Oceans"
* "When Seconds Count" - probably should have been a single
* "Backstreet Love Affair"
* "In Good Faith" - a bittersweet song for me to hear for some odd reason
* "Can't Let You Go"
Awesome 80s Albums: Donny Osmond - Donny Osmond
Welcome to part 26 of my 32ish series of posts on awesome 1980s albums. Is it so wrong to be pre-occupied with 1985? The mid 80s were a really good time for pop music.
Back in the 80s few people thought that Donny Osmond would return to the mainstream. However, in 1989 he returned to the pop world, albeit anonymously at first. The story goes that the first single, "Soldier of Love" was released to radio as a song by a mystery singer. However, the song climbed the charts - even appearing in the awesome 90s show Parker Lewis Can't Lose. This was another album that i may have purcased used, to be pleasantly surprised. His 1990 follow up album Eyes Don't Lie was not as good as this album, but decent.
Notable Singles:
* "Soldier of Love"
* "Sacred Emotion"
Lesser Known Singles (some of them international):
* "Hold On"
* "I'm In It For Love" - awesome song
* "Groove"
* "If It's Love That You Want"
* "I'll Be Good to You"
Other Songs on the CD:
* " Inner Rhythm"
* "Faces in the Mirror"
* "My Secret Touch"
* "Only Heaven Knows"
Back in the 80s few people thought that Donny Osmond would return to the mainstream. However, in 1989 he returned to the pop world, albeit anonymously at first. The story goes that the first single, "Soldier of Love" was released to radio as a song by a mystery singer. However, the song climbed the charts - even appearing in the awesome 90s show Parker Lewis Can't Lose. This was another album that i may have purcased used, to be pleasantly surprised. His 1990 follow up album Eyes Don't Lie was not as good as this album, but decent.
Notable Singles:
* "Soldier of Love"
* "Sacred Emotion"
Lesser Known Singles (some of them international):
* "Hold On"
* "I'm In It For Love" - awesome song
* "Groove"
* "If It's Love That You Want"
* "I'll Be Good to You"
Other Songs on the CD:
* " Inner Rhythm"
* "Faces in the Mirror"
* "My Secret Touch"
* "Only Heaven Knows"
Awesome 80s Albums: Kylie Minogue - Kylie
This is part 25 of my post on awesome albums of the 80s.
For this post i have chosen an somewhat obscure 80s album (in the US), Kylie by Kylie Minogue - it is kind of self titled, without the last name. i found this is a discount bin at some retail store in the early 90s - i only really knew her version of "The Loco-Motion". This album has kind of a dance-pop sound. It is a Stock Aitken Waterman production (they also worked on the first two Rick Astley albums and numerous singles in the 80s).
Notable Singles (in US)
* "The Loco-Motion"
Other Singles:
* "I Should Be So Lucky"
* "Got to Be Certain"
* "Ja Nes Sais Pas Porquoi"
* "It's No Secret"
* "Turn It Into Love"
Other Songs on the CD:
* "I Miss You"
* "I'll Still Be Loving You"
* "Look My Way"
* "Love at First Sight"
For this post i have chosen an somewhat obscure 80s album (in the US), Kylie by Kylie Minogue - it is kind of self titled, without the last name. i found this is a discount bin at some retail store in the early 90s - i only really knew her version of "The Loco-Motion". This album has kind of a dance-pop sound. It is a Stock Aitken Waterman production (they also worked on the first two Rick Astley albums and numerous singles in the 80s).
Notable Singles (in US)
* "The Loco-Motion"
Other Singles:
* "I Should Be So Lucky"
* "Got to Be Certain"
* "Ja Nes Sais Pas Porquoi"
* "It's No Secret"
* "Turn It Into Love"
Other Songs on the CD:
* "I Miss You"
* "I'll Still Be Loving You"
* "Look My Way"
* "Love at First Sight"
Awesome 80s Albums: Mr. Mister - Welcome to the Real World
Welcome to part 24 of my 32 part series on awesome 1980s albums. Because you know they are like totally awesome.
The post today concerns another one of my favorite albums, Welcome to the Real World by studio group Mr. Mister. This album was released in the awesome year of Reagan, 1985 (the mid 80s were pretty good for pop music). As far as i can tell, there were only 3 successful singles released from the album - but some of the non-single tracks are pretty good (and single worthy).
Notable Singles:
* "Kyrie"
* "Broken Wings"
* "Is It Love"
Other Singles (Apparently)
* "Black/White"
Other Songs On the Album (of ascertainable awesomeness):
* "Uniform of Youth"
* "Don't Slow Down"
* "Run to Her"
* "Into My Own Hands"
* "Tangent Tears"
* "Welcome to the Real World"
The post today concerns another one of my favorite albums, Welcome to the Real World by studio group Mr. Mister. This album was released in the awesome year of Reagan, 1985 (the mid 80s were pretty good for pop music). As far as i can tell, there were only 3 successful singles released from the album - but some of the non-single tracks are pretty good (and single worthy).
Notable Singles:
* "Kyrie"
* "Broken Wings"
* "Is It Love"
Other Singles (Apparently)
* "Black/White"
Other Songs On the Album (of ascertainable awesomeness):
* "Uniform of Youth"
* "Don't Slow Down"
* "Run to Her"
* "Into My Own Hands"
* "Tangent Tears"
* "Welcome to the Real World"
Awesome 80s Albums: Mike + The Mechanics - Mike + The Mechanics
Welcome to part 23 of my 32 part series of the awesomeness that was 1980 album releases. Compared to today, there is no comparison. 1980s = good, today <> good.
Anyway, this post deals with the 1985 debut album for Mike and the Mechanics. Mike and the Mechanics was a side project for Mike Rutherford from Genesis. The vocals were handled by Paul Young (not that one) and Paul Carrack. "All I Need a Miracle" was awesome enough to push this album onto my list, but as a whole - this album is not bad. They also had a pretty solid second album (which contained "The Living Years").
Notable Singles:
* "All I Need is a Miracle" - so true
* "Silent Running"
Other Singles:
* "Taken In"
Other Songs from the Album (some are kind of awesome):
* "Par Avian"
* "Hanging by a Thread"
* "I Get the Feeling"
* "Take the Reins"
* "You Are the One"
* "A Call to Arms"
Anyway, this post deals with the 1985 debut album for Mike and the Mechanics. Mike and the Mechanics was a side project for Mike Rutherford from Genesis. The vocals were handled by Paul Young (not that one) and Paul Carrack. "All I Need a Miracle" was awesome enough to push this album onto my list, but as a whole - this album is not bad. They also had a pretty solid second album (which contained "The Living Years").
Notable Singles:
* "All I Need is a Miracle" - so true
* "Silent Running"
Other Singles:
* "Taken In"
Other Songs from the Album (some are kind of awesome):
* "Par Avian"
* "Hanging by a Thread"
* "I Get the Feeling"
* "Take the Reins"
* "You Are the One"
* "A Call to Arms"
Awesome 80s Albums: George Michael - Faith
Welcome to the 22nd post in my 32 post series of awesome 80s albums.
i don't think the list of awesome 80s albums would be complete without this gem from George Michael. The album in question is George Michael's colossal 1987 solo debut (after Wham!), Faith. Apparently, the album had a strong debut and to date has sold over 25 million albums. There were 7 singles released from this album - however, some of the single versions are better (in my opinion) than the album versions. Those were the days, before George Michael started acting strange and passing out behind the wheel of his car. This pretty album pretty much dominated my listening time in 1988 - this is a fun album to sing along to. This album was indeed fun to sing along to. i had a "friend" in elementary school who wasn't allowed to listen to the second side of the album.
Notable Singles:
* "Faith"
* "I Want Your Sex" - the album version is a two parter, i prefer the first version alone
* "Father Figure"
* "One More Try"
* "Monkey" - i like the remixed single version better
* "Kissing a Fool" - awesome song
Other Singles:
* "Hard Day"
Other Songs on the Album (in a variety of awesomeness):
* "Hand to Mouth"
* "Look at Your Hands"
* "A Last Request"
* "Hard Day (Remix)"
i don't think the list of awesome 80s albums would be complete without this gem from George Michael. The album in question is George Michael's colossal 1987 solo debut (after Wham!), Faith. Apparently, the album had a strong debut and to date has sold over 25 million albums. There were 7 singles released from this album - however, some of the single versions are better (in my opinion) than the album versions. Those were the days, before George Michael started acting strange and passing out behind the wheel of his car. This pretty album pretty much dominated my listening time in 1988 - this is a fun album to sing along to. This album was indeed fun to sing along to. i had a "friend" in elementary school who wasn't allowed to listen to the second side of the album.
Notable Singles:
* "Faith"
* "I Want Your Sex" - the album version is a two parter, i prefer the first version alone
* "Father Figure"
* "One More Try"
* "Monkey" - i like the remixed single version better
* "Kissing a Fool" - awesome song
Other Singles:
* "Hard Day"
Other Songs on the Album (in a variety of awesomeness):
* "Hand to Mouth"
* "Look at Your Hands"
* "A Last Request"
* "Hard Day (Remix)"
Awesome 80s Albums: Miami Sound Machine - Primitive Love
Welcome to part 21 (is it?) of my 32 part series on awesome albums of the 1980s. There actually were 1980s albums that did not rock - probably.
This post is about the 1985 release from Miami Sound Machine (Gloria Estefan) - Primitive Love. This was Miami Sound Machine's breakout album (at least among the English speaking audience). There were four top 10 singles off of this album. Songs from this album still occasionally pop up in pop culture - right Bender Bending Rodriguez?
Notable Singles:
* "Conga"
* "Bad Boy"
* "Words Get In the Way"
* "Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)"
Other Songs on the Album (of varying awesomeness):
* "Body to Body"
* "Primitive Love"
* "Mucho Money"
* "You Made A Fool Out of Me"
* "Movies"
* "Surrender Paradise"
This post is about the 1985 release from Miami Sound Machine (Gloria Estefan) - Primitive Love. This was Miami Sound Machine's breakout album (at least among the English speaking audience). There were four top 10 singles off of this album. Songs from this album still occasionally pop up in pop culture - right Bender Bending Rodriguez?
Notable Singles:
* "Conga"
* "Bad Boy"
* "Words Get In the Way"
* "Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)"
Other Songs on the Album (of varying awesomeness):
* "Body to Body"
* "Primitive Love"
* "Mucho Money"
* "You Made A Fool Out of Me"
* "Movies"
* "Surrender Paradise"
Awesome 80s Albums: Martika - Martika
Welcome to part 20 of my 32 (plus bonus post) part series on awesome albums from the most awesome of decades, the awesome 80s.
This is yet another album that i no longer own in physical form, Martika's 1989 self-titled debut album. There is something about female vocalists that is a little off putting for me (maybe it is their insistence to opera things up and overkill the vibrato, or hit insanely high notes) - at least that is limited in the pop world. Well, anyway, Martika's debut is actually a decent solo effort. Maybe that is because this is an 80s pop sound. This album was somewhat successful behind the big single "Toy Soldiers".
Notable Singles:
* "Toy Soldiers"
* "More than You Know"
* "I Feel the Earth Move"
Other Singles:
* "Water" (Remixed version)
Other Songs on the Album i Kind of Like:
* "Alibis"
* "Cross My Heart"
* "If You're Tarzan, I'm Jane"
* "It's Not What You're Doing"
* "See If I Care"
* "You Got Me Into This"
This is yet another album that i no longer own in physical form, Martika's 1989 self-titled debut album. There is something about female vocalists that is a little off putting for me (maybe it is their insistence to opera things up and overkill the vibrato, or hit insanely high notes) - at least that is limited in the pop world. Well, anyway, Martika's debut is actually a decent solo effort. Maybe that is because this is an 80s pop sound. This album was somewhat successful behind the big single "Toy Soldiers".
Notable Singles:
* "Toy Soldiers"
* "More than You Know"
* "I Feel the Earth Move"
Other Singles:
* "Water" (Remixed version)
Other Songs on the Album i Kind of Like:
* "Alibis"
* "Cross My Heart"
* "If You're Tarzan, I'm Jane"
* "It's Not What You're Doing"
* "See If I Care"
* "You Got Me Into This"
Friday, April 15, 2011
Awesome 80s Albums: Glenn Merieros - Glenn Medieros
This is part 19 in my 31(?) part series of awesome 1980s albums.
This post will mention the 1987 self-titled album by Glenn Medeiros, which was released on Amherst Records. Appaently, he released this album when he was 17 years old. There isn't a whole lot of information here, other than apparently Glenn Medieros is now a teacher living in Hawaii.
Notable Singles:
* "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You"
Other Singles:
* "Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone" - awesome song
* "Watching Over You"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "The Wings of My Heart"
* "A Stranger Tonight"
* "What's It Gonna Take"
* "A Fool's Affair"
* "You Left the Loneliest Heart" - The Boys Club version is much better
* "Knocking at Your Door"
This post will mention the 1987 self-titled album by Glenn Medeiros, which was released on Amherst Records. Appaently, he released this album when he was 17 years old. There isn't a whole lot of information here, other than apparently Glenn Medieros is now a teacher living in Hawaii.
Notable Singles:
* "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You"
Other Singles:
* "Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone" - awesome song
* "Watching Over You"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "The Wings of My Heart"
* "A Stranger Tonight"
* "What's It Gonna Take"
* "A Fool's Affair"
* "You Left the Loneliest Heart" - The Boys Club version is much better
* "Knocking at Your Door"
Awesome 80s Albums: Richard Marx - Repeat Offender
Welcome to part 18 (i think) of my defined but not stated directly here part series of 1980s album awesomeness.
This post deals with the 1989 second album for singer/songwriter turned producer Richard Marx. Richard Marx's self-titled debut album was actually pretty good too, but this one gets the edge as it contains his signature song. i also like the "filler" songs better in this album - some of them were good enough to be singles (in my opinion). This is another album in my top 10 - one of these times i'm going to actually put that list together.
Notable Singles:
* "Right Here Waiting"
* "Satisfied"
* "Angelia"
* "Too Late to Say Goodbye"
* "Children of the Night"
Other Songs That i Kind of Like:
* "Nothin' You Can Do About It"
* "Heart on the Line"
* "Real World"
* "If You Don't Want My Love"
* "That Was Lulu"
* "Wait for the Sunrise"
This post deals with the 1989 second album for singer/songwriter turned producer Richard Marx. Richard Marx's self-titled debut album was actually pretty good too, but this one gets the edge as it contains his signature song. i also like the "filler" songs better in this album - some of them were good enough to be singles (in my opinion). This is another album in my top 10 - one of these times i'm going to actually put that list together.
Notable Singles:
* "Right Here Waiting"
* "Satisfied"
* "Angelia"
* "Too Late to Say Goodbye"
* "Children of the Night"
Other Songs That i Kind of Like:
* "Nothin' You Can Do About It"
* "Heart on the Line"
* "Real World"
* "If You Don't Want My Love"
* "That Was Lulu"
* "Wait for the Sunrise"
Awesome 80s Albums: Huey Lewis and the News - Sports
Welcome to part 17 of my YYY part series on awesome albums of the 80s. By my count, only 14 more left after this one. i did limit it to one album per artist.
This post deals with a group from the San Francisco area - Huey Lewis and the News. Apparently, Huey Lewis needed a year or less to create between their second album and this one. Their most successful album, Sports was released in 1983 - achieving most of its success in 1984.
Notable Singles:
* "Heart and Soul"
* "I Want a New Drug"
* "The Heart of Rock & Roll"
* "If This is It"
* "Walking on a Thin Line"
Non-Single Songs i Kind of Like:
* "Bad is Bad"
The Rest of the Album:
* "Finally Found a Home"
* "You Crack Me Up"
* "Honky Tonk Blues"
This post deals with a group from the San Francisco area - Huey Lewis and the News. Apparently, Huey Lewis needed a year or less to create between their second album and this one. Their most successful album, Sports was released in 1983 - achieving most of its success in 1984.
Notable Singles:
* "Heart and Soul"
* "I Want a New Drug"
* "The Heart of Rock & Roll"
* "If This is It"
* "Walking on a Thin Line"
Non-Single Songs i Kind of Like:
* "Bad is Bad"
The Rest of the Album:
* "Finally Found a Home"
* "You Crack Me Up"
* "Honky Tonk Blues"
Awesome 80s Albums: Lou Gramm - Long Hard Look
Welcome to part 16 of my XXX part series on awesome albums of the 80s
This post's topic is the 1989 album by Lou Gramm, Long Hard Look. In case you didn't know, Lou Gramm was the lead singer for Foreigner throughout the 80s. The critics may not have liked this album, but i do. This is another album i got used in the 90s. Some lead singers have solo projects and it sounds just like a lost song from the group they came from (Steve Perry from Journey comes to mind). The songs on this album don't really seem like they are missing Foreigner songs, but something a little different.
Notable Singles:
* "Just Between You And Me"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "True Blue Love"
Other Songs on the Album that i Kind of Like:
* "Angel With A Dirty Face"
* "Broken Dreams"
* "I'll Come Running"
* "Warmest Rising Sun"
* "Day One"
* "I'll Know When It's Over"
Other Songs on Disc:
* "Hangin' On My Hip"
* "Tin Soldier"
This post's topic is the 1989 album by Lou Gramm, Long Hard Look. In case you didn't know, Lou Gramm was the lead singer for Foreigner throughout the 80s. The critics may not have liked this album, but i do. This is another album i got used in the 90s. Some lead singers have solo projects and it sounds just like a lost song from the group they came from (Steve Perry from Journey comes to mind). The songs on this album don't really seem like they are missing Foreigner songs, but something a little different.
Notable Singles:
* "Just Between You And Me"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "True Blue Love"
Other Songs on the Album that i Kind of Like:
* "Angel With A Dirty Face"
* "Broken Dreams"
* "I'll Come Running"
* "Warmest Rising Sun"
* "Day One"
* "I'll Know When It's Over"
Other Songs on Disc:
* "Hangin' On My Hip"
* "Tin Soldier"
Awesome 80s Albums: Johnny Hates Jazz - Turn Back the Clock
Welcome to another addition to my awesome albums of the 1980s series. We'll call it part Y.
Unlike some of the previous posts, i still have this album even though i have the greatest hits album too. Six out of ten songs are also on the greatest hits, which also has some a couple of decent songs from their second album (i liked the four non-included songs enough to keep the album). Johnny Hates Jazz - and after taking a college humanities class, so do i. The lead singer and song writer Clark Datchler left the group after this album was released. This album is not exactly the most lyrically upbeat album. Johnny Hates Jazz is frequently misidentified as a one hit wonder.
Notable Singles:
* "Shattered Dreams"
* "Turn Back the Clock"
* "I Don't Want to Be a Hero"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Foolish Heart"
* "Heart of Gold"
* "Don't Say It's Love"
Other Songs on Album (not Greatest Hits):
* "What Other Reason"
* "Listen"
* "Different Seasons"
* "Don't Let it End This Way"
Unlike some of the previous posts, i still have this album even though i have the greatest hits album too. Six out of ten songs are also on the greatest hits, which also has some a couple of decent songs from their second album (i liked the four non-included songs enough to keep the album). Johnny Hates Jazz - and after taking a college humanities class, so do i. The lead singer and song writer Clark Datchler left the group after this album was released. This album is not exactly the most lyrically upbeat album. Johnny Hates Jazz is frequently misidentified as a one hit wonder.
Notable Singles:
* "Shattered Dreams"
* "Turn Back the Clock"
* "I Don't Want to Be a Hero"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Foolish Heart"
* "Heart of Gold"
* "Don't Say It's Love"
Other Songs on Album (not Greatest Hits):
* "What Other Reason"
* "Listen"
* "Different Seasons"
* "Don't Let it End This Way"
Awesome 80s Albums: Scritti Politti - Cupid and Psyche '85
Welcome to part 14 of my FFAAEE part series on awesome ablums from the 1980s.
This post continues the recent trend of albums that i used to own, but no longer do. Apparently i collect things for a while, then tend to sell/divest myself of them. This casualty came before a move probably because it was harder to sing along to and the guy's voice is a little nasally. i was on the fence about keeping this CD - but it sold at a garage sale. i originally got the album used after hearing the song "Perfect Way" on a compilation disc of 80s music (Living in Oblvion, i think). The album is Cupid and Psyche '85 by Scritti Politti.
Notable Singles (US):
* "Perfect Way"
Lesser Singles (though some did well in other countries):
* "Wood Beez"
* "Absolute"
* "Hypnotize"
* "The Word Girl"
Also Appearining on Album:
* "Small Talk"
* "A Little Knowledge"
* "Don't Work that Hard"
* "Lover to Fall"
* "Flesh & Blood"
* Other versions of: "Absolute", "Wood Beez" and "Hypnotize"
This post continues the recent trend of albums that i used to own, but no longer do. Apparently i collect things for a while, then tend to sell/divest myself of them. This casualty came before a move probably because it was harder to sing along to and the guy's voice is a little nasally. i was on the fence about keeping this CD - but it sold at a garage sale. i originally got the album used after hearing the song "Perfect Way" on a compilation disc of 80s music (Living in Oblvion, i think). The album is Cupid and Psyche '85 by Scritti Politti.
Notable Singles (US):
* "Perfect Way"
Lesser Singles (though some did well in other countries):
* "Wood Beez"
* "Absolute"
* "Hypnotize"
* "The Word Girl"
Also Appearining on Album:
* "Small Talk"
* "A Little Knowledge"
* "Don't Work that Hard"
* "Lover to Fall"
* "Flesh & Blood"
* Other versions of: "Absolute", "Wood Beez" and "Hypnotize"
Awesome 80s Albums: Glass Tiger - The Thin Red Line
Welcome to part 13 of my <89 part series on awesome albums from the magical decade that was the 1980s.
i decided to list another album that i used to have. In this case, it was because i had the record (vinyl) and i didn't have a record player. So, much like the Cutting Crew album, i replaced it with a greatest hits album (all of the singles are on the greatest hits album, none of the other songs are). The album in question is The Thin Red Line by Glass Tiger, a Canadian band. Glass Tiger is one of the numerous 80s groups i found out about in the 90s. i had heard a song on the radio growing up and decided to figure out who acutally sung it - i thought that it might be Bryan Adams, but it turns out he was just doing backing vocals - the song was "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)". After i got the album i found out there was another song that i had always liked but never knew who sang - "Someday". i don't really remember the filler songs well, but i remember that i didn't dislike them.
Notable Singles:
* "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone")
* "Someday" - a fairly decent getting dumped song
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Thin Red Line"
* "You're What I Look For"
* "I Will Be There"
Other Songs on the Album that i Don't Really Remember:
* "Closer to You"
* "Vanishing Tribe"
* "Looking at a Picture"
* "The Secret"
* "Ancient Evenings"
* "Ecstasy"
i decided to list another album that i used to have. In this case, it was because i had the record (vinyl) and i didn't have a record player. So, much like the Cutting Crew album, i replaced it with a greatest hits album (all of the singles are on the greatest hits album, none of the other songs are). The album in question is The Thin Red Line by Glass Tiger, a Canadian band. Glass Tiger is one of the numerous 80s groups i found out about in the 90s. i had heard a song on the radio growing up and decided to figure out who acutally sung it - i thought that it might be Bryan Adams, but it turns out he was just doing backing vocals - the song was "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)". After i got the album i found out there was another song that i had always liked but never knew who sang - "Someday". i don't really remember the filler songs well, but i remember that i didn't dislike them.
Notable Singles:
* "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone")
* "Someday" - a fairly decent getting dumped song
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Thin Red Line"
* "You're What I Look For"
* "I Will Be There"
Other Songs on the Album that i Don't Really Remember:
* "Closer to You"
* "Vanishing Tribe"
* "Looking at a Picture"
* "The Secret"
* "Ancient Evenings"
* "Ecstasy"
Awesome 80s Albums: Cutting Crew - Broadcast
Welcome to part 12 of my ______ part series on 1980s albums that are still awesome today.
For this post, i will mention an album that i actually no longer still have (i replaced it with a greatest hits CD). The album in question is the 1986 album by the band Cutting Crew, Broadcast. This was actually a pretty good CD, but 7 out of 10 songs on the album are also on their greatest hits album. i also purchased "It Shoudn't Take Too Long" off of Amazon - for some reason i like that song. You may have heard of the two big singles on this album, no Cutting Crew was not a one hit wonder.
Notable Singles:
* "(I Just) Died In Your Arms"
* "I've Been In Love Before"
Other Singles:
* "One For the Mockingbird"
* "Any Color"
Other Songs appearing on Greatest Hits Album:
* "Fear of Falling"
* "Life in a Dangerous Time"
* "Don't Look Back"
Three Songs not on Greatest Hits Album:
* "Sahara"
* "It Shouldn't Take Too Long"
* "The Broadcast"
For this post, i will mention an album that i actually no longer still have (i replaced it with a greatest hits CD). The album in question is the 1986 album by the band Cutting Crew, Broadcast. This was actually a pretty good CD, but 7 out of 10 songs on the album are also on their greatest hits album. i also purchased "It Shoudn't Take Too Long" off of Amazon - for some reason i like that song. You may have heard of the two big singles on this album, no Cutting Crew was not a one hit wonder.
Notable Singles:
* "(I Just) Died In Your Arms"
* "I've Been In Love Before"
Other Singles:
* "One For the Mockingbird"
* "Any Color"
Other Songs appearing on Greatest Hits Album:
* "Fear of Falling"
* "Life in a Dangerous Time"
* "Don't Look Back"
Three Songs not on Greatest Hits Album:
* "Sahara"
* "It Shouldn't Take Too Long"
* "The Broadcast"
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Awesome 80s Albums: Billy Joel - An Innocent Man
Welcome to part 11 of (x + y)/z part series on albums from the 80s that rocked in their own special way.
This part talks about one of my favorite albums from my childhood, Billy Joel's An Innocent Man. This is probably in my top 10 albums of all time list. In some ways this feels kind of like an anachronism for an 80s release, as it heralded back to earlier days and shows influence from genres like doo-wop and earlier rock. Apparently, this album had 7 singles released - funny i only remembered 6 of them. Billy Joel seems kind of out of place in music videos, but the ones from this album worked for me - whether it was the garage scene of "Uptown Girl" or the courthouse of "Keeping the Faith".
Notable (Singles):
* "Uptown Girl"
* "Tell Her About It"
* "An Innocent Man"
* "The Longest Time"
* "Keeping the Faith"
* "Leave a Tender Moment Alone"
Lesser Known Single:
* "This Night" - apparently charted only in UK/Japan
Other Songs:
* "Easy Money"
* "Careless Talk"
* "Christie Lee"
This part talks about one of my favorite albums from my childhood, Billy Joel's An Innocent Man. This is probably in my top 10 albums of all time list. In some ways this feels kind of like an anachronism for an 80s release, as it heralded back to earlier days and shows influence from genres like doo-wop and earlier rock. Apparently, this album had 7 singles released - funny i only remembered 6 of them. Billy Joel seems kind of out of place in music videos, but the ones from this album worked for me - whether it was the garage scene of "Uptown Girl" or the courthouse of "Keeping the Faith".
Notable (Singles):
* "Uptown Girl"
* "Tell Her About It"
* "An Innocent Man"
* "The Longest Time"
* "Keeping the Faith"
* "Leave a Tender Moment Alone"
Lesser Known Single:
* "This Night" - apparently charted only in UK/Japan
Other Songs:
* "Easy Money"
* "Careless Talk"
* "Christie Lee"
Awesome 80s Albums: Michael Jackson - Thriller
On part 10 of my however -1 part series of awesome 80s albums i come to a little known artist with an album which barely sold any copies.
Thriller, the 1982 classic 80s album by Michael Jackson is supposedly the best selling album of all time. Thriller surprisingly had 7 of the 9 songs on the album released as singles. Songs for this album benefited from Michael Jackson's use of the emerging music video market (and MTV). i decided i could use only one between this and Bad and i liked this album a little better.
Notable Singles:
* "Thriller"
* "The Girl is Mine"
* "Billie Jean"
* "Beat It"
* "Wanna Be Starting Something"
* "Human Nature"
* "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
The Two Songs That Weren't Singles:
* "The Lady in My Life"
* "Baby Be Mine"
Thriller, the 1982 classic 80s album by Michael Jackson is supposedly the best selling album of all time. Thriller surprisingly had 7 of the 9 songs on the album released as singles. Songs for this album benefited from Michael Jackson's use of the emerging music video market (and MTV). i decided i could use only one between this and Bad and i liked this album a little better.
Notable Singles:
* "Thriller"
* "The Girl is Mine"
* "Billie Jean"
* "Beat It"
* "Wanna Be Starting Something"
* "Human Nature"
* "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
The Two Songs That Weren't Singles:
* "The Lady in My Life"
* "Baby Be Mine"
Awesome 80s Albums: Boys Club - Boys Club
Welcome to part 9 in my series of awesome 80s albums. Albums seem to be a dying art form in this era of the digital single.
This album Boys Club, a self-titled debut, is a bit more obscure than anything else so far. i can't even really find that much out about them on wikipedia. What i do know is that this group was once referred to as the Minnesota version of Wham!. The lead singer (i think), Gene Hunt (Wolfgramm) was a member of The Jets. This is a decent pop album from the late 80s (my copy says 1988). i only know about because i found a used copy in a Werehouse store in the mid to late 90s.
Notable Singles: - i only know of one released
* "I Remember Holding You"
Other Songs i Kind of Like:
* "The Loneliest Heart" - probably the 2nd best song on the album
* "At it Again"
* "Time Starts Now"
* "The Naked Truth"
* "Step by Step"
* "Tell Me" - too true
* "When You're Letting Go"
* "Victim of the Heart"
Other Songs:
* "Danglin' on a String"
This album Boys Club, a self-titled debut, is a bit more obscure than anything else so far. i can't even really find that much out about them on wikipedia. What i do know is that this group was once referred to as the Minnesota version of Wham!. The lead singer (i think), Gene Hunt (Wolfgramm) was a member of The Jets. This is a decent pop album from the late 80s (my copy says 1988). i only know about because i found a used copy in a Werehouse store in the mid to late 90s.
Notable Singles: - i only know of one released
* "I Remember Holding You"
Other Songs i Kind of Like:
* "The Loneliest Heart" - probably the 2nd best song on the album
* "At it Again"
* "Time Starts Now"
* "The Naked Truth"
* "Step by Step"
* "Tell Me" - too true
* "When You're Letting Go"
* "Victim of the Heart"
Other Songs:
* "Danglin' on a String"
Awesome 80s Albums: Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
This is part 8 of my however many part i feel like doing series of awesome albums from the 1980s. This album is a little bit of a departure from most on the list - as it tends to have a little different edge than most album i will include in this series (mostly straight ahead pop/rock).
This album was released in 1983 by Billy Idol, who seems to be a little more punk edged. It sold decently and was re-released in a 1999 expanded edition. In my mind, the quality of the rest of the album are not nearly as good as the singles - though the singles are good enough to put this as a classic 80s album.
Notable Singles:
* "Rebel Yell"
* "Eyes Without a Face"
* "Flesh For Fantasy"
* "Catch My Fall"
Other Songs:
* "Daytime Drama"
* "Blue Highway"
* "Crank Call"
* "(Do Not) Stand in the Shadows"
* "The Dead Next Door"
This album was released in 1983 by Billy Idol, who seems to be a little more punk edged. It sold decently and was re-released in a 1999 expanded edition. In my mind, the quality of the rest of the album are not nearly as good as the singles - though the singles are good enough to put this as a classic 80s album.
Notable Singles:
* "Rebel Yell"
* "Eyes Without a Face"
* "Flesh For Fantasy"
* "Catch My Fall"
Other Songs:
* "Daytime Drama"
* "Blue Highway"
* "Crank Call"
* "(Do Not) Stand in the Shadows"
* "The Dead Next Door"
Awesome 80s Albums: Hall and Oates - Big Bang Boom
Welcome to part 7 (or so) of my undefined - unless it is part series on awesome albums from the 1980s.
This post is about the 1984 album by Daryl Hall and John Oates, Big Bam Boom. This album only sold 3 million or so copies world wide. This album actually flows quite well from song to song. This album is regarded as the end of an impressive run of hit albums by the duo.
Notable Singles:
* "Out of Touch"
* "Method of Modern Love"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid"
* "Possession Obsession"
Other Songs:
* "Dance On Your Knees" - a short interlude/intro track
* "Bank on Your Love"
* "Going Through the Motions"
* "Cold and Dark Yesterday"
* "All American Girl"
This post is about the 1984 album by Daryl Hall and John Oates, Big Bam Boom. This album only sold 3 million or so copies world wide. This album actually flows quite well from song to song. This album is regarded as the end of an impressive run of hit albums by the duo.
Notable Singles:
* "Out of Touch"
* "Method of Modern Love"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid"
* "Possession Obsession"
Other Songs:
* "Dance On Your Knees" - a short interlude/intro track
* "Bank on Your Love"
* "Going Through the Motions"
* "Cold and Dark Yesterday"
* "All American Girl"
Monday, April 11, 2011
Awesome 80s Albums: Chicago - 17
Welcome to my latest installement of awesome 80s albums (part 6). It is kind of strange to see how far the music industry seems to have fallen since the 80s.
This post covers the last Peter Cetera album for Chicago, Chicago 17. This album was released in 1984. Chicago 18 and 19 are decent, but feel decidedly different. You might also want to check out the single "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" from Chicago 16. Background vocals on "We Can Stop the Hurtin'" were from Richard Marx and Donny Osmond (both will probably appear in future posts).
This album might be among my top 10 favorites of all time
Notable Singles (should have been more released):
* "You're the Inspiration"
* "Hard Habit to Break"
* "Stay the Night"
* "Along Comes a Woman"
Non-Single Songs i Kind of Like:
* "We Can Stop the Hurtin" - though it may be a little political
* "Only You"
* "Remember the Feeling"
* "Once in a Lifetime"
* "Please Hold On"
* "Prima Donna"
This post covers the last Peter Cetera album for Chicago, Chicago 17. This album was released in 1984. Chicago 18 and 19 are decent, but feel decidedly different. You might also want to check out the single "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" from Chicago 16. Background vocals on "We Can Stop the Hurtin'" were from Richard Marx and Donny Osmond (both will probably appear in future posts).
This album might be among my top 10 favorites of all time
Notable Singles (should have been more released):
* "You're the Inspiration"
* "Hard Habit to Break"
* "Stay the Night"
* "Along Comes a Woman"
Non-Single Songs i Kind of Like:
* "We Can Stop the Hurtin" - though it may be a little political
* "Only You"
* "Remember the Feeling"
* "Once in a Lifetime"
* "Please Hold On"
* "Prima Donna"
Awesome 80s Albums:Bad English - Bad English
Welcome to part 5 of my undefined number of post series on awesome albums of the 1980s.
This one is the self-titled debut album from supergroup Bad English. The band consisted of John Waite ("Missing You"), Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon (Journey), along with Ricky Phillips and Deen Castronovo. The biggest song on this alubm was "When I See You Smile". At over 60 minutes, this seems to have been one of the longer albums in that era. Bad English released a second album in 1991 (not nearly as good as this one)
Singles You May Have Heard of:
* "When I See You Smile"
* "Price of Love"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Possession" (1990)
* "Forget Me Not"
* "Best of What I've Got"
* " Heaven is a 4 Letter Word" (1990)
Non-Single Songs That i Kind of Like:
* " Tough Times Don't Last"
* "Ghost in Your Heart"
* " Don't Walk Away"
* "The Restless Ones"
Other Songs:
* "Ready When You Are"
* "Lay Down"
* "Rockin' Horse"
This one is the self-titled debut album from supergroup Bad English. The band consisted of John Waite ("Missing You"), Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon (Journey), along with Ricky Phillips and Deen Castronovo. The biggest song on this alubm was "When I See You Smile". At over 60 minutes, this seems to have been one of the longer albums in that era. Bad English released a second album in 1991 (not nearly as good as this one)
Singles You May Have Heard of:
* "When I See You Smile"
* "Price of Love"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "Possession" (1990)
* "Forget Me Not"
* "Best of What I've Got"
* " Heaven is a 4 Letter Word" (1990)
Non-Single Songs That i Kind of Like:
* " Tough Times Don't Last"
* "Ghost in Your Heart"
* " Don't Walk Away"
* "The Restless Ones"
Other Songs:
* "Ready When You Are"
* "Lay Down"
* "Rockin' Horse"
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Most Triumphant: Bill and Ted 3?
According to an interview that Keanu Reeves had with MTV, Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan might be coming back to save the world.
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1661245/keanu-reeves-bill-and-ted-3.jhtml
Some people may have wondered why world peace, communication with other animals and the like have not occurred yet. Come on, mini golf score are still way too high and bowling scores still too low and the dirt isn't even clean yet. It turns out that it may be because the Wyld Stallyns have yet to release their hit. After all, the Wyld Stallyns music is the cornerstone of a Utopian world - so important that time travel had to be involved.
The first movie is considered a late 80s classic (by me at least). The second movie, which i'm not sure the events actually happened, is a guilty pleasure from the early 90s. A third movie could be interesting - especially considering the backdrop, an absolutely horrific new millennium.
Save us Bill and Ted!!
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1661245/keanu-reeves-bill-and-ted-3.jhtml
Some people may have wondered why world peace, communication with other animals and the like have not occurred yet. Come on, mini golf score are still way too high and bowling scores still too low and the dirt isn't even clean yet. It turns out that it may be because the Wyld Stallyns have yet to release their hit. After all, the Wyld Stallyns music is the cornerstone of a Utopian world - so important that time travel had to be involved.
The first movie is considered a late 80s classic (by me at least). The second movie, which i'm not sure the events actually happened, is a guilty pleasure from the early 90s. A third movie could be interesting - especially considering the backdrop, an absolutely horrific new millennium.
Save us Bill and Ted!!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Awesome 80s Albums: Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
Welcome to part 4 of 1,220302^0 + X of my series on awesome 80s albums.
Today's album is the little known 1986 album (their 3rd) by an obscure group from New Jersey (Bon Jovi) called Slippery When Wet. According to wikipedia - this album has sold a paltry 28 million copies worldwide. Apparently the album was recorded in Vancouver (the "Canadian" one, not the one near Portland). According to the historical documentary Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Slippery When Wet was one of Beethoven's favorite musical works. Their follow up album New Jersey wasn't bad either.
Singles (only 4, really?):
* "You Give Love a Bad Name"
* "Livin' on a Prayer"
* "Wanted Dead or Alive"
* "Never Say Goodbye"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Let It Rock"
* "Social Disease" - the intro is interesting, "you mean that's it"
* "Raise Your Hands"
* "Without Love"
* "I'd Die For You"
* "Wild in the Streets"
Today's album is the little known 1986 album (their 3rd) by an obscure group from New Jersey (Bon Jovi) called Slippery When Wet. According to wikipedia - this album has sold a paltry 28 million copies worldwide. Apparently the album was recorded in Vancouver (the "Canadian" one, not the one near Portland). According to the historical documentary Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Slippery When Wet was one of Beethoven's favorite musical works. Their follow up album New Jersey wasn't bad either.
Singles (only 4, really?):
* "You Give Love a Bad Name"
* "Livin' on a Prayer"
* "Wanted Dead or Alive"
* "Never Say Goodbye"
Other Songs on the Album:
* "Let It Rock"
* "Social Disease" - the intro is interesting, "you mean that's it"
* "Raise Your Hands"
* "Without Love"
* "I'd Die For You"
* "Wild in the Streets"
Awesome 80s Albums: Rick Astley - Whenever You Need Somebody
This post padding is part 3 of my 1,234/0 part series on awesome albums of the 80s.
In this thrilling post the album is Rick Astley - Whenever You Need Somebody. Rick Astley is more than just an internet meme - he had over 4 albums. Yes, this album does contain "Never Gonna Give You Up". i beleive this was Rick Astley's debut album - released in 1987. Like most 80s albums, this had 10 tracks (records used to have two sides which you would have to flip). Supposedly, this album sold a whopping 15.2 million copies worldwide (wiki using his website as source). His second album wasn't that bad either (i like the song "This Must Be Heaven" off his third album). Rick Astley had 7 songs chart in the top 40 in the US.
Notable Singles:
* "Never Gonna Give You Up"
* "Together Forever"
* "It Would Take A Strong Strong Man"
Lesser Known (in the US) Singles:
* "Whenever You Need Somebody"
* "When I Fall In Love"
* "Don't Say Goodbye"
Other Songs i Kind of Like that Weren't Singles
* "No More Looking for Love"
* " You Move Me" - "i go to work in my clean shirt"
Not Previously Listed Songs:
* "The Love Has Gone" - "will we ever be the same... the joy has turnded to pain"
* "Slipping Away"
In this thrilling post the album is Rick Astley - Whenever You Need Somebody. Rick Astley is more than just an internet meme - he had over 4 albums. Yes, this album does contain "Never Gonna Give You Up". i beleive this was Rick Astley's debut album - released in 1987. Like most 80s albums, this had 10 tracks (records used to have two sides which you would have to flip). Supposedly, this album sold a whopping 15.2 million copies worldwide (wiki using his website as source). His second album wasn't that bad either (i like the song "This Must Be Heaven" off his third album). Rick Astley had 7 songs chart in the top 40 in the US.
Notable Singles:
* "Never Gonna Give You Up"
* "Together Forever"
* "It Would Take A Strong Strong Man"
Lesser Known (in the US) Singles:
* "Whenever You Need Somebody"
* "When I Fall In Love"
* "Don't Say Goodbye"
Other Songs i Kind of Like that Weren't Singles
* "No More Looking for Love"
* " You Move Me" - "i go to work in my clean shirt"
Not Previously Listed Songs:
* "The Love Has Gone" - "will we ever be the same... the joy has turnded to pain"
* "Slipping Away"
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Awesome 80s Albums: Bryan Adams - Reckless
Welcome to part 2 of my =RANDBETWEEN (1,100000) part series on awesome albums from the 80s.
Today's album is Reckless by "Canadian" rocker Bryan Adams. This album was released in 1984. According to wikipedia.org, this was the first album to sell 1 million copies in Canada alone and sold 13 million plus copies world wide.
Standout Singles:
* "Run to You"
* "Heaven"
* "Somebody"
* "Summer of 69" - apparently it is not about a year, but a position
* "It's Only Love"
Other Singles:
* "One Night Love Affair" - it appeared in the beach party scene in the movie Real Genius
Today's album is Reckless by "Canadian" rocker Bryan Adams. This album was released in 1984. According to wikipedia.org, this was the first album to sell 1 million copies in Canada alone and sold 13 million plus copies world wide.
Standout Singles:
* "Run to You"
* "Heaven"
* "Somebody"
* "Summer of 69" - apparently it is not about a year, but a position
* "It's Only Love"
Other Singles:
* "One Night Love Affair" - it appeared in the beach party scene in the movie Real Genius
Monday, April 4, 2011
Awesome 80s Albums: Breathe - All That Jazz
Welcome to part one of my 13,347.3 part series on awesome albums from the 80s (the actual number may vary). The 80s were an awesome decade for pop music. However, some of these bands/albums remain on the pop cultural periphery.
Breathe was a UK band that released two albums before disbanding. If you know Johnny Hates Jazz or Waterfront, they have a similar style. Their best album was All That Jazz, originally released in 1988 (though their second album wasn't that bad either). This album has been out of print for a while, but appeared on Amazon for download last year. There are at least two configurations of the album. The song "For Love or Money" was not included on my CD. i would love this album to be released as DLC for Lips. The lead singer, David Glasper, had one of the best pop voices i have heard. This may not have as many hit songs as some of the other albums i will include in the future, but it is a pretty good album. If you want the quick version, YouTube has some of the videos up (also check out "Does She Love that Man" and "Say a Prayer" from Peace of Mind).
Standout singles:
* "How Can I Fall"
* "Hands to Heaven"
* "Don't Tell Me Lies"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "All This I Should Have Known"
* "Jonah"
Breathe was a UK band that released two albums before disbanding. If you know Johnny Hates Jazz or Waterfront, they have a similar style. Their best album was All That Jazz, originally released in 1988 (though their second album wasn't that bad either). This album has been out of print for a while, but appeared on Amazon for download last year. There are at least two configurations of the album. The song "For Love or Money" was not included on my CD. i would love this album to be released as DLC for Lips. The lead singer, David Glasper, had one of the best pop voices i have heard. This may not have as many hit songs as some of the other albums i will include in the future, but it is a pretty good album. If you want the quick version, YouTube has some of the videos up (also check out "Does She Love that Man" and "Say a Prayer" from Peace of Mind).
Standout singles:
* "How Can I Fall"
* "Hands to Heaven"
* "Don't Tell Me Lies"
Lesser Known Singles:
* "All This I Should Have Known"
* "Jonah"
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