Last night, ABC’s 20/20 aired a segment during their Friday night show called “Super Humans Super Powers”.
Usually, super human powers are associated with brute force and amazing physical accomplishments, but the one person we were all waiting to see was 11-year-old crossover singer Jackie Evancho.
Hailed as the girl wonder – the little girl with the big voice, Jackie Evancho spoke about her amazing rise to stardom and her passion for singing.
And yes, you can see her passion – and so can everyone else. In fact, Evancho is already getting Grammy nodes for the 2012 Awards season.
And her popularity with her fans can clearly be seen in her current album sales.
During her 20/20 interview, Jackie talked about her family life and what it feels like to be up on the stage. She talks about her life when not performing and her thoughts on why she can do what she does so well.
Doctors believe her lungs and vocal chords are just like any other 11-year-old, but what makes Evancho different is her brain.
Jackie was first discovered on the popular American television show “America’s Got Talent” two years ago, and even though she came in second place the world had seen an early glimpse of what Jackie would become.
Her debut album “Dream with me” is on track for gold and platinum status, and she has already worked with both Susan Boyle and Barbara Streisand on duets.
Her rendition of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” has become one of her signature songs and we suspect we have just heard, and seen, the beginning of young Jackie’s potential.
Watch Jackie Evancho Sing Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel”
Teaming with Grammy winner David Foster has been a tremendous success for Evancho as he seems to be able to pull out her talent while at the same time remembering she is just a young girl.
We look forward to hearing more of this amazing young artist and wish her and her family the best of success.
If you haven’t heard of Jackie Evancho you will soon.
Why?
Because Jackie just released her first feature length CD, “Dream With Me”, and it’s outselling every major artist on the pop music scene today.
Young Ms. Evancho is only 11-years-old and was born is Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. She has several brothers and sisters and says she fell in love with music after seeing “The Phantom of the Opera” on television.
After hearing her sing, her mother, Lisa, entered her into a local talent contest where she came in second place – Jackie was only eight years old.
After narrowly missing out on winning several more talent contests, her parents allowed the ten-year-old prodigy to audition for the television show “America’s Got Talent.”
Jackie seemed to blow away the competition and seemed to be on track to win, but unfortunately came in second place.
Her performances were so flawless that there were accusations that she had lip synced her songs and it was all a scam by producers.
But the cat was out of the bag and America had heard, and seen, what was to become one of the youngest artists to skyrocket to Platinum sales status in over thirty years.
After “America’s Got Talent”, Jackie immediately released her first single “O Holy Night.” This was her first national exposure and won her a spot singing for President Barak Obama in Washington D.C. during the annual Christmas tree lighting.
Watch Jackie Evancho sing O Holy Night in Washington D.C.
The reaction to her “O Holy Night” single was amazing, and immediately shot to the top of the Billboard music charts and became a best seller on Amazon. It was certified as Platinum in 2010.
After doing the rounds on the daytime and late night talk shows, she was approached by producer David Foster who worked with Jackie in the development of her first full length album “Dream With Me”.
Together, the two fashioned a collection of tracks, one which Jackie wrote herself, that combined both opera and crossover songs like “The Lord’s Prayer”, “When you Wish Upon a Star”, and “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan.
Watch Jackie Evancho and David Foster Interview
Jackie says,
“The title of my new album is ‘Dream With Me’ because it means I’m basically living the dream and there’s more to come.”
Jackie also plays violin and piano and has said she would like to collaborate with Josh Groban, Charlotte Church, and Andrea Bocelli.
Evancho's Sarasota Florida concert is currently being featured on most national PBS stations and showcases some of her best music and features several songs off her new album.
Theses PBS shows are the first time many viewers have seen Jackie and have caused quite an interest in the young singer.
She says she understands that in order to remain popular she has to do more than just sing opera songs, and realizes she will have to be a crossover singer in order to stay relevant.
On “Dream With Me” you will find her favorite opera pieces like “Nella Fantasia”, “Nessun Dorma”, “O Mio Babbino Caro”, and “Ombra Mai Fu”, along with incredible duets like “A Mother’s Prayer” with Susan Boyle and “Somewhere” featuring Barbra Streisand.
Watch Jackie Evancho sing Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” on PBS
Now you see why Jackie is going to be a star.
In fact, InfoStar has not really been able to find a bad review or other critical comment about her anywhere – and that says a lot in the world of the internet.
Composer Tim Janis says,
"Jackie's voice is so pure and natural, there's no flaw in it. People say 'I can hear her potential coming,' but no, it's here, it's now. She is truly an Angel and I can’t wait for the World to hear it and see it."
We agree.
And Jackie says the only thing she does to prepare for a big show is to “Say a prayer that God will be there on the stage with her and that He will sing along with her.”
Wow. Sniffle sniffle. Goose bumps…
So we set out to find the one performance piece that often separates the good from the bad in critical operatic singing – “Ave Marie”.
We figured if Evancho can pull off that tune with its massive complexity, then she really must be a true angel sent from Heaven.
Well - we found it. And it will make you cry.
So ladies and gentlemen, here is Jackie’s version of “Ave Maria” by Schubert accompanied by The Houston Chamber Choir and The Treble Choir of Houston.
Watch Jackie Evancho Sing Schubert’s “Ave Maria”
See. I told you.
I’ll say it again. Move over Lady Gaga - because I would love for my kids to learn, respect and look up to an artist like Jackie.
I know it won’t happen but I can dream can’t I?
If you only buy one CD this year... buy "Dream With Me."
You can sample each song and purchase Jackie’s new CD here at Amazon.
If you you’ve never heard of Jackie Evancho don’t worry – you will.
This 11-year-old soprano prodigy has taken the word by storm with her first full length album “Dream With Me” and is outselling Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry combined.
Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho was first seen during season five of “America’s Got Talent” when she was just ten years old, and blew away viewers who couldn’t get enough of her exquisite singing.
In addition to singing, Jackie also plays the piano and violin and even co-wrote the title track on "Dream With Me" with producer David Foster.
Watch Jackie Evancho Interview with David Foster
Jackie was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to Michael and Lisa Evancho and says she became interested in singing after seeing “The Phantom of the Opera”. She has two brothers, one older and one younger, and a younger sister.
Jackie says she was amazed that her debut single “Oh Holy Night” was so well received, and couldn’t believe that it sold over a million copies and has since gone platinum.
Evancho has teamed with the famous David “Hit Maker” Foster to produce her first full length CD titled “Dream With Me”.
On the album, she features the duets “A Mother’s Prayer” with Susan Boyle and “Somewhere” with Barbara Streisand along with her favorites “O Mio Babbino Caro”, "Ombra Mai Fu", "The Lord’s Prayer" and “Dream with Me”.
But the song everybody seems to want to hear is Jackie’s version of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel”.
Watch Jackie Evancho Sing Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel”
One reviewer says,
“It may well become her signature song – the one everybody wants to hear. She is able to put so much emotion into it and you can tell by watching her perform she absolutely gets lost in the moment. I have rarely seen adults who can perform with such maturity. It made me cry.”
Indeed.
In fact, PBS has been running segments of Jackie’s performance of “Angel” from her show in Sarasota Florida - and PBS only brings out the big guns during their fundraising season.
That should tell you something about this incredible young singer.
It’s true – we have not been able to find one review that had anything negative to say. This young lady is destined to become one of the greatest talents we have ever seen.
The summer movie season continues eating away at our budget intently, as two movies came up on the docket this weekend... the first came as a result of our nephew Benjamin coming to visit. The 9 year old and his family live in Jasper, but they spend time here in B'ham with the in-laws (mine, not theirs) frequently.
One of the activities including him playing hours and hours of LEGO Harry Potter on the Wii, and another was a movie... "Kung Fu Panda 2". Originally subtitled "The Kaboom of Doom", I'm kinda glad they dropped that and just went with the "2" part.
Anyway, I liked the movie as much as the first one. Its premise basically surrounds a panda named Po (voiced by Jack Black) who, in the first film, learned he was a "dragon warrior" and was taught Kung Fu, and joined up with other members of the Furious Five, including Tigress (Angelina Jolie) and Mantis (Seth Rogan) and others. For whatever reason, Grandmaster Flash wasn't included in this.
The bad guy this time around is an evil peacock named Shen, deliciously vocalized by Gary Oldman, and you'll hear other familiar voices like Jean Claude Van Damme, Dennis Haysbert and Danny McBride.
The animation is wonderful, the story is solid and flows well and its perfect for just about anyone of any age. You kinda wonder if there is an attraction between Po and Tigress, but the real relationship moments are between Po and his adoptive father, Mr. Ping. You can tell its adoption when you see Mr. Ping is a goose.
Po wonders who he is, knowing that a goose cannot be his real dad, and begins to question his family... and in a touching moment, Mr. Ping is forced to watch his beloved son Po walk away to battle.
As far as Po's real family, they kinda do that movie thing where one of the main issues in the second movie is an issue they don't even address in the first one... sorta like, when you realize Riggs wife is dead in the first Lethel Weapon, its only a minor plotpoint they use to establish the character, but when Lethel Weapon 2 rolls around, it becomes a major point in the story.
Same with Po's real family--only used to establish Po's character in KFP 1, but in KFP 2, it becomes a plot point. Guess you can do that with sequels...
And man that 9 year old kid loves him some Panda. And Bakugon. And Bey Blades. After the movie, then dinner at Chick Fila, we dropped the quickly tiring The Lovely Steph Leann off at The Cabana, then Benjamin and I spent some time first at The LEGO Store, then Toys R Us.
I do love The LEGO Store. Of course, every time I go there, I look over at ABC Toys, where The Happiest Place in the Mall used to be, and I throw up a little in my own mouth. Like I did last night. Ended up walking out with three LEGO guys he built himself, and a couple of Harry Potter keychains I bought for myself.
At Toys R Us, he spent about 30 minutes in front of the Bakugon and Bey Blade aisle, touching just about every toy and telling me which ones he had and which ones he needed. I listened intently, though I can't say I learned anything.
Should be noted that for whatever reason, he likes rap music. I dont think he fully understands the concept of "rap music", other than its style, so I was forced to fumble through my car for something that he could listen to. Luckily, I had a copy of "The Greatest" by LL Cool J, and was able to pop in "Mama Said Knock You Out", which he rather enjoyed. My other other CDs in the car at that moment included Norah Jones, Sara Bareilles, Sarah McLachlan, Darius Rucker and, of course, Dwight Yoakam's Greatest Hits--$5.99 at Wal-Mart, I considered it a steal.
Songs that I did manage to find on radio that made the cut were the edited version of "California Love" by Tupac and Dr. Dre... "Rocket 2 U" by The Jets... "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears... "Big Time" by Peter Gabriel... and "The Come Back Song" by Darius Rucker. "You Give Good Love" by Pre-crack Whitney also came on, but he informed me, "I don't like slow songs. I like rocker songs. And rap music."
We got about 34 seconds into "Dre Day", but I was able to flip the channel just as I heard the syllable "Muth..." and saved the day. Sometimes SiriusXM will censor, sometimes not. And since I listen to 90s on 9 a heckuva lot, I was bewildered that because I hear "Hip Hop Hooray", "Gangsta's Paradise" and "Baby Got Back" repeatedly, I just knew I would catch one of them for Benjamin's listening pleasure... but when I needed them to come on, I got nothing. Thats how I knew my life was outta luck, foo.
He did ask me if I had ever heard an Eminem song... I told him I had. He asked me if I liked any Eminem songs. I told him not many, though there were a few that I kinda liked. He asked me if Eminem was bad. I told him that yes, Eminem songs are pretty bad. He asked me how. I told him there was a lot of language, and that Eminem really liked to use lots of F-words. He asked me, "What's an F-word?" I changed the subject.
I finally popped in a CD that I had gotten from The Happiest Place in the Mall, one that included Hilary Duff, Aly & AJ and some High School Musical stuff. Figured that was safe as anything.
The line of night came when "Hoedown Throwdown" by Miley Cyrus came on... sadly, and I'll admit this to you--I know just about every word to it (and to "G.N.O." that came on later... which I'm guessing that besides me, only Hurricane Rhett would even know that stood for "Girls Night Out", much less know it by heart)... anyway, the song came on and Benjamin said, "Really? Is this Hannah Montana?"
I replied, "Its Miley Cyrus, yes."
Pause.
"So... why are two guys listening to Hannah Montana?"
Its the dudes! Its the guys! Its the Top 12 Guys, chosen by 3 industry icons, gone through grueling auditions one after the other, and now Seacrusty tells us, "Its all up to you (me?!)... only FIVE make it through to the American Idols Finals!"
THIS
IS AMERICAN
IIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDDOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!
So, I guess with only five guys, and I'm assuming five girls, making it through, there will probably be 2 wild card additions from the judges or some other method. Tomorrow the girls sing, and on Thursday, they announce those Top Five dudes and chicks.
Then, as Seacrusty tells us, the judges will add their own Wild Card picks... which might even mean a Top 13 for the Finals. You follow?
The Lovely Steph Leann comments on the fact that Steven Tyler is wearing a silky shirt with lips all over it. No, seriously, the pattern is a pic of a pair of what looks like woman's lips, and its all over the shirt. I'd wear that shirt.
And in the lineup, Seacrusty announces the boys, and it looks like Casey Abrams has the Pimp Spot, that being the final spot, and its good because when you start voting, you have that Pimp Spot performance fresh in your memory.
Clint Junbug is up first, though, singing some Stevie Wonder. Seacrusty tells us that they can pick whatever song they choose to sing this week. "Superstition" is what is being hollered at us right now, though. Not bad, though his Harry Potter glasses kind of annoy men.
Uncle Steven says it was brilliant. J-Lo loved how Junbug "got it out tonight!". Randy the Dawg loved it too.
Here is Jovany the Latin Lover, who showed his abs to J-Lo in an early show, and with the music coming, I can tell what he's doing... "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. Jovany the Latin Lover sounds pretty good, but its just... well, boring. Not a fan of Junbug, but at least he showed flair and pizzazz on stage. Did I just use Pizzazz?
Uncle Steven Tyler yells out, "Holy Shipyard!" (a reference to the shipyards that Jovany the Latin Lover worked in). J-Lo loved it. Randy the Dawg says what we are thinking... and this is where Randy the Dawg's experience on Idol comes in, by saying, "It was just okay. Very karaoke."
Jordon Dorsey is next. JoDo turns his song into a performance, by singing and tossing off his jacket--The Lovely Steph Leann yells, "Wait a minute! This isn't Strip Idol!" I've heard this song but I can't remember the name, or anything other than it samples "Love You Down" by The Surface from the late 80s. Wait... wait... Usher's "OMG"...
JoDo gets a little crazy onstage... Uncle Steven says, "It wasn't my favorite performance from you." J-Lo didn't like it either, calling him the soft R&B guy who didn't show his self tonight. Randy the Dawg tells JoDo what he told Jovany the Latin Lover... if you are going to sing a cover, you need to bring something new to the song. JoDo said, "Its not me, it wasn't me," which makes me say, "Dude?! You have your choice of any song! Why didn't you pick the song that IS you?"
Now, let's meet Tim Halperin, which might be the first time for many people, because we barely saw this guy in the 35 episodes leading up to this show. I don't even have a nickname for the guy yet. He's got a very Michael Buble-esque type of voice. He's singing "Come On Over", and though I'm not a huge fan of the song, even the original, I do like his voice. But I think Tim Halperin is going to get lost in the shuffle of the Idol names that we all know by now, and will be a victim of Idol's editing process.
But I liked it. Uncle Steven said, "I don't know if that song did you any justice..." J-Lo didn't care for the song choice, even though she thought he did a good job on the song. Randy the Dawg thought Tim Halperin has been better.
Brett the Red has The Lovely Steph Leann as a fan. I personally think he's a little flaky for my tastes. And what does he choose to do? "Light My Fire" by The Doors. Seriously? He's dressed in a funky colored vest and has about eight necklaces and pendants draped around his neck.
Steven Tyler loved it. J-Lo loved it. Randy the Dawg thought the vocals were iffy, but liked the boldness and fun of his performance. I thought it was flaky.
So, my thoughts so far? You are in a pool of 11 other guys. You have one single shot, a span of about three minutes, to make five spots. You have been given the choice to sing just about any song you want--within reason, it is all what Idol has rights too, but after nine seasons, I'm guessing they have the rights to hundreds and hundreds, maybe thousands of songs as artists have opened up their own catalogs. So pick whatever song you can do the best. Pick whatever song that you can sing the best, and can have the most fun in.
Seriously. I should be an Idol mentor. No, I can't sing worth a poopy, but I can tell them what works and what doesn't.
Now its time for James "The Straight Adam Lambert" Durbin. I'm still trying to figure out why The Straight Adam Lambert wears a tail. Like, a piece of fabric or something hanging from the back of his jeans. He is singing "You Got Another Think Coming"... I guess that is what the song is. You can also call it "Song That Will Let James Wail". The song ends, and the audience erupts.
Uncle Stevie says it was crazy good, and identifies the song as "the first Judas Priest song ever on the show". J-Lo thought he was so natural and so great. Randy the Dawg said, "This is how you do it! Right here! Right here! Everybody over there (pointing to the other guys) that's how you do it!"
The Straight Adam Lambert plays up to the audience with Seacrusty, and almost punches his ticket into the Top 12.
And now is one of The Lovely Steph Leann's favorites, Robbie Rosen, though I'm wondering if he gets a spot, and his nose gets another. Maybe his nose will be a Wild Card selection. Oh come on, you were thinking it.
So, I am thrust into boredom immediately as he starts with, "...spend all your time waiting... for that second chance..." Don't get me wrong. I love love lurve Sarah McLachlan, she's one of my Top Ten Favorite Artists of All Time, Like, Ever, but "Angel" is a song that I just can't stand. Its not even that I can't stand it, its that I'm apathetic towards it. I'm typing all this so as not to fall asleep as Robbie Ro finishes.
Uncle Stevie thought the ballad was beautiful. J-Lo thought Robbie Ro told a story just then. Randy the Dawg thought it wasn't a good performance, and pitchy, and didn't look like Robbie Ro was comfortable.
Deep Voiced Scotty is singing now, and for a second, I kinda wondered if we'd hear, "Baby lock them doors and turn the lights down low..." We don't. We hear, instead, a soft country tune that I don't know, but I think its called "A Letter From Home."
I know America won't completely agree with me, but I really like this guy's voice. I don't know how far he'll make it on Idol, but I can really see country radio snatching this guy up and giving him a record deal. His voice was made for Country Radio.
Uncle Stevie said it was the perfect song for The Deep Voiced Scotty, and it was great. J-Lo said he was born to sing country music. Randy the Dawg thought it was so great that he's a throwback country song, and not trying to be a cross over or anything.
Up now, its Stefano Italiano, who was told in auditions by J-Lo, "your hot, I love you." Can't beat that. He starts out with "Just the Way You Are", the one by Bruno Mars, and to me, it was a great song and a great fit.
Uncle Stevie thought it was great. J-Lo thought it was consistantly great. Randy the Dawg says, "you had us all up here thinking we were at a concert for you!" I agree, it sounded great.
Now, like Tim Halperin, its another guy who we don't know much about... Pauly McDonald is doing "Maggie May", and he's got this unique voice. And... I can't decide if I love it or hate it... The Lovely Steph Leann thinks he sounds a ton like Rod Stewart. Pauly Mac is wriggling and shaking all over the stage, and the song is growing on me. I love the original, by the way, so I think it just caught me so off guard... he's like a more talented Taylor Hicks.
Uncle Stevie thought the performance was great. J-Lo says it was full of character, and loves the smile. Randy the Dawg loved the "Maggie May" performance, and thinks that Pauly Mac is different than anything they've had, and he loves that about Pauly Mac. I think that was my favorite performance of the night thusfar.
And here's the Jacob Lusk... the Soulful Jacob Lusk. Her-ca-les, Her-ca-les!!
He's dressed to the nines, in suit and tie, and singing "A House is Not a Home", and really... this guy is so talented. I think I've mentioned this before, but I don't know that I would buy an album from The Soulful Jacob Lusk, but I could easily pick up a song on iTunes from him that I liked. Anyone who takes on Luther and lives is worthy of praise.
You know he's good when The Lovely Steph Leann points out how good he is, and why.
Best performance of the entire night.
Uncle Stevie thought it was unbelievable, and loved it. J-Lo says, "Luther is gone, but you are here." And Randy the Dawg says, "I think Luther would be so proud." That's the late Luther Vandross, one of the heavyweights of vocals.
And finally, its Casey at the Bat, heading in the Pimp Slot. Not only did he get the Pimp, he got the Pimp Solo spot... as in, after #11 (The Soulful Jacob Lusk sang) they went to break, then came back to #12, Casey Abrams.
He busts out with "I Put a Spell On You", and right outta the gate, he's owning it. I was wondering how he'd do without his big bass, but he's doing just fine. Fantastic even. And like I thought before the show even started, he is giving the new best peformance of the night, with a James Durbin wail of his own.
The Lovely Steph Leann nods her head, gives a thumbs up to the TV and simply says, "Mmm hmm."
Uncle Stevie says it was out of his mind crazy good. J-Lo says, "Your sexy, Casey", to which Casey yells "YES!" J-Lo channels her inner Paula Abdul by saying, "You just ate it up!" then makes slurping sounds and waves her arms around. Randy the Dawg said, "As good as it gets."
So, there are your Top 12 Dudes.
Here is how I rank the guys, for me personally... Casey Abrams... The Soulful Jacob Lusk... Pauly Mac... The Deep Voiced Scotty... Stefano Italiano... The Straight Adam Lambert.... Junbug... Tim Halperin... Robbie Ro... Jovany the Latin Lover... Brett the Redd... JoDo
Now, I think locks to make it to the Top Five are Casey Abrams, The Soulful Jacob Lusk and The Straight Adam Lambert. I think that Pauly Mac really made a strong case tonight, as did Deep Voiced Scotty. However, I have a feeling that Junbug will make it, either by this show or as a wild card. Tim Halperin, JoDo, Jovany the Latin Lover are out, and I don't know that Brett the Red, Robbie Ro or Stefano Italiano will make it, based on tonight.
I'll admit, I'm quite the nerd. Some people would call it OCD, but I would say SOCD, which is Selective Obsessive Compulsive Disorder... I don't obsess about much, but I'm very picky about what I obsess about... its almost like, I know whats important to me, how important it is to have things done the way I want the done... but only about certain things that sometimes no one else cares about.
Case in point... iTunes.
iTunes has this thing called a "play count", which is both a blessed and cursed thing. In my mind, once I play a song, I want it counted. Once I listen to a song, I want it noted... it truly doesn't mean a hill of beans to anyone in the entire world that I've listened to "Everything You Want" by Vertical Horizon 34 times, or that I've fired up the original "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley 8 times.
But its important to me. I dunno why, and I really am not sure I care to psycho-analyze, but that's just one of those quirky, nerdy things about me. We'll come back to this, but first I have to give a bit more exposition, then tie it all together at the end like a good little storyteller.
Yesterday, I finally purchased a portable hard drive. We've owned a regular external hard drive for about three years, and backs up most of what is on my, and The Lovely Steph Leann's, computers. For me its music, audiobooks and pictures, for her its mostly pictures and Creative Memories back-up files... but the problem is, its so clunky and bulky. In the Casa de Pesos apartment, it wasn't a big deal, because our place was so small, we just kept our PC and the back up drive and such altogether, and even when we got laptops, they mostly just stayed in the guest bedroom. I could write and blog and do whatever, and with a television in the room, I could still watch whatever, or play a movie or anything of the like.
When we got The Cabana, though, it was harder, because we kept the back-up drive upstairs, and the laptops stayed downstairs mostly, so I didn't back up much stuff, just every now and then. With my growing love (and ear) for audiobooks, I finally had to move them off of my laptop because I had gotten to the point where I had less than 10gb of space (off of 300gb). It took almost 2 hours, but I moved almost 80gb of audiobooks onto the harddrive, plus a few movies and some other space-taking items.
Now, for anyone who owns an iPod, you'll notice that if you try and sync your iPod, and you've moved some files, a little "!" will appear by those files. And when those files are on an entirely different drive altogether, its even worse, because you get a hundred or two of those "!" when they are audiobooks. So, I now have a set up on our dining room table, this external hard drive to my left, cords and USB cables running everywhere and anywhere, and like, four things plugged into the nearby outlet. Thus, the need for a portable hard drive.
So I'm currently moving, from the external to the portable, over 100 audiobooks, encompassing 32,000+ files (the Harry Potter series alone contains at least 1,500 tracks), which makes up about 140gb of space. I have another 60gb of pictures to move over. And at some point, in the future, I'll move over all my music from my laptop to the portable hard drive.
And now, we get back to play counts. See, when I move over the music, I have to reload all songs back into iTunes. And when I do, all play counts go back to zero. Everyone. So me listening to Nilsson's "I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City" 29 times? Its like it didn't happen.
However, don't think I haven't considering recreating all the playcounts. Easy, really... click on a song, click "repeat" twice (which makes the song repeat) and then click on the end over and over. It will advance from beginning to end, then start over. Yes, this is a really stupid, useless thing to do. Yes, there are far better uses of my time. Yes, I've thought about it. We'll see.
Play counts are a funny thing... it kinda tells you and the world what you truly like. My official Top Five list of songs are: (1) "Possession" by Sarah McLachlan... (2) "I'd Die Without You" by PM Dawn... (3) "Piano in the Dark" by Brenda Russell (ft. Joe Esposito)... (4) "Not the Only One" by Bonnie Raitt... (5) "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears. Coming in a close 6th is "Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.
Other songs that have wandered their way in and out of my Top Ten including "Let Her Cry" by Hootie and the Blowfish... "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton... "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney and Wings... "Hazy Shade of Winter" by The Bangles and "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John....
But you know what? Out of those 11 songs I just listed, none are in my Top Ten of the Play Count List, and only one is in the Top Twenty, at 19th. So, I thought it might be fun to list my Top Fifty Songs on the Play Count List, the songs that have been played the most. Bear in mind, too, that I listen to a ton of podcasting and audiobooks, so music isn't my top priority most of the time, but sometimes, you just wanna hear Timberlake, or Flo Rida or Billy Joel or Bill Withers...
So, here we go... Song, artist, and (play count)
There is a huge six way tie at 50, featuring... 50-tie. Running From an Angel by Hootie & the Blowfish (34) 50-tie. Clarity by John Mayer (34) 50-tie. 3AM by Matchbox 20 (34) 50-tie. Everything You Want by Vertical Horizon (34) 50-tie. Welcome to Delaware by Watermark (34) 50-tie. White & Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic (Video) (34)
All the way down to #40 is another tie or two, featuring the only song that appears twice in our countdown, in both audio and video versions. Also, The Dixie Chicks make their first of three appearances. 48-tie. Cowboy Take Me Away by The Dixie Chicks (35) 48-tie. Sunday Afternoon by Joel Blount (35) 40-tie. ...And Our Feelings by Babyface (Video) (36)
40-tie. Only the Good Die Young by Billy Joel (36) 40-tie. Close of Autumn by Caedmon's Call (36) 40-tie. The Trolley Song by Judy Garland (36) 40-tie. Taylor, the Latte Boy by Kristin Chenoweth (36) 40-tie. B.O.B. by OutKast (36) 40-tie. Light My Candle by Mimi and Roger from The Cast of Rent (36) 40-tie. You Mean the World To Me by Toni Braxton (36)
The next set of ten, down to a four way tie at #31... 39. I'll Be Okay by Amanda Marshall (37) 36-tie. Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers (38) 36-tie. In the Light by dcTalk (38) 36-tie. Possession by Sarah McLachlan (38) 35. Snow (Hey Oh) by The Red Hot Chili Peppers (39) 31-tie. Full Moon by Brandy (40) 31-tie. Callin' Baton Rouge by Garth Brooks (40) 31-tie. The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson (40) 31-tie. The Remedy (I won't worry) by Jason Mraz (40)
The next ten are all older songs, anywhere from five to fifteen to thirty... 26-tie. Let's Stay Together by Al Green (41) 26-tie. Still Not a Player by Big Punisher with Fat Joe (41) 26-tie. The Story by Brandi Carlile (41) 26-tie. My My My by Johnny Gill (41) 26-tie. Chains by Tina Arena (41) 24-tie. You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift (41) 24-tie. Say It Right by Nelly Furtado (Video) (41) 23. Season of Love by The Cast of Rent (43) 21-tie. Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawio'ole (45) 21-tie. The Light In Your Eyes by Blessid Union of Souls (45)
And our teens part of the countdown gives us another helping of The Chicks, an obscure but incredible song by Jill Paquette and of course, Cool J. 19-tie. My Favorite Mistake by Sheryl Crow (46) 19-tie. I'd Die Without You by PM Dawn (46) 17-tie. Tortured Tangled Hearts by The Dixie Chicks (47) 17-tie. Drops of Jupiter by Train (47) 15-tie. Sin Wagon by The Dixie Chicks (48) 15-tie. Lift My Eyes by Jill Paquette (48) 13-tie. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley (49) 13-tie. I May Hate Myself in the Morning by Lee Ann Womack (49) 11-tie. Loungin' (who do you love) by LL Cool J (50) 11-tie. If I Ever Lose My Faith in You by Sting (50)
Before we get to the Top Ten, I wanted to give you a list of ten songs that, were I to do this same column in a year two, you'd probably see some of them appear in this very list, maybe because they are new and I listen to them frequently now or because they were just outside the top fifty and have gotten some recent love from my playlist... they include "Hey Soul Sister" by Train... "Travelin Soldier" by The Dixie Chicks... "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by Elton John... "Relator" by Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson... "You Give Good Love" by Whitney Houston... "Better in Time" by Leona Lewis... "Right Round" by Flo Rida... "I Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum... "Everything Zen" by Bush... and, of course... "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus
Now, here's the Top Ten... a little eclectic, but a little predictable all the same... 10. Collide by Howie Day (53)... I cannot even name another Howie Day song. But I love this one. I told The Lovely Steph Leann if I played guitar and could sing, this would be part of my set.
9. ...And Our Feelings by Babyface (54)... This is a perfect song to sing while driving. My vocals get nowhere near the level of Babyface, but that doesn't mean I don't try.
7-tie. How to Save a Life by The Fray (55)... This and their other big song, perhaps one of the biggest, most awesome one-two song punches ever.
7-tie. You and I Both by Jason Mraz (55)... Its a great video, its a great song, and its also fun to sing. And the lyrics are easier to learn than "The Remedy".
6. My Boo by Usher (ft Alicia Keys) (56)... I was a little surprised when I did this list how far up this list that "My Boo" ended up. But I'm perfectly okay with it.
5. Wildwood Flower by Reese Witherspoon (57)... I bought the "Walk the Line" soundtrack, and I'll be honest, I listened to this song non-stop. When I first got my iPod, I remember this song being the first one to 20 plays ever.
4. Fergalicious by Fergie (Video) (58)... Fine. I'll admit it. I like this song, and this video is fun. I would venture to guess that 40 of the plays were done within a year of it being released.
3. Love Song by Sara Bareilles (59)... If I could use the Billboard Charts term "with a bullet" on my own little list, than I would use it here with this song. I wouldn't be shocked to see this become number one in the near future, because I am completely addicted to this song.
2. Rock Your Body by Justin Timberlake (61)... What can I say? Timberlake is cool. The song is cool.
1. Over My Head (Cable Car) by The Fray (63)... Again, I'm not entirely sure how this song got so high, number one in fact, but I make no apologies. It is a song that I could listen to non-stop (and have) and not get tired of (I haven't).
So what about you? Does your list of favorite songs and your actual play counts tell two different stories?
Anyone who knows me knows I love me a countdown. Be it my favorite Tom Cruise films to my yearly 100 Coolest Things of the Year, I can dig on a ranking of a particular topic. So, today while relaxing after work and flipping channels, I came upon Vh1's Top 100 Songs of the 90s. I had seen this show before, and after watching it I realized it aired in 2007, but never all the way through, and I could barely remember much of anything on the list.
So I settled in to watch it. And I had thoughts on everything. So what I decided to do was list them as they appeared in the show
Gerardo, in all his ridiculous glory
100. "Rico Suave" by Gerardo (I'm laughing out loud, quite hard) This song is so ridiculous, I'm not sure anyone took it seriously when it came out, much less now. Except for maybe Gerardo.
99. "The Rain (supa dupa fly)" by Missi "Misdemeanor" Elliott Not a fan. Never been a fan of Missi.
98. "Unbelievable" by EMF There was the rumor that EMF stood for "Energetic Mother F-bombers", though I don't know if that was ever substantiated. What I do know, is this song rocked out my dadgum junior year of high school. This was the epitome of the early 90s pop, and how meaningless it was, yet how much fun it was.
The things you say, your purple prose gives you away? What does that even mean?
97. "Gett Off" by Prince and the New Power Generation Prince is one of the most sexually suggestive, non-obvious dirty artists out there. Even his performance at the Super Bowl a few years ago was one innuendo filled twenty minutes, and this is no different. I liked some 90s Prince, but this wasn't one of the songs I cared for.
96. "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" by Nelson In my life, I've always had a personal "Top Ten" or "Top Five" favorite song list, mostly mental. Some of the songs that have topped this mental top song list include "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany, "I Like It" by Dino, "Fortress Around Your Heart" by Sting and this song, by Nelson.
Even now, I hear it and I remember being 15 again. And I know the words, somehow... and many of you do too.
I was so excited because I won a contest on a radio station by telling the funniest joke of the night. Joke is not Emmy Turnbow Safe, so I won't repeat it. Anyway, they asked me which cassette I wanted, I told them Nelson's latest. They sent me Roxette's "Joyride". Sigh. Had to go out and buy Nelson. I still have both.
95. "This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan Like, in 1995, you couldn't go to any party without hearing this song. It was all over the place, because you had this dude singing about partying, having a good time, with all the gang bangers forgetting about the drive-bys... the irony of this song is that despite Jordan singing about the hood, I'd always heard he grew up in a wealthy home and probably knew little about the Man holding the Black Man down.
Some of my favorite lines include... "So I reach for my fo'ty and I turn it up, designated driver take the key to my truck..." and "Every since I was a lower case g, but now I'm a big G, girls see I got the money, hunned dolla bills y'all..."
94. "The Way" by Fastball Eh.
93. "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories One of my 100 favorite songs of all time, and if I had to write a top ten list of songs that I love to sing outloud, this would easily be on that list. Its funny, though, that its a song that I cannot jump in the middle of... I have to start at the very beginning and work my way through it.
So if someone says, "How does that part where she goes 'some of us hover while we're waiting for the other' go" and I can't just say the next line... I have to softly say to myself, "you say i only hear what i want to you say I talk so all the time so so I thought what I felt was simple and I thought that I don't belong and now that I am leaving now I know that I did something wrong..." and work my way to it. And I have fun doing it.
92. "911 is a Joke" by Public Enemy This song popped up right around the beginning of the decade, and I can't honestly say I've heard the thing all the way through. I just remember it being all controversial because it made fun of 9-1-1, which I guess at the time was a relatively new feature to most of the country. Whatever.
91. "Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan I do love me some Sarah, but this song? For me, its "Possession", my favorite song ever of all time.
90. "You Get What You Give" by The New Radicals This song makes me kinda angry. Why? Because its total crap. The guy can't sing, its got an annoying tune, the lyrics are stupid and I hate it. Next.
89. "Never Said" by Liz Phair Never been a huge Liz Phair fan, and really, neither has The Lovely Steph Leann, but she loves her some "Why Can't I" from movies like "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" or whatever.
88. "Barely Breathing" by Duncan Sheik This song taught me a lesson. I was so into "Barely Breathing" when it came out, I would turn it up and sing every single time it came on. In 1999, I was ready to anoint this song king of my mental list, the top of my own chart in my head, even though it was fairly new at the time. That's how much I loved it.
Then I heard it over and over. And over. And over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. And over again. And by the 7,822nd time I had heard it in the span of two hours, I was growing a little weary of it.
And suddenly, I couldn't hear any more of it. I turned away when it came on. Not only had this song had the biggest drop from the top of my mental charts to the bottom, I felt stupid considering it for my favorites song list. It had worn out its welcome, and I was done with it.
That taught me... give it a while, be it a movie or a song, to see how it holds up. Some movies and songs are awesome to begin with, yet over time, wear on you a bit and aren't as great as they were. Some start out slow and catch on, becoming awesome over time. I call it the Duncan Sheik Rule... give it a minimum of 2 years.
87. "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus
Its like, even his mullet has a mullet
I have probably mentioned this before, but when I was in high school, I didn't get out much. Parties weren't my thing, mostly because I wasn't invited to many until at least my junior year, maybe senior year. So, when I was at home on the weekends, particularly Saturday night, I was in my room either watching movies or listening to KMX (Max 106.7) when they played Open House Party with John Garabedian.
Open House Party was (is?) this program that would showcase new artists and new songs by current artists, sometimes weeks before they would hit the airwaves on regular rotation. So, as an Open House Party listener, I was the first one in my small school to be aware of this new band called Nirvana, this new chick named Mariah Carey, and this country rockabilly ditty that went something like "Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart, I just don't think it understands..."
I remember singing this song to myself while waiting outside first period, and classmate Michael Knowles asked me what I was singing. I told him "this song called 'Achy Breaky Heart' by this guy named Billy Cyrus." He told me the song sounded stupid. I told him I thought it might be big. We were both right.
86. "Linger" by The Cranberries Oh my gosh, how much so I love this song. No kidding... from the opening music (which, by the way, is about 53 seconds long, meaning when I worked at WKMX or WTBF, I had enough time to talk about where John Houston would be this Saturday, like at Bondy's Ford Jeep Eagle, or had enough time to plug the community garage sale in Brundidge) to the light voice of Delorous O'Rierdon, to the music and tune, its perfectly set for a melancholy kind of day.
Probably on my Top 100 Songs of All Time. And I'm missssssing you... you know I'm such a fool for you... you got me wrapped around your finger... do you have to... do you have to... do you have to let it linger...
85. "Insane in the Brain" by Cypress Hill Why you messin' with me, essa... can't you see I'm loco... loco... loco...
This song is ridiculously cool by a bunch of random white dudes and black guys in flannel that smoke lots and lots of pot, like the 90s version of the Grateful Dead. Cops, come and try to steal my crops, them pigs wanna blow my house down... its a hoot.
I have this song on Cassingle, and I swear its a forgotten oldie by all those under 21.
84. "Informer" by Snow Who knows what the crap this guy is saying? Back in senior year of 93, this was a big song, and we all tried singing it... except all we could get out was "licky boom boom down", and none of us knew what that meant.
Of course, being 17 year old boys, me and my buddies came up with lots of things it could have stood for. I do remember my freshman year in college, I would sing, "Come with a nice young lady, intelligent she plays Atari, then she do the dance lambada..." (that wasn't the lyrics, but it sounded good.) My roomdawg at the time said, "Dude, if she is intelligent, she is NOT playing Atari."
83. "Cannonball" by The Breeders When this song popped up, I was thinking I'd never heard of it. But... hearing it, I have heard it. Sort of. Heading to iTunes to get it now.
82. "My Mind Playin' Tricks On Me" by The Geto Boys Now this song... I've never heard of. Seriously. Apparently, there's a midget black dude that was one of the lead singers--and now he's given his life to Christ. No joke. His rapping sucks, but hey, if it reaches one person...
81. "I Don't Wanna Wait" by Paula Cole I like this song. Her first tune was "Where Have all the Cowboys Gone", which was okay, but this song was fabulous. I know it was on Dawson's Creek, but I can honestly say I've never seen an episode of that show. I just like the song cause I like the song.
When I worked at Cox Radio, I worked along side of the best people in the whole world, Michelle Carr. Michelle happened to hate this song, mostly because she kept getting caught up on the grammatical atrocity that was the lyric, "Open up your morning light, say a little prayer for I..." and she would hear it and say, "Its prayer for me! Not I! For me!" I would purposely play it in my car when we rode together. Just for her.
80 . "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred Where to even begin with this song? It was like the 90s version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, putting forth an anthem that almost had no other option than but to be a gay anthem, or one that is used in every modeling show in the free known world... or both. I have this cassingle upstairs.
79. "B****" by Meredith Brooks The only thing I didn't like about this song, other than the fact I didn't really care all that much for the song, was the fact that when I was announcing on WKMX and WBPT, I had to say, "Here's one from Meredith Brooks" or "...that was 'Hook', the latest from Blues Traveler... up next, Meredith Brooks new one." I couldn't rightfully say the title of the song.
80. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz So, I consider myself a casual Lenny fan. He's good, he can rock it and all that, and yeah, this song is a great driving song. But overall, not my favorite guy in music... however, he also did "Fly Away" and a good remake of "American Woman"... so maybe I like him more than I can admit.
77. "It Was a Good Day" by Ice Cube I like the fact this song starts with "Just waking up in the morning, gotta thank God..." then he proceeds to talk about living in the hood, and how he's getting with this chick, drinking a fo'ty, and all that. The song is actually quite brilliant, discussing how for one day in the South Central Hood, no one got shot, no one got killed, everything was peaceful.
And I love the line "didn't even have to use my A-K... it was a good day..." (ooh wah ooh).. I say that line now to blank stares from most people.
76. "Run-Around" by Blues Traveler
Popper apparently had a heart attack about ten years ago, and had surgery to take off about 200 pounds. And he recently got busted for pot. Run around.
EVERYONE liked this song. EVERYONE. Don't tell me you didn't, because you are lying through your teeth. I mean, John Popper, weighing in at like, 400 pounds, belting that harmonica, this song was freakin' everywhere. Popper wore this over the shoulder belt of harmonicas, loaded with like, 12 of them or something.
The video was also awesome, doing a play off of The Wizard of Oz taking place at a Blues Traveler concert. I'd go see them in concert if I could. And I wanted to learn the lyrics to this song so badly, but could never get it down... I like coffee and I like tea... but to able to enter a final plea and... something something...
My theory is that Sister Hazel is the 2000s decade of Blues Traveler. Had like, one, two good songs, and everyone in college wanted them.
Why yes, I have this album. Why do you ask?
75. "Jump" by Kris Kross From where I sit, this cassette is placed about 50 feet from me. Up the steps, in a box. These kids wore their clothes backwards, they were two little kids giving rhymes you ain't never heard, something something something word...
And I will admit, I know every single word to this song. Went bowling with a student group some years ago, and they played this song. And I sang it. And the 13 year old kids were staring at me while I told them I was "the miggity miggity miggity miggity mack daddy, I'm the miggity miggity miggity miggity mack"...
74. "Believe" by Cher You cannot understand how much I hate this song. Like, I despise this song. Watching the recap of the song and its success makes me want to kill myself.
73. "Sex and Candy" by Marcy Playground One of the most overrated songs, ever. Disco Lemonade? Really?
72. "One Week" by The Barenaked Ladies Holy crap, this song was everywhere. And everyone wanted to figure out the lyrics... something about chicka-de-china, the chinese chicken, had a brainfreeze and your brain starts sticking and something about the X-Files and the Smoking Man and some other stuff and I loved it, and had a ball playing this song on WTBF.
When I was living at Willow Terrace, with my best mate Wookiee, we had another roommate who was dating this chick... we liked her and all, she was cool, but one day he decides he's going to move out. To help compensate for the rent, he's told the chick she could live there. So I get to live, and share a bathroom with, a chick. Wookiee had his own restroom facilities.
Anyway, I was in my room, on my little loveseat watching cable when I heard her call for me. I got up, went to her room and she said, "I've got the coolest song ever. I just discovered it... take a listen to this..." and she played for me "One Week". It was a bonding moment. Haven't seen her in like, 12 years.
No one I know knows the lyrics of this song.
71. "Tennessee" by Arrested Development From 1992, I dug their whole vibe. They were the early 90s version of the Black Eyed Peas, singing about awareness, social issues and the plight of those who are less fortunate (see "Mr Wendal"). This song was awesome, and like "Jump", I know every single word of the song.
Take me to another place, take me another land, help me forget all that hurts me, let me understand your plan...
70. "Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai This is a great example of how tastes change, because when this song came out, I hated it... but years later, this song is fantastic. I love hearing it, I love singing it in the car, and I loved watching this video where he dances around the room while the room spins around him. Great stuff.
69. "Freak on a Leash" by Korn The interesting thing about Korn is one of their guys, Brian I think his name was, gave his life to Christ some years ago. And in interviews, he's very vocal about his love of God, and he's still very real, using language and such while doing it. He admits his addictions to sex and drugs, but that God saved him from all of that. Hear hear.
68. "Gettin' Jiggy With It" by Will Smith Remember when Will Smith was a rapper? Fresh Prince first, then eventually this? How corny, yet how cool is this song? He doesn't swear in his songs because he is afraid his grandmother would be offended. Of course, I have no idea what "Jiggy" is, though as a then 20something old guy, I could guess. He's living that lyfe some consida a miff.
You trying to flex on me, don't be silly? Big willy style's all in it, gettin' jiggy with it...
67. "Groove Is in the Heart" by Dee-Lite Ugh. Hated this song then, hate this song now. I can handle it a little better now than I could when it came out, but that's like saying, "Oh, then I had a migraine that lasted for a year, but now its only a severe hangnail so its all better"... that hangnail still sucks. And so does this song.
66. "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain Let's look at this song with perspective... first, its a great song. Edwin has a great voice, its well written, its a well performed song, it sounds good. However, when it came out, this song was played like, every fifteen minutes. On rock stations. On pop stations. On soft rock stations. I mean, you could not get away from this song, and it was ev-a-ree-where... seriously.
So for a few years, like, 1998 to about 2007, I couldn't handle this song. Now that its a little more
65. "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground
This song is so far from Emmy Turnbow Safe, its not even funny. But this song is one of the most ridiculous, most fun hip-hop songs I've heard. It doesn't take itself seriously, and Digital Underground, led by this dude who wore a stupid looking fake nose and fake glasses, and sang lines like "I shoot an arrow like cupid, I use a word that don't mean nothing like looptid". And at the end, he gives props to Samoans. Love it. I'm now going to repent.
64. "Peaches" by The Presidents of the United States of America Does anyone actually know what this song even means? You can tell how old someone is, because you can say, "Move into the country..." and if that person comes back with "...gonna eat alot of peaches", you'll know they are older than like, 20.
63. "Mo Money/Mo Problems" by Notorious BIG, featuring Puff Daddy and Mase How jam is this song? No joke, I love every bit of this song... and heck, the message is there... the more money you gotz, the mo' problemz you gotz.
62. "I Alone" by Live Rock on. Rock on. "Throwing Copper" is one of those albums that just... well, rocks your face off. I am so afraid to study the lyrics closely to "I Alone" because I'm afraid I'll be convicted for liking it. Not sure if its sacrilege or not, but man, this song is fun to sing in the car, and man did I rock out to this music.
This is a great, great song to run to. When you decide to do that. Probably one of my 100 favorite songs of all time.
61. "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow This is one of my favorite albums, "The Tuesday Night Music Club", her debut album. I mean, this song was so great, and really just fit my freshman year in college. First, you have to know I love, love, love Sheryl Crow... well, 1990s Sheryl Crow, not recent political activist Sheryl Crow.
I hear this song, and I'm instantly sitting in Stewart Hall, next to Kat Gates, across from Allison Wiggins, and with Lisa Murphy, Kathy Hollingsworth, Gibson, Wookiee and The Wench. Oh, and Erin Magonigal, who is singing along when it comes on the overhead music.
1990s Sheryl Crow is awesome, and it all began with this one.
60. "Poison" by Bel Biv DeVoe Ha! Ha! I love it!
I love this song, especially from the opening notes. This song is so great... these guys were tight with Boyz II Men, and this was the group who told all of us young guys that women... are poison. It was a warning. It was advice. Never trust a big butt and a smile.
I know she's a loser... how do you know? Me and the crew used to do her... that is a warning to stay away.
59. "Buddy Holly" by Weezer Without this video, this song never sees the light of popularity... however, this video has them in the 50s, singing at Arnold's Diner during an episode of Happy Days, and this video is one of the best of all time.
58. "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins Oh my gosh is this song hot. Let's talk about a make out song from the 1990s, but being as unpopular as I was, it was probably God's grace that it never worked for me. But this song is so great. She came out later with "As I Lay Me Down" which to me was a terrible song, and totally overplayed... but "I Wish I Was Your Lover" will live forever in my iPod and on cassette single upstairs.
57. "Can I Get A..." by Jay-Z It it possible that Jay-Z is like, the most overrated rap guy of all time? He's pretty good... but... really? However, he ended up as one of the coolest things of 2009 with his Alicia Keys duet "Empire State of Mind"...
Can I get a what-what?"
56. "Mama Says Knock You Out" by LL Cool J From 1990, this song rocks. LL Cool J was all up in your face, he had these ripped abs that all the chicks loved, and all the guys were singing "Mama said knock you out!" when doing anything of a competitive nature.
I have somewhat of a man crush on Cool J... he rocks. When I saw on iTunes his greatest hits was for $7.99, and I bought it immediately.
55. "Criminal" by Fiona Apple She's got a great voice, and I was never into this song until I saw the video, when this 18 year old chick was slinking around in her underthings. Seriously, seeing this at 20 years old, that's awesome. However, looking back, she was kinda slutty, so it takes away from it. The song itself is just... well, eh.
I did see a Christian drama to music for this song. I never did it with my team.
54. "One of Us" by Joan Osborne Poor Joan Osborne. She suggested "what if God was one of us", and asked the question how we would respond to Him. I never took it as a "what if God were just mortal, just like us", I took it as a "What if God brought Himself to our world, using someone as a vessel--how would we respond to the least of these?" Maybe I misinterpreted it. Either way, the song is just okay for me... I liked it well enough, but it was never a favorite.
53. "OPP" by Naughty by Nature This brings back so much high school for me... but this song is hilarious. Perhaps back then, we were all just trying to figure out what O-P-P stood for, though now that I'm older, I'm pretty sure I know. And as I sang along with the lyrics on tv, The Lovely Steph Leann who just came in, looked at me wide eyed. Not an Emmy Turnbow Safe song.
52. "Fly" by Sugar Ray Mark McGrath is one of those guys who has quite a blessed life... a successful rock group, a television career, and now he's a family man. And all chicks I knew loved them some Mark McGrath. And the song "Fly" is simply a rad song... its a fun song, with nothing deep and its a hoot. The Lovely Steph Leann is singing along as they play the song on tv.
51. "California Love" by 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre. When Tupac hooked up with Dr. Dre, it was awesome. I mean, every beat of this song rocks, and video--the edited version, thank you--is a monumental piece of film. Love him or hate him, I really thing that Tupac deserves the accolades he gets because he was a very, very talented guy. I dig this song.
50. "Man in a Box" by Alice in Chains Really? Ugh. This was a song that was devoured by my friends Greg Avant and Daniel Stephenson and those guys who were into Anthrax and Metallica. Not for me.
49. "Who Will Save Your Soul" by Jewel Can't help it, I liked Jewel. This song was kinda catchy, it was different, it was kinda fun and bluesy and her voice was a little unusual, so I dug it. Personally, I like "You Were Meant for Me" better, but only because its fun to sing.
Of course, I'm not entirely convinced that Jewel and Renee Zellweger aren't the same person.
48. "3 AM" by Matchbox 20 I have a memory of this song, and her name was Melanie Jackson. But overall, this song is fantastic, one of my 100 favorite songs of all time. Fun to sing, Rob Thomas has a fantastic voice, the band rocked out.
One of my biggest faux pas... their first song "Push" and Tonic's "If You Could Only See" hit about the same time... and I was like, Tonic is going to make it, Matchbox 20 is a one hit wonder. And then "3 AM" came out, followed by "Real World" then a few more... and Tonic? Yep. They kinda went away.
The Lovely Steph Leann and I were meeting people for dinner tonight, so at about 4:45, we had to leave. I hit the DVR button to record the rest of the shows, and we left... so #s 47 to #1 will be on a follow-up post.
Alrighty... before we get all serious and discuss health care--which I think we'll just have to do soon enough--I wanted to continue my list of the Top 20 Videos of the Decade... here's what we counted down so far:
And one out of our Top Ten of the Decade, its our first country video... I love the Dixie Chicks, and this was difficult, because "Cowboy Take Me Away" is one of my favorite Chick songs... but that didn't mean the video was great. I looked for their best video, and there was no doubt... starring Lauren Holly and Dennis Franz, at #11 is The Dixie Chicks with "Goodbye Earl"
Once again, though, its listed in YouTube as unavailable for posting on random websites. I still think its just a travesty, me not being able to steal videos and post them for my own personal gain.
So if you want the video for "Goodbye Earl", then click here for the link. By the way, do you like how I'm posting this pic on the side, with text wrapped around it? Yeah! I just figured this out! Go me!
At #10, starting our Top Ten for the entire decade, its a revealing, fascinating study in money and money spent. Sarah McLaclan, who has made a billion videos, one of which had her rolling around in a tub after she chided a young Britney Spears and Christina Aguliera for being too 'sexy' in their own videos. It's "World on Fire"
At #9... its a great video that blows me away for one single reason... its done in one single take. One. Single. Take. Perhaps they did it 49 times before doing it right, but its one seamless camera shot, its a catchy tune and you probably heard it on an iPod commercial. Here's Feist with "1 2 3 4"
And at #8, its one of the cutest videos ever. Back when American Idol was at its zenith in... 2006?... they had this cute little song called "Bad Day" by this unknown--who still kinda is--named Daniel Powter. And the video is just great... a boy, a girl, an umbrella, a couple of markers and two bad days.
Hopefully it will come, and pardon the weird shapes.
Coming soon... #7 through #4... then the Top Three Videos of the Decade...
FYI... its like, 220 in the morning, I still have two things to do for The Lovely Steph Leann tonight before I go to bed, and I have to be at The Happiest Place in the Mall around 830am... that means that I didn't listen start to finish on all the playlist songs. I will make necessary corrections this weekend... and for you Facebookians... the videos, nor the playlist, will show up. Do the right thing. Go to The Clouds. Bookmark it. Subscribe. You know you want it.
Well, it's been a while since you pulled up Clouds in My Coffee (or "The Clouds" as many, including my Seattle Gal Pal Mindy D'A likes to say) and heard music coming from your speakers. One reader (and I would say her name, but I can never spell it exactly right, and even though the correct spelling is one click away, its late and I'm too tired) kept hers on mute, because she surfs the net at her Pottery Paintin' Place, and now she'll have to go back to it. As always, I run through the list of songs, and why I've put them on this month's playlist--some are repeats from past lists, but the theme of this month is simply "Songs I've Been Listening The Heck Out of For the Last Month or Two".
You know, for whatever reason, you just like a certain song over and over, then after a while, you think, "Okay, I'm done with it" and you drop the CD back into the CD wallet in your car, or you move the song back to the general population and out of your current playlist, to not be touched for who knows how long--could be months. Could be years.
"Your So Vain" by Carly Simon. A Clouds in My Coffee staple. I had some dreams, they were...
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. I have played this song enough to learn how to spell the guys name (and yet, I have trouble with Amaryllis Barnett... Amarylls... Amourellis...). Anyway, this is one of two songs I want played at my funeral. You know, if they do that montage of pics showing events of my all-too-brief life, I want this song playing in the background.
"Just the Two of Us" by Bill Withers. Classic. The music is catchy, soulful, it truly is a great song for a rainy day.
"You and I Both" by Jason Mraz. It took a while for me to come around to the Mraz bandwagon, but I really like this guy. At first, he was almost annoying, but after "The Remedy (I won't worry)" and "Wordplay" and "Geek in the Pink", he's got me sold on him. This one is my favorite. The video is both hilarious and awesome.
"My Favorite Mistake" by Sheryl Crow. No doubt, we all have those. Because of the invention of Facebook, and the large number of former classmates and people I would see every day back in the day, I choose not to list My Favorite Mistakes. Okay, fine, Angiejay. But thats only 'cause I'm still bitter. Ha!
"Bye Bye" by Jo Dee Messina. She had one heck of a One-Two punch with this song and "Heads Carolina, Tails California" (another great tune that I almost put on here)... she later did "Bring on the Rain" and "Burn", but not in succession, so I can argue that her One-Two "Bye Bye/Carolina, California" was one of the best back-to-back hits in country music.
My funniest Jo Dee Messina story... so check it out, I was going on missions to New York City in 2002. Right before, though, I had procured Jo Dee Messina tickets, four of 'em to be exact. So I told Wookiee that he could come, and I invited Jill Berthon and her friend Shannon Hanes. Not really a double date, though it is worthy of note that Jill and I had dated briefly in 2000... this time, though she was just my friend. I mean, there was this other girl named The Lovely Steph Campbell that I was sorta looking at and... well, back to the story...
Anyway, I go on the mission trip, I come back, and the concert is that night. So Wookiee, Jill and Shannon and I go, have a great time, we come home, night is over. Jo Dee does put on a great show, by the way... anyway, when I get home, my roommate Tom is furious with me. I ask Michael and Shawn, the other roommates, whats up and they tell me he's mad at me cause I took out Jill. First of all, I didn't "take out" Jill, we just went to a concert together, and secondly, why does Tom give a crap? Well, Michael informs me, because when you were gone to NYC, they've been out a few times. On dates.
Really? Had no idea. So I had to go and talk to Tom and tell him, and make him believe that I honestly had 1) No intentions on pursuing Jill, that it was just a concert, end of story and 2) I had NO clue that Tom was even interested in Jill remotely. That took some talking, but seriously, I had no idea.
Tom and Jill celebrated five years of bliss this past January, by the way.
"My Boo" by Usher & Alicia Keys. I'm not a huge Usher fan, but I really dig this tune. Admittedly, he does have a great voice, and toss in Alicia's sound, and you got a great slow jam.
"Love Song" by Sara Bareilles. For whatever reason, I got hooked back on this song last week, maybe the week before, and I've played it like, 23 times on my iPod. That may or may not sound like alot, but remember, I listen to about five different podcasts during the week, including Adam Carolla, The Sports Guy, PTI, Rush Limbaugh and Car Talk, and even squeeze in some Dave Ramsey when I can.
"When I Get Where I'm Going" by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton. Here's the other song I want played at my funeral. Play Israel's song first, then have this one complete the photo montage and end with the black screen that says "david dollar... 1975 - 21??" You can fill in the question marks with whatever year it actually is. Don't put question marks for my death year. That's strange.
"Clarity" by John Mayer. My favorite Mayer tune, though I've put it on here about four times tonight... I keep finding the versions that end halfway through the song. Hopefully it works.
"Alone" by Heart. Dude. This song rocks. Carrie Underwood rocked it several years ago on Idol, but you'll never surpass the greatness of Nancy and Ann Wilson. Nor will you surpass their waistlines nowadays. Can they not hire trainers with the bajillions they've made? They were 80s kinda hot back in the day.
"Weak" by SWV. I'll set the scene on this song... back in the early 90s, right after Boyz II Men hit it big, there was a rush of three-some and four-some black dude groups that tried to emulate Boyz' sound--Shai, Jodeci (from which KC and JoJo heralded), All 4 One, Hi-Five, Silkk, etc--and on the opposite gender side, En Vogue hit it big, and chick groups popped up... Jade, Zhane and of course, SWV. Personally? I loved me some SWV... Sista's With Voices. Their hits included "I'm So Into You" and the Michael Jackson samplin' "Right Here/Human Nature", and this one, which I think is a classic.
This video? SOOOOO 90s.
"Until I Fall Away" by The Gin Blossoms. Not really a one hit wonder group... they were responsible for not just "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You", but this one and "Allison Road", all from their album "New Miserable Experience". I would consider them a "one album wonder", meaning one hit album and thats it. Their follow up, "Congratulations, I'm Sorry" had "Follow You Down", but thats all they had left. This song makes me think of Troy State University days, and in particular, Allison Hodnett.
This dashing redhead was a year younger than I, and she was just beautiful. Arriving as a freshman in the fall of 94, she was good friends with Mandy Stewart, a fellow sophomore like myself, and who was also my very good friend, and in fact, Mandy kept trying to encourage something between me and Allison... I finally asked her out, and she rejected me. Ah well, life goes on, right? Well, she was all weird around me for quite a few weeks--this is a trait you chicks have and its freakin' terrible, but thats another blog for another day--when one day she calls me up and asks me to come over to Shackleford Hall to see her. Of course I go. Duh.
I roll over there, rollin' in my 5.0, with my ragtop down so my hair can blow and... no, not really. I think I was driving a Chick Magnet Buick Century. Chicks went out with me for me back then, not cause of my wheels, cause my wheels suuuuuuuuucked for many, many years. Anyway, Allison and I stand outside the lawn space separating Shack and Pace Hall, and this is, oh, I dunno, 11pm? Midnight? No good conversations with me ever happened before 10pm. Anyway, she tells me how dumb she had been, and how she thought I was great, and how she was so sorry for acting the way she did and all, and how she didn't know if anything would come of it, but she wanted to see me again. And then...
"So... would you want to go the movies with me this Wednesday?" she said. There was a movie showing every Wednesday night on Troy's campus back then. "Really? Like, as friends, or like, a real date?" I asked with baited breath and nervous anticipation. "I dunno. Friends. No, a date. We'll make it a date. Seriously." "So you are asking me out on a date?" "Well... I guess I am. Will you go out with me?" Now, while I smiled and said, "Sure, I'd love to," with a restraited acceptance, my stomach was now dancing the fox trot with my spleen, and my entire throat contracted so I could barely breath.
Imagine my disappointment when Wednesday afternoon, she calls me. She is not feeling well, she's been sick all day, and we're going to have to postpone our movie date. I'm let down, but heck, she asked me out, right? I mean, she has to be legitimately sick, right? I didn't talk her into going with me, she asked me out.
I went to the movies anyway, with some friends. And of course, she was there. With John Glasscock. I was kinda mad. I called her later, and her roommate, Liberty Leak, answered and wouldn't put Allison on the phone. You chicks are something else, I tell ya.
Now that I think about it, I don't know if that song fits Allison Hodnett... but it was a fun story to tell.
"Anything but Down" by Sheryl Crow. I don't care for her politics, and unlike Sheryl, I wipe with many, many squares, not just one, but I dig me some Sheryl Crow music. She was also heavily portrayed on my Troy State Soundtrack.
"Can't Let Go" by Mariah Carey. I've often lamented about how much I miss pre-skank Mariah. I think it actually all came crashing down for both she and Whitney Houston when they combined to do that really crappy song "If You Believe" featured in the equally crappy "The Prince of Egypt". Perhaps that one recording studio room couldn't hold that much talent all at once, the talents collided, both were altered and neither was ever the same. I miss she and Whitney both. This song takes me back to high school, though no one in particular comes to mind.
"World on Fire" by Sarah McLachlan. I also love me some Sarah McLachlan. I went to a concert of hers a few years ago. Both me and The Lovely Steph Leann observed that Sarah is quite popular with the members of the Lesbetarian Church. Quite the gay magnet, that Sarah, straight as she may be. Amazing video, by the way. This song, not the gay people.
"Impulsive" by Wilson Phillips. I daresay that YOU do not know a bigger Wilson Phillips fan than myself. I will fully and readily admit that this self-titled album and "Time Love and Tenderness" by Michael Bolton are two CDs that most people would hide in shame, but I will gladly annoucned that I proudly own. I will now put on a white hood and stroll through Ensley.
Back in the 90s, if you were a guy, you were either in the Chyna Camp or in the Wendy Camp, like myself. Its not politically correct, or even nice, but is the honest truth to say no one, and I mean NO ONE was in Camp Carnie. Not a soul.
"The Story" by Brandi Carlile. Dunno why, but this song just hits me. Maybe you should play this song at my funeral, but don't show photos of me... show that Grey's Anatomy video that went along with it. Its much more interesting and flows better with the song than my life would.
"Dead and Bloated" by The Stone Temple Pilots. Said it before, will say it again... Scott Weiland, I'm glad he's clean and sober, if he is still, but he was so much better when he was stoned. He sang better. He performed better. He even looked cooler. I might shoot up before I do the next KidStuf performance, maybe I'll draw the crowds.
I have to admit, though, though I love the Pilots, and think "Core" is a pheeeeeenomonal album, the main reason this song is on this page is because I want someone to hear "I AM SMELLIN' LIKE A ROSE ON MY BIRTHDAY DEATHBED... I AM SMELLIN' LIKE A ROSE CAUSE I'M DEAD AND BLOATED!!!" when they pull my page up. Its so enchanting.
"My My My" by Johnny Gill. Let's face it. This song is about sex. I can't butter it up, I can't explain it away, you just have to know this song is about a guy who loves his chick so much, he just can't get over how hot she is. My my my, my my my my... your so doggone fine. Really, ain't that the way it should be? The Lovely Steph Leann... my my my, my my my my...
