1 Hey guns and roses did , sweet child o mine!

2 aaaand we're off!

3 and eric clapton did better at , knocking on heavens door

4 sheryl crow. all i wanna do is have some fun.

5 you should add Can't Hurry Love to your Phil Collins list

/shudder

6 I got two words that bolster your theory:  Rod Stewart

Need I say more?

There is one "however" that goes with that though.. all those crappy old "standards" he recorded sold like hotcakes.  So, while he's probably richer than ever, he sold out..

7 Ummm, am I drunker than I thought, or are you posting from the future?

8 i thought supremes did, you can't hurry love?

9 All Along the Watchtower- Jimi spanked Dylan's ass.  Of course he was dead less than two years later so...

10 What about artists/bands who use a cover to claw their way onto the charts in the first place? Marilyn Manson pretty much bookended his career with covers.

11 sheryl crow. all i wanna do is have some fun.
Posted by: willow
............
That was not a cover.. she co-wrote that.

12 Ummm, am I drunker than I thought, or are you posting from the future?

Posted by: alexthechick at October 01, 2011 05:39 PM (Gk3SS)

Guest bloggers have magical powers.

13

14 phil collins, another day in paradise is good.

15 8 i thought supremes did, you can't hurry love?

Posted by: willow at October 01, 2011 05:39 PM (h+qn

Yes and Phil Collins did an awful cover

16 Ummm, am I drunker than I thought, or are you posting from the future?

*waves hands...

you didn't see anything.....

17 ooo, chi, i guess i was supposed to actually read ALL of the post.

sure, sure.

18 John Mayer is a great guitarist.. but his songs make me sick.

19 Guest bloggers have magical powers.

Hmmm, I suppose eating all that unicorn meat would do that.

Over in another part of my internets life, the question of the day is "what is your favorite vegetarian meal?"  I answered "veal".

20 Jose, i haven't heard his rendition, perhaps better if i pass?

21 All Along the Watchtower- Jimi spanked Dylan's ass.  Of course he was dead less than two years later so...

Never underestimate the power of the cover song.....

22 yeah, sometimes it help, willow..

23 alex, you wearing nice stompy boots?


if so let's do a sobriety test.  stand on your right foot.

takes boot.

stand on your left foot.

takes left boots,

did you notice?

24 I would like to get some big names cover my songs.. but since hardly anybody has ever heard them, would they be "covers"??

25 chi,  it might , haha

26 Over in another part of my internets life, the question of the day is "what is your favorite vegetarian meal?"  I answered "veal".

Posted by: alexthechick at October 01, 2011 05:42 PM (Gk3SS)

You should have said you like them slow cooked in a au jus. 

27 What about artists/bands who use a cover to claw their way onto the charts in the first place?

eh, everyone does covers early in their career.

Look at Pat Greene, for example.

But usually, once they start to score with their own songs, doing a cover is a pretty clear indication that they have nothing more to say.

28 alex, you wearing nice stompy boots?

I'm presuming that question was rhetorical.

if so let's do a sobriety test.  stand on your right foot.

You do realize the time between my standing on one foot and my falling over is measured in milliseconds, right? 

29 Ummm, am I drunker than I thought, or are you posting from the future?

Posted by: alexthechick at October 01, 2011 05:39 PM (Gk3SS)

It's the Neutrinos

30 well alex, i guess if you are down i can steal your boots. but that seems so wrong, ya know.

31 i guess if you are down i can steal your boots. but that seems so wrong, ya know.

Consider it an alternative means of sharing. 

32 Here's another unoriginal "star" who made his career doing covers.

And not good ones.

33 Are there still covers?

34 I hated, hated the Tarzan soundtrack.  Given that Collins made that cover of "A Groovy Kind of Love" in 1988 and the Tarzan soundtrack came out a decade later, that gives wiserbud's theory come credence with me.

35 Okay, I sing like I've got a massive brain injury but I banged JLH when she was still hot. Whatta you got?

36 John Mayer sucks, not because of the covers he did, but the chicks he did and then talked about it. That is straight up douche.

Not that I cared for his whiney voice to begin with. So douche plus whine equals bye-bye........not so much the cover.

*smacks wiser upside the noggin*

37 Since the neutrinos got mentioned here, It's O.K. to pass this on. If you are not a physics geek, you will not get this joke. You will also hate me. From Jerry Pournelle's Chaos Manor:


The bartender says"We don't serve faster-than-light neutrinos in here."

A neutrino walks into a bar.

38 Over in another part of my internets life, the question of the day is "what is your favorite vegetarian meal?"  I answered "veal".

Posted by: alexthechick at October 01, 2011 05:42 PM (Gk3SS)

 

Ok, I'm a vegetarian and that was pretty damn funny. 

39 30 well alex, i guess if you are down i can steal your boots. but that seems so wrong, ya know.

Willow, are you emulating the Ork (from Warhammer 40k) method of commerce and finance?   

40 John Mayer? Seriously, I never heard of him.

41 Ummm, am I drunker than I thought, or are you posting from the future?

You're welcome.

42 Van Halen.

43 "A Groovy Kind of Love {{{{{{{shudder}}}}}}}" Whaddya mean, "shudder"? It's got staying power.

44 Yeah, stuff the pretty boy, but keep the guitarists. Nice acoustic work by golly. Hand over that Martin on your way out kid!

45 Ok, I'm a vegetarian and that was pretty damn funny.

The funny thing is that I have a few vegetarian cookbooks and actually am trying to get more veggies in my life (see the key is to start from a baseline of zero and you much be successful, you much!). 

46 Damn, you guys are even faster than I am.

47

Many thanks to Ace for giving me the opportunity to entertain you drooling mouth-breathers this week as a guest blogger while he takes a well deserved break from destroying political careers and double-posting other cob-logger's items. -wiserbud

 

Ha!  I'm hoping he's seeing lots of movies.  Looking forward to more epic length reviews.  The only reviews I enjoy more are Daniel Tosh's.

48 Or am I just slower than I think?  Quite the conundrum.

49 40 John Mayer? Seriously, I never heard of him.

Consider yourself lucky.  One of Mayer's songs, "Your Body is a Wonderland", is basically a homage to Jennifer Love Hewitt.

50 Did Bill Shatner release his covers of Taxi and Rocket Man as singles?

51 Willow, are you emulating the Ork (from Warhammer 40k) method of commerce and finance?   

Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at October 01, 2011 05:52 PM (Ylw9B)

uh.....Kratos, you know i have little knowledge of how politics work right?

i have even less of x box , computer, playstation games.

52

>> Look at Pat Greene, for example.

 

Or Willie Nelson

Or Van Halen

Or the Rolling Stones

Or Dire Straights

Or David Gilmour

Or Frank Sinatra

Or Pearl Jam

 

Seriously, this concept would be better titled "Hey, John Mayer is a fucking douche-tool".

53 32  Nah! His career ended because there was not enough time in each day to fix that hair! Wow! It's easy to forget. Makes me want to make him run 5 miles!

54

ok the going out of the music business theory seems right. BUT.......... here is one guy  and girl who made the charts for the first time using  cover tunes

The first is Jose Feliciano with  The Doors Light My Fire

The second is Tina Turner with CCR's Proud Mary

for me Phill Collins anything makes me {{{{{shudder}}}}}

55 Van Halen.

Posted by: davidt at October 01, 2011 05:53 PM (Lqwmu)

Blasphemer!

Anywho, that's a solid theory but I'd only add that Guns n' Roses went away because Axle Rose turned out to be an odd recluse.

And what the hell happened to Chinese Democracy? I thought that was supposed to be their next greatest album.

56 Seriously, this concept would be better titled "Hey, John Mayer is a fucking douche-tool".

What I love is that JM was supposed to be like the Platonic ideal of the modern, enlightened, sensitive, touchy feely modern man.  Instead, he's the Platonic ideal of epic douchebaggery. 

57

Posted by: willow at October 01, 2011 05:56 PM (h+qn

Of course, my mistake. 

58 JM was supposed to be like the Platonic ideal of the modern, enlightened, sensitive, touchy feely modern man.  Instead, he's the Platonic ideal of epic douchebaggery.

You have learned well, grasshopper.

59 The funny thing is that I have a few vegetarian cookbooks and actually am trying to get more veggies in my life (see the key is to start from a baseline of zero and you much be successful, you much!). 

Posted by: alexthechick at October 01, 2011 05:53 PM (Gk3SS)

 

Me too.  Trust me, there are MANY vegetarians who eat crap all the time.  Potato chips, macaroni and cheese and chocolate ice cream- all vegetarian.  And anytime I smell a quarter pounder with cheese, I think fondly of the memories of eating them.  Good times.

60

Axle Rose

Yeah, fucked that one up.

 

61 Saw this fucktard at a bar before he got big. My then girlfriend dragged me there. I had no idea who he was. Place was 80% chicks and it was sit down only like it was some fucking junior high piano recital.

Miserable couple hours. The place was dripping with young chick love juice though, so dude clearly knew his market.

62 Saw this fucktard at a bar before he got big.

I saw Morphine at a place that held maybe, maybe 300 people right before they broke big.  It was probably the most amazing concert I'll ever see.

63

Oh God ya'll will hate me but I just love John Mayer.  I love his voice and his guitar playing as well.  Guess I'm not one of the cool kids but I don't care.  I know he's a douchebag in real life but hells bells, most of them are, you just don't hear about most of it.

Failed cover of a song?  Pearl Jams Last Kiss.  That piece of shit blows chunks.

64

Anywho, that's a solid theory but I'd only add that Guns n' Roses went away because Axle Rose turned out to be an odd recluse.

And what the hell happened to Chinese Democracy? I thought that was supposed to be their next greatest album.

Posted by: ErikW at October 01, 2011 05:58 PM (kEjRX

it has been reported that besides having a wicked heroine habit Axel turned into a super douchbag towards Slash, besides Axel went bald and wears hair weave dreds now.

65

"I Think We're Alone Now."

I guess Tiffany never had a career.

66

heh Axle

 

67
So if Obama's only doing Cover Up tunes until the end of his ruinous presidency,
does that mean his career is over? Or will he become Sec-Gen of the U.N.?

68 Remember Bowie and Mick Jagger covering Dancing in the Streets?  That was just humiliating.  John Lennon was watching that shit from beyond thinking maybe that Chapman douche saved me from myself.  His last stuff was embarrassing- I suspect he'd have gone down a very bad musical path had history gone differently.

69

it has been reported that besides having a wicked heroine habit Axel turned into a super douchbag towards Slash, besides Axel went bald and wears hair weave dreds now.

Posted by: sonnyspats at October 01, 2011 06:07 PM (I/MzF)

 

Dude, that's a sign of ultimate coolness.

70 Dear GuestBlogger,

I had never considered the implications of a popular artist who has been hitless for a good while covering a great song. But now that you mention it, I can't think of a single once great artist covering a great song and then going on to produce a new big hit. To whereas there are indeed countless once great artists who cover great songs and never churn out a serious new hit. Perhaps there is an exception or so somewhere in the annals of popular music, but at least as a generalized theory, yours seems extremely solid. There is also some poetic justice to it.

71 Disturbed, while they are still fairly big, went a bit downhill after they covered Phil Collins' "Land of Confusion".  Look it up on YouTube - the music video for this cover was animated by Todd McFarlane and as you may guess, the video is very moonbatty (apparently US soldiers are controlled by the Monopoly Guy).

Furthermore, Disturbed released a single last year called "Another Way to Die", a "tribute" to global warming.  Gore must engage in decadence while listening to that song...

72 "Drooling mouthbreathers?" I really resent being called that. I'm not a mouthbreather, I quit after I drooled all over my knuckles and they got muddy dragging in the dirt.

73

it has been reported that besides having a wicked heroine habit Axel turned into a super douchbag towards Slash, besides Axel went bald and wears hair weave dreds now.

Posted by: sonnyspats at October 01, 2011 06:07 PM (I/MzF)

Wow, didn't know that. I'd heard rumors and innuendo about the Axl/Slash split but didn't know what was going on.

I've listened to Velvet Revolver and it doesn't really do anything for me.

As an aside, I got Duff McKagan's autograph while going through Port Columbus many moons ago. It was funny as hell because he asked me where he was.

74 Sheryl Crow - First Cut is the Deepest

Wait, didn't Sheryl Crow make a cover before this cover?  Didn't she cover "Sweet Child of Mine" for the Big Daddy soundtrack (1999, I think)?

75 Didn't Johnny Cash do a cover right before he was murdered?

76 Don't forget "work is a four letter word", which inspired Johnny Marr to kill the Smiths. NME did a feature on that as one of many shitty cover songs, in '92. Against that there's "Hurt" by Johnny Cash. Kicked Reznor's ass... Reznor will tell you himself.

77 Huh.  Never thought of this. Good point.

78 If The Possum let's you cover his material you're Golden.  Same with Buffet. Heck, there's covers of stuff 90 years old such as on the album "Brother, Wherefore Art thou?"

Country music knows real quality!

79 Or Pearl Jam

You almost make a point, then you ruin it with this.  What has Pearl Jam done since Last Kiss?  Up until they released that song, they were HYUGE!!!

then.... booom......

Oh.. wait... I know this...  Eddie Vedder released a CD of ukelele songs.

80 I've never heard of Morphine in my life. But I barely kept up with music as a youth, and don't bother at all now.

Main way I hear new music now is when somebody dies -- like that Winehouse chick. I'll youtube their music just to see what the big deal was.

As a very young kid I saw Huey Lewis and the News at the California State Fair just before they became huge. I only remember this because my older sister remembers this.

They were the opening band. The headliner was the Greg Kihn Band with their hit - Jeopardy. Their encore was ... Double Jeopardy. Baby. Ooooohoooooheeeee.

81 75 Didn't Johnny Cash do a cover right before he was murdered?

He wasn't murdered - he died of complications from diabetes.

His cover of "Hurt", originally sung by Nine Inch Nails, is pretty damn good. 

82 >>He wasn't murdered - he died of complications from diabetes.


That's what they want you to think.

83 I had never heard of this guy before this post. Curses for tricking me into listening and thus make me smash my speakers in!

84 Posted by: Dave at October 01, 2011 06:11 PM (a5Y+2)

You, sir, are a true gentleman and a man of intelligence and sophistication.

85 One of your examples disproves your theory: Turn The Page was not the end of Metallica. Their following album, S&M, had the No Leaf Clover single which charted higher. They also had higher charting singles from their next two albums after that. Link.

86 Wait, didn't Sheryl Crow make a cover before this cover?  Didn't she cover "Sweet Child of Mine" for the Big Daddy soundtrack (1999, I think)?

Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at October 01, 2011 06:13 PM (Ylw9B)

Yeah. It was weaksauce.

87 Unsock!

88
You know, covers can also be a good thing, such as when Jimi Hendrix reinterprets Bob Dylan...

89 Aerosmith - Come Together (Beatles cover)

90
74  Sheryl Crow also did a version of Sweet Child of Mine that was actually pretty good, in my opinion.

91

As a very young kid I saw Huey Lewis and the News at the California State Fair just before they became huge. I only remember this because my older sister remembers this.

I met him when he was in Kansas City promoting their new albumn.  It was some nightclub close to the stadium.  He has the bluest eyes.. very nice man.  Now he's a liberal douchetard but I still enjoy their music.

92 71 Disturbed, while they are still fairly big, went a bit downhill after they covered Phil Collins' "Land of Confusion".  Look it up on YouTube - the music video for this cover was animated by Todd McFarlane and as you may guess, the video is very moonbatty (apparently US soldiers are controlled by the Monopoly Guy).

Furthermore, Disturbed released a single last year called "Another Way to Die", a "tribute" to global warming.  Gore must engage in decadence while listening to that song...

Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at October 01, 2011 06:11 PM (Ylw9B)

ah HA they are bought and paid for by big Green. Or do they realize there is a big Goracle making  tons of cash for these idea?

bet they think Gore is an honest joe.

93 Except for cover bands, like Me First & the Gimmee Gimmees

94 John Lennon was watching that shit from beyond thinking maybe that Chapman douche saved me from myself.  His last stuff was embarrassing- I suspect he'd have gone down a very bad musical path had history gone differently.

Alternate Universe, November 2011, Mohegan Sun Casino:

One night only, On one stage..... John Lennon, .38 Special and Journey!!!

95 Ok.

So, while I an here on this site, or off playing on Pogo, I am frequently also logged into a low-paying but effortless part-time job. I am one of the voices you hear at the other end of the line when you call to order most of those awful as-seen-on-TV products.

I get drunks and children giggling and heavy breathers all the time. There's even a repeat call, probably a machine, that keeps calling and playing CNN in the background.

Just now, I answered the phone and a guy, without any introduction, asks "Why aren't Lays all shaped the same like Pringles?"

We are an interesting species.

96 81 75 Didn't Johnny Cash do a cover right before he was murdered?

He wasn't murdered - he died of complications from diabetes.

His cover of "Hurt", originally sung by Nine Inch Nails, is pretty damn good.

Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at October 01, 2011 06:17 PM (Ylw9B)

Johnny Cash - Hurt  Interestingly if you start typing in Johnny Cash on youtube, their suggestions go "Johnny Cash"  "Johnny Cash Hurt" and then "Johnny Cash Ring of Fire"

97

>> You almost make a point, then you ruin it with this. What has Pearl Jam done since Last Kiss? Up until they released that song, they were HYUGE!!!

 

Backspacer... gold.

 

Keep fucking that chicken.

98 Morphine.

99 Phil Collins did "You Can't Hurry Love" two years before he became really big with "Against All Odds"  Maybe if a singer sucks enough it breaks your rule.

100 as if, Is Bill Mays sister!

101
I can't listen to Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire.  Too many memories of an unfortunate day spent at a Chili Cookoff in Texas.

Or rather, not that day so much as the morning after.

102 75 Didn't Johnny Cash do a cover right before he was murdered?

He wasn't murdered - he died of complications from diabetes.

At 71 years old.

After dropping pills, being a heroin addict and a smoker.

Yeah, that diabetes is a real bitch.

103 Now he's a liberal douchetard but I still enjoy their music.

When rock n rollers are Liberal douchetards, I don't mind as much. I kind of expect it.

But when the country singers are Liberal, I just want to stomp 'em.

Stomp. Them.

HARD.

Double standard, I know, bit it just destroys me.

Whomever mentioned ol' Possum upthread, thanks. My Daddy looooved him some George Jones, and I have been thinking about him all day. (Daddy, not Mr. Jones.)

104

These guys had a long successful career after covering Steppenwolf's Born To Be Wild ... (but I don't recall whether it was released by them as a single.)

Terrific theory.

105 Manfred Mann covered two Springsteen tunes.

Fucking Manfred Mann?  

Don't fuck with the Boss.

106 I don't know if there's anything to the theory, but I'm pulling for it. Death to John Mayer!

107 89 Aerosmith - Come Together (Beatles cover)

done for a soundtrack, not specifically done to be released as a single on one of their albums.

108 97

>> You almost make a point, then you ruin it with this. What has Pearl Jam done since Last Kiss? Up until they released that song, they were HYUGE!!!

Backspacer... gold.

Keep fucking that chicken.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at October 01, 2011 06:24 PM (PjVdx)

Never heard of it.

109 Then there are groups like Alien Ant Farm, who release a single as their first hit and skip the whole 'being huge' thing.

110 I feel the same way MissTammy. 

111

>> After dropping pills, being a heroin addict and a smoker.

 

oh.

 

fuck.

 

112 Who the hell is John Mayer? 


Yeah, yeah, get off my lawn!

113 as if, Is Bill Mays sister!

At least you didn't say the Sham-Wow guy.

114 One of your examples disproves your theory: Turn The Page was not the end of Metallica. Their following album, S&M, had the No Leaf Clover single which charted higher. They also had higher charting singles from their next two albums after that.

Ah,  but did those songs chart as high as Enter Sandman, The Unforgiven or The Memory Remains?

Their best days were behind them when the released Turn the Page.

115 Posted by: Dave in Texas at October 01, 2011 06:28 PM (PjVdx)

On the other hand, Keith Richards has made himself immortal so there's that. 

116 If this is all true and science is really settled...
Quick! Some one send Obama (SCoaMF) a cover.
Please.

117 tommy james, draggin the line

118 109 Then there are groups like Alien Ant Farm, who release a single as their first hit and skip the whole 'being huge' thing.

I did not know "Smooth Criminal" was originally sung by Michael Jackson until I saw NC's review of "Moonwalker".

Guess that makes me a racist, yes?

119 My general thought of music is it's pointless to try and keep up because your reaction to music has little to do with the actual quality of the song.

People love the music that was popular when they were young because .... they were young.

The songs themselves are just triggers to help you remember how awesome it is to be young and healthy and energetic.

Songs that were popular when I was 15 were awesome, because there were hot 15 year old chicks who wanted to make out with me while listening to those songs.

Hell, a song that was playing while a girl would just sit and have lunch with me and let her thigh casually touch and linger next to mine.  That's all that's needed to burn the memory of a song into a young mind, when everything is so fresh and so new.

120

On the other hand, Keith Richards has made himself immortal so there's that. 

I think he's dead.  They just prop him when they make an appearance, kind of weekend at Bernie's style.

121 As If!,, haha i couldn't remember what he sold, i just remember his voice and ENthusiasm

122 Never heard of it.

Thank you.

123 If this is all true and science is really settled...
Quick! Some one send Obama (SCoaMF) a cover.
Please.

Would you be surprised in the least if, in the not-too-distant future, we started seeing ads to purchase the inspirational speeches of a history-making leader?

I wouldn't. After this job, I now know that people will buy anything.

124

Aerosmith - Come Together (Beatles cover)

How about "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)"? I think that was released as a single.

Though it could be said that 1979 was the end of Aerosmith, that Rock in a Hard Place didn't count, and that they started over in 1984.

125 I did not know "Smooth Criminal" was originally sung by Michael Jackson until I saw NC's review of "Moonwalker".

Great. Video.

126 Yeah, gotta agree with 85. Metallica has had three No. 1 albums since they did Turn the Page. And if you know their history they have always done covers. Enough to release a double CD of cover versions, mostly of unknown early hard rock and thrash bands that they admired. And of course throw in their mostly sold out world tours of stadiums and arena and it is hard to put them on this list. Mostly agree with everyone else.

127 The Rolling Stones released "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" as a bona-fide A side in 1974. Which, in retrospect, pretty much demarcates when they began sliding into irrelevance, as we also found out afterwards that "Start Me Up" had been sitting on the shelf for seven years. The Byrds, however, displayed their revolutionary sound for two-plus whole albums which were half-full rearranged covers, as did The Animals.

128 I saw Morphine at a place that held maybe, maybe 300 people right before they broke big.  It was probably the most amazing concert I'll ever see.

Mark Sandman was not a rookie when founding Morphine.

129

I did not know "Smooth Criminal" was originally sung by Michael Jackson until I saw NC's review of "Moonwalker".

It was on the B side of Bad.

I know, blah, blah, blah but it's a cool song and cool video.

130 I've never really listened to Phish or fish or whatever they are called but my kids do. Isn't all of their music covers?

131 94 Alternate Universe, November 2011, Mohegan Sun Casino: One night only, On one stage..... John Lennon, .38 Special and Journey!!! Posted by: wiserbud at October 01, 2011 06:23 PM (3Okgs) The legendary and completely revolutionary New York Dolls (what's left of them) have been touring with -cough- Motley Crue.

132

oh.

 

fuck.

What?  Not saying anything bad about Johnny Cash.  He lived a rough life, which included drugs, drinking and smoking and still made it to 71. 

The fact that he died from complications related to diabetes after surviving all that shows how much of a bitch diabetes is.

133 Though it could be said that 1979 was the end of Aerosmith, that Rock in a Hard Place didn't count, and that they started over in 1984.

Yeah, they were pretty much done and made an amazing comeback once they sobered up.

Hey, there are always outliers....

134 Oh for fucks sake!  Who gives a shit about bands?  They come and they go.

Nevertheless, I've the link to this post to my nephew, who is a kick ass guitar player. 

135 Hell, a song that was playing while a girl would just sit and have lunch with me and let her thigh casually touch and linger next to mine.  That's all that's needed to burn the memory of a song into a young mind, when everything is so fresh and so new.

Skid Row, "I Remember You."

We had a jukebox in the cafeteria.

136

"Green Manalishi" was a popular cover for Judas Priest in 1978. (I don't know if it was ever released as a single.) They also released "Johnny B. Goode" as a single in 1988. Though they peaked in the early '80s, they've had quite a bit of success after '88.

137 The Byrds, however, displayed their revolutionary sound for two-plus whole albums which were half-full rearranged covers, as did The Animals.

It was a different time.  And I account for bands from the 50s and 60s in my theory.  Back then, everyone was doing covers.

Hell, Pat Boone and Little Richard both charted withe the same song about a year apart

138 he died from complications related to diabetes

Y'all, he died of a broken heart.

If Valerie June Carter was still alive, John Cash would still be alive, diabetes or no diabetes.

139 Cash's "Hurt" might be the only song that resonates with anything near the intensity of songs from my youth. But it's depressing because it resonates only because it reminds me of all the mistakes I've made, and the people I've loved who have died.  It's like death and despair, disease and regret  -- wrapped up in sonic form.

140 Oh my, most of the people on here are just youngsters.  I still remember hearing Happy Together by the Turtles at a school dance and a kid I had a crush on asked me to dance. I always think of him when I hear it.

141 It's like death and despair, disease and regret  -- wrapped up in sonic form.

One of his all-time greatest songs.

142

If Valerie June Carter was still alive, John Cash would still be alive, diabetes or no diabetes.

Yep.  She was his everything.  It was just a few months wasn't it between her death and his?

143

U guys got to go to ther supermarket and see the picture on the Globe of Facelift Hillary. She looks like Lucius Malfoy!!

144 Do B sides of singles count? I'm thinking of Cascada's cover "Last Christmas" which came out a year before "Evacuate the Dancefloor."

145 I love the Alien Ant Farm cover of Smooth Criminal.

I came across a collection of old albums down in the basement today. I still have a turntable and I'm going to see how they sound tonight.

One in particular, and especially this song from it, was the reason I spent the entire summer of my 14th year working my ass off to buy a Strat.

They are w/o question one of the most underrated and under appreciated groups in rock history. Trower belongs in the pantheon of guitar gods, but the singer James Dewar is the greatest rock singer ever. Don't even try arguing the point. It would be an exercise in futility.

146 107 89 Aerosmith - Come Together (Beatles cover)

done for a soundtrack, not specifically done to be released as a single on one of their albums.

Which doesn't explain "Remember (Walking In The Sand)"...

Which leads us to Run DMC doing "Walk This Way"...

Oh, and add Santana to the list of bands whose entire career is owed to making hits of covers, until Supernatural. His last album, Guitar Heaven, is nothing but covers, so we'll see where he goes from here...

147

Skid Row, "I Remember You."

We had a jukebox in the cafeteria.

Posted by: Slublog at October 01, 2011 06:41 PM (E1Iq4)

 

18 and Life was big on the radio that year and Senior Prom was Bryan Adams' Everything I Do.

The entire basketball gym was built up like a castle (remember Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves).

148 It's like death and despair, disease and regret  -- wrapped up in sonic form.

One of his all-time greatest songs.

It's the perfect combination of the song and the singer.  You can hear every single bit of pain that Johnny Cash went through in his life in his voice. 

I remember reading an interview with Trent Reznor talking about going to a strip club and one of the strippers was using Hurt (his version) and he was basically all . . . . . .

I must say, of all the NIN songs to which to strip, that is not the one I would pick. 

149 Sure was, jewells54. I told my mama the day June died that John Cash was gonna die of June's heart surgery. I think it was about three months later.

150 Actually Van Halen both proves and disproves the theory. First big hit was a Kinks cover "You Really Got Me", and most of their albums contained at least one cover tune. But the gawdawful "Dancing in the Streets" on Diver Down was the beginning of the end, even with the success of 1984.

151 I came across a collection of old albums down in the basement today. I still have a turntable and I'm going to see how they sound tonight.

My Christmas present to myself this year is gong to be a USB turntable. I have my grandparents country and gospel albums and my mom's rock albums.

I can't wait to load them up.

152 Omg. You folks are only encouraging him.

153 Yikes....a music thread!

I got nothin'.

154 Posted by: As If! at October 01, 2011 06:50 PM (piMMO)

Thor just bought a bunch of album cleaning paraphernalia, and is going to start going through all our old albums, to clean and inventory.

He has also been going to our local library and buying old albums for a buck; we've gotten some great music that way.

I still think vinyl sounds richer by far than CDs.

155

Which doesn't explain "Remember (Walking In The Sand)"...

Speaking of the Shangri-Las, Twisted Sister's first single was "Leader of the Pack." Their popularity came later.

156 Oh man I would love to have a turntable again and listen to all the albums we have stored away.  Damn.. that would be sweet.  I wonder how we could hook that into our system? 

157 Good to bring up Trower, beedubya. Great stuff, although he is afflicted with the world's WORST case of "lead guitar face". Looks like a Black Sea Bass when he solos.

158 Oh man I would love to have a turntable again and listen to all the albums we have stored away.  Damn.. that would be sweet.  I wonder how we could hook that into our system?

Buy a usb turntable and load them to your computer. Then you can cut CDs from them for your stereo.

159 Covers used to be a standard way for a singer to make a living - and really ought to be still, given the unbelievable crap that's being put out these days. A good cover can really make an artist interesting, and in bluegrass, blues, and country (in the past at least) it used to be pretty usual stuff to redo old songs.

160 I still think vinyl sounds richer by far than CDs.

I agree.

161

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at October 01, 2011 06:48 PM (9Lm5R)

Well put and as an eternal fan of Van Halen (even during the Sammy years) one of my top faves is Hot for Teacher.

Eddie Van Halen is still one of the greatest fretwalkers to ever exist.

162

I posted this on the other thread by mistake:

 

Does this mean William Shatner's music career is over?

 

 

163 I would love to have a turntable again

Girlfriend, how'd you let yourself get rid of your turntable to start with if you kept your albums??

That is one way Thor and I knew we had found real true love...we both had hundreds of albums and still had turntables! (The love nearly died when he found all my Bay City Roller albums, mind you....)

164 Hahahahahaha!!! I can't operate this post without a brick wall, vodka tonic and an idling schoolbus waiting nearby.

165 What about mash-ups?  Do they count?  I hope not, cause I heart Kid Rock and "All Summer Long" has lots of Leonard Skinnard in it.

166 With the exception of Elton John, the death knell for a rock band or artist is putting out a Greatest Hits compilation before they break up (for the first time, anyway). I have any number of series of albums by my fav groups, culminating with their Greatest Hits, then a bunch of forgettable LPs with no hits and really, no good songs.

167 This theory actually explains why we haven't been cursed by a Celine Dion song lately.  Her cover of "Shook Me All Night Long" is what did it.

At least some good came of that abomination, I suppose.

168 Popular music also has a ridiculously short half-life.

Songs that were huge when you were 15, are unknown to anyone 5 years older or younger. And 5 years is being generous. The cultural niches are smaller and smaller.

This is painfully obvious when dating younger women. It's a lot easier to bond over movies, or even TV shows.

169 Eddie Van Halen is still one of the greatest fretwalkers to ever exist

I like Eddie V, but I'm not sure he is one of the greatest.

Top 50, maybe; Top 100, for sure.

170 Covers used to be a standard way for a singer to make a living - and really ought to be still, given the unbelievable crap that's being put out these days. A good cover can really make an artist interesting, and in bluegrass, blues, and country (in the past at least) it used to be pretty usual stuff to redo old songs.

Stormy weather.

Nuff said.

171 Wait a sec.... Obama's been covering Deval Patrick this whole time.


Yep the theory is sound.

172

That is one way Thor and I knew we had found real true love...we both had hundreds of albums and still had turntables! (The love nearly died when he found all my Bay City Roller albums, mind you....)

Oh God, I will embarass myself here, but I've got all the disco shit hubby and I  listened to.  Every Elton John album, some Beach Boys, Michael Jackson, REO Speedwagon... tons of different shit.  I just  checked Amazon, they had a USB turntable for $85... I must admit I hadn't heard of a USB turntable til just now.  I was thinking a regular turntable I could somehow hook up to our surround sound system we have for the tv.

173 This is a stupidly ignorant post.

The Byrds?  "Mr. Tambourine Man" or "My Back Pages?"

Stevie Wonder in 1968?  "We Can Work It Out" is better than The Beatles' original, and the original is one of their finest singles.

The Jam and "David Watts?"  Not hardly.

You haven't really thought this one through.

174 Elton John and his #1 hit remake of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" in 1974 is another good example that disproves this rule.

175

Covers used to be a standard way for a singer to make a living - and really ought to be still, given the unbelievable crap that's being put out these days.

Yes, yes and yes. Personally, I like hearing an old song with a new sound.

(Note to Disney kids: Keep the training wheels on. You may have looks and talent, but you're not Olivia Newton-John, and you're not Pat Benatar. Ashley and Meaghan, I'm looking at you. Do what other cover artists have done and sing something by Irving Berlin. You really can't go wrong singing Irving Berlin.)

176 You really chose the wrong subject to spout off about.  I know more about rock music than all of the snooty hipsters of this nation combined...and while I understand what you were trying to get at with this premise, it's just not correct.

177 Covers used to be a standard way for a singer to make a living - and really ought to be still, given the unbelievable crap that's being put out these days. A good cover can really make an artist interesting, and in bluegrass, blues, and country (in the past at least) it used to be pretty usual stuff to redo old songs.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at October 01, 2011 06:57 PM (r4wIV)

Very true and that pretty much defines the history of music.

I play guitar myself and the dirty secret about music is that even though, theoretically, there are thousands of chords, there are only a handful of keys that are comprised of a handful of chords that make up every song known to man.

Styles have blended throughout history, rock and roll came from country western and southern blues.

Music is about strength, tempo and attitude. There's no right or wrong to it, it's just how much you want to groove!

178 On the using covers to advance a career thing:  I think Mandy Moore is a great example of this.  She was shoved into the pop/starlet box and tried to get out.  She released Coverage and people were stunned to find out she can actually sing.

She also had a hilarious reaction to her label putting out a greatest hits album from the poplet stage.  "What hits?  I had like one!"  That's something to think about with those greatest hits albums, there are many times when that album is being used to burn through the last album on a contract. 

179 RE: Pearl Jam & Backspacer, buzzion said:

>>>Never heard of it.

You ought to check it out.  Pearl Jam is one of those rare bands/artists who actually got BETTER once they became less popular and/or critically acclaimed.  Their debut album Ten is the one that everyone knows, but I can't listen to the damn thing anymore, it's so MOR/AOR.  Meanwhile, Vs. and Vitalogy are less well-known but a hundred times better (Vitalogy might actually be their best), and No Code is genuinely gripping anti-commercial avant-garde weirdness...one of those albums that renegade hipsters praise and are actually CORRECT to do so.  They've tailed off later in their career, but I honestly don't think they've ever put out a truly crap album, and they became far, far more interesting once they dropped out of the "Seattle grunge boom!" public eye after the early '90s.

180 A curious theory, but some bands' entire first, second, and third albums were full of almost nothing but covers of blues tunes (Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones) and they all went on to greatness.

181

So is Guest a title serving multiple under respected and unpaid cobloggers or a nom de plume?  If it is the latter he or she is prolific in providing fodder for us Roons.

 

182 Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:08 PM (hIWe1)

In thinking about it, this theory is more relevant for modern pop music than for the classics. 

183 How many songs each year, on average, become a permanent part of the culture? 2-3? 5? 10?

With fiction, I don't bother reading anything less than 20 years old, that should be enough time to sift out what's good and/or important.  I prefer if it's 50+ years old, then I know it's survived the test of time.

Kinda hard rule to follow since sci-fi is my favorite genre. But I don't bother reading any non-genre fiction less than a few decades old. I figure if it's good, it'll still be around in a decade when I get to it.

184 This is a stupidly ignorant post.

And yet you joined in the discussion anyway.

Damn, Jeff, take a Xanax. Nobody other than you claimed to be a genius with regard to music.

This is a friendly thread. No need for dramatics.

185 Again on the subject of Pearl Jam...just so you know where I'm coming from, I used to ignorantly dismiss them as annoying sub-Nirvana sludge (I HATED "Alive" and "Jeremy" and the whole "corporate-friendly rock" sound on that first album)...right up until the second I heard the song "Corduroy."  Go check it out right now on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/62q3mo

That's one of the truly great rock songs of the 1990's (listen to that middle eight!), and the rest of the album it hails from (Vitalogy) is up to that level.

186 >>>Damn, Jeff, take a Xanax. Nobody other than you claimed to be a genius with regard to music.

>>>This is a friendly thread. No need for dramatics.

I know, dood.  I'm just trying to go for the humorous contrast from last night's drunken ONT.  I guess you had to be there to understand the setup to this gag.  Let me be clear: I don't think wiserbud is stupidly ignorant or stupid or ignorant.  I'm just clowning on my own prickish persona.

187

... and while I understand what you were trying to get at with this premise, it's just not correct.

I think it's a good theory; it just doesn't hold true in every case. Hell, that's what a theory is -- If x then y, z% of the time. Wiserbud was careful to mention some parameters and caveats, but it has a predictive nature which, in this case, seems to work a lot more often than it doesn't.

Now consider anthropogenic global warming. Whenever I call that a theory to some lefty prog, I hear, "It's not a theory. It's a fact!" to which I respond, "I was being generous in calling it a theory. It's not really even that."

188 I think you can add U2 to that list.  They covered a Cole Porter song (Night and Day) for an AIDS charity album back in 1990, so post Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum.  I was a diehard U2 fan back in the 80's, and still love their older stuff, but pretty much everything released post Achtung Baby has sucked (and even Achtung was mediocre with the exception of a few stand-out songs). 

They still sell out stadiums, but they can't create music like they used to.  I think One was their last real gem.

189 Rush records Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" in 1973 and didn't disappear. Elton John recorded the Beatles' "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" in 1974 and has done OK since then. David Bowie recorded "Let's Spend the Night Together" in 1973 and has done OK since. Iggy Pop's "China Girl" in 1983. I don't know if he's had another pop hit but he definitely hasn't fallen off the face of the earth. Others have already mentions Aerosmith covering Come Together, but they also recorded Helter Skelter in 1991. etc! Fail, IMO.

190 I know, dood.  I'm just trying to go for the humorous contrast from last night's drunken ONT.  I guess you had to be there to understand the setup to this gag.  Let me be clear: I don't think wiserbud is stupidly ignorant or stupid or ignorant.  I'm just clowning on my own prickish persona.

What did you do last night? Fess up.

191 This is a stupidly ignorant post.

The Byrds?  "Mr. Tambourine Man" or "My Back Pages?"

Stevie Wonder in 1968?  "We Can Work It Out" is better than The Beatles' original, and the original is one of their finest singles.

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:05 PM (hIWe1)

Were these words too big for you to read?

..... my theory (ignoring the numerous amount of covers that all artists did in the 50s and 60s......

192

What did you do last night? Fess up.

Posted by: As If! at October 01, 2011 07:22 PM (piMMO)

Probably just being himself.

193 I'm just clowning on my own prickish persona.

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:17 PM (hIWe1)

And you're doing it in a piss poor way. Not everyone does the ONT thing.

Lighten the fuck up, please.

194 I'm just clowning on my own prickish persona.

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:17 PM (hIWe1)

You need to tell us when you're clowning on your persona....cuz I couldn't tell the difference.

195 Lighten the fuck up, please.


I owe you a lot of beers.

196 Good to bring up Trower, beedubya. Great stuff, although he is afflicted with the world's WORST case of "lead guitar face". Looks like a Black Sea Bass when he solos.

heh! True, but I have seen them about a dozen or so times live and he always looks like he's having a blast.

197 You need to tell us when you're clowning on your persona....cuz I couldn't tell the difference.

And a free drink to you.

198 Let me be clear: I don't think wiserbud is stupidly ignorant or stupid or ignorant.  I'm just clowning on my own prickish persona.

oops.

199 I do admire Jeff B. trying to bring some BloodSport level animosity and aggro to a music thread.

I demand we next discuss favorite children's cartoon, at which point I will carve out the eyes of anyone who disagrees with my theory of why Pinky and the Brain was the best cartoon ever!!!11!

Obviously I'm referring only to the 2nd season of Pinky and the Brain. In the first season they were still coasting off their Animaniacs fame, and by the 3rd season the writers had grown complacent. But episodes 5 through 14, (excluding the atrociously derivative "pineapple" episode, of course) are objectively the best network-produced animated series in all of human history.

You can disagree, but -- fair warning -- I will gouge out your eyes you ignorant, sub-human, gutter-scrunge fuckstick! Narf, motherfucker, narf!

200 >>>I was a diehard U2 fan back in the 80's, and still love their older stuff, but pretty much everything released post Achtung Baby has sucked (and even Achtung was mediocre with the exception of a few stand-out songs).

>>>They still sell out stadiums, but they can't create music like they used to.  I think One was their last real gem.

Man is this ever correct.  I actually think their last real gem was "Lemon" off of Zooropa, and that it in fact that might well be one of their greatest (if most uncharacteristic) songs ever.  But yes, U2 really fell off the face of the earth after The Joshua Tree.  If you subtract the stupid live cuts from Rattle & Hum there's actually a decent album hidden in there ("All I Want Is You" is one of their greatest songs, and obscure album cuts like "Heartland" and "Hawkmoon 269" are pretty great...also the B-sides from that LP are fanfuckingtastic), but Joshua Tree is the last consistently great statement they made IMO.

201 This is a solid theory and I like it, but there are exceptions.

First, Metallica.  Did they stop being popular?  Cause that's news to me.  Metallica are as big as they've ever been and that's unlikely to change.  Oh, certainly there career hits peaks and valleys, but that's always the case.  If their career takes a slide it's because they only release an album every five or six years.  It was six years between Reload and St. Anger and five years between St. Anger and Death Magnetic.  Their collaboration with Lou Reed comes out next month, but that's not a wholly Metallica album.  Secondly, they've released covers albums twice in their career.  Garage Days Rerevistited in 1987, *before* they broke big with the single One, and Garage Inc. in 1999.  They still sell out massive arenas wherever they go. 

Guns N Roses...if you want to talk about wasted talent and wasted money, GNR are the perfect examples.  Axl Rose single handedly drove out every member of the band, replaced them all with hired guns and spent, what, 14 years and $12 million+ dollars making that turd, Chinese Democracy?  GNR's fate wasn't sealed with a shitty cover, GNR's fate was sealed with the erratic behavior of its megalomaniacal frontman.  Oh, Chinese Democracy came out eventually.  As a Best Buy exclusive.  And no one cared.

Similarly, Disturbed does one cover with every release and released their cover of Land Of Confusion and that didn't seem to hurt them, at least near as I can tell.  They still reach the audiences they've always aimed for.

I only point these three out as exceptions to Wiserbud's rule.  It's an interesting one, certainly, but it clearly doesn't cover these two bands. 

I will offer up one example.  Limp Bizkit.  Remember these assholes?  They got HUGE at the end of the 90s for their dumb fratboy rap rock schtick.  Then they covered Behind Blue Eyes and their career trajectory plummeted straight to earth.

I wish I could think of other examples but I don't listen to queer pop shit.

202 Forget the PREMISE, could Coldplay please stop....STOP.

203 139 Cash's "Hurt" might be the only song that resonates with anything near the intensity of songs from my youth. But it's depressing because it resonates only because it reminds me of all the mistakes I've made, and the people I've loved who have died.  It's like death and despair, disease and regret  -- wrapped up in sonic form.

Posted by: Clubber Lang at October 01, 2011 06:43 PM (QcFbt)

i could not agree more.

And i actually knew Trent. Cash perfected his baby, because hes fucked up so much more, which is saying something. i think it had to do with Cash's wife who was such an angel, and so Cash had so much more regret. The pain of knowing right and wrong an doin wrong anyway is so much sharper than just being a fuckup who only dimly realizes it.

204 tsk,  have a cup of tea.

205 I won't lie...I do sometimes amp it up to Bloodsport levels when it comes to music.  The thing is, I do it for semi-obscure old acts.  I will fight to the fucking death to prove the worth of Fairport Convention, for example.  I will flay a hobo alive to demonstrate my love for New Order.  I would punch a thousand hippies to broadcast my devotion to Mark E. Smith and The Fall.  And if anyone says a bad word about Pavement I'll start dropping bombs.

206

I will offer up one example. Limp Bizkit. Remember these assholes? They got HUGE at the end of the 90s for their dumb fratboy rap rock schtick. Then they covered Behind Blue Eyes and their career trajectory plummeted straight to earth.

I wish I could think of other examples but I don't listen to queer pop shit.

Posted by: Robert at October 01, 2011 07:29 PM (F79HU)

They actually got popular off a cover too.  Faith.

207 Pinky and the Brain was the best cartoon ever!!!11

sorry dood, catdog was thee best.

208 We need Coldplay.

How are we going to tell who's ghey in the office without them?

209
So, with that theory in mind, I am extremely hopeful that we will never have to hear from this annoying little twit ever again


Fingers crossed:

John Mayer has cancelled shows and delayed his next album after announcing he has granuloma. Granuloma is an unflamed nodule near his vocal chords.

“Born and Raised is complete as far as music recording, song selection, and in some cases mixing, but because of this condition I couldn’t finish singing on several of the tracks,” John wrote on his Tumblr page about his upcoming album.

210 >>>We need Coldplay.

>>>How are we going to tell who's ghey in the office without them?

Q: How gay is Coldplay? 

A: Even *I* think they're a bit too pussy for me, that's how gay.

211 a heck sifty, I like clocks.
no it doesn't make sense, but neither do i.

212 Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:28 PM (hIWe1)

I try and forget that Zooropa ever existed, tbh.  It was just embarrassing.  Only song I didn't block out was Numb, and that's because of that weird ass video where Edge was having bare feet rubbed all over his face.  They got points for going outside their norm on that album, that's for sure.

Agreed about R&H - Heartland is one of my fave U2 songs, and All I Want is You might be their greatest song ever.  It's quintessential U2.

213 >>>a heck sifty, I like clocks.
>>>no it doesn't make sense, but neither do i.

Yes, but you're a woman, right?  You're off the hook.  Chicks dig that sort of stuff.

Incidentally, I once played a Coldplay song on piano for a woman in order to get her into bed with me.  It worked, but I've never forgiven myself.  EVER.

214 but Joshua Tree is the last consistently great statement they made IMO.

Yup. The only song that comes close, for me, to any song on that album is "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," but that might be because that album came out just after my grandmother died.  I find it hard sometimes to separate music from the emotional moments I hear it.

215 a heck sifty, I like clocks.

I like Clocks too.

But you gotta watch out. One too many appletinis and a guy can go from Clocks to cocks in no time flat.

Be on guard!

216 jewlles, no shame whatsoever in your selections!!

I defy anyone to beat the shame factor in Bay City Roller ownage, but by God, I did love them when I was a teeny bopper, and I kept the albums. (Frankly, I still really dig the song La Bell Jeane, too, peasant that I am.)

217 Jeff B heh, so she wasn't that good or you weren't?

218 The pain of knowing right and wrong an doin wrong anyway is so much sharper than just being a fuckup who only dimly realizes it.

Posted by: Gushka is full of meds and pissed at October 01, 2011 07:31 PM (QNeKQ)

This.  I love Cash's Hurt, hate the NIN original.  I hate NIN in general, actually.

219 sifty well , cough  that isn't so bad now is it.

220 First, Metallica.  Did they stop being popular?  Cause that's news to me.

I don't think they are as popular as they used to be.  They will always have a big following, no doubt, and they may have put out good stuff after their cover of Turn the Page, but I don't hear much of their later stuff being played on the radio as much as I heard Enter Sandman, etc. when they were released.

Metallica was huge.  Broke out of their genre and became really big.

They are not as big as they used to be, at least when compared to how big they were prior to Turn the Page.

221 >>>I defy anyone to beat the shame factor in Bay City Roller ownage, but by God, I did love them when I was a teeny bopper, and I kept the albums. (Frankly, I still really dig the song La Bell Jeane, too, peasant that I am.)

I've never heard a single Bay City Rollers song, but I will fight for the honor of my complete Monkees discography.  No joke, they put out a TON of great fucking music.  Much of which they wrote themselves!

222 The older I get, the better Johnny and Waylon and George get.

It was one thing to listen to them sing about their lives when I was in my teens and twenties.
It's an entirely deeper experience to hear them sing about my life in my thirties.

223 Nice theory and all, but the Metallica example doesn't help it out. Did you miss Death Magnetic?

224 One of my favorite covers...Stiff Little Fingers doing Bob Marley's Johnny Was a Good Man

225 ok so you know how music recalls times past and a good feeling? it cracks me up but this one is one that for some reason reminds me of growing up at my grammas with my artist/surfer hippy uncles in the background, learning to cook and sew with gramma.
I bet just from hearing it you can guess the time period.

226 I've never heard a single Bay City Rollers song, but I will fight for the honor of my complete Monkees discography.

Sorry, Jeff, no contest.

Google Bay City Rollers...the music was bad enough, but the getups, Jesus.

Besides, I think the Monkees had some decent music.

227 Elton John recorded the Beatles' "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" in 1974 and has done OK since then.

Ugh.

I think of Elton John these days and I think of cheesy movie themes. I really like Tiny Dancer but that too dates back to the early 70s.

228 I've never heard a single Bay City Rollers song, but I will fight for the honor of my complete Monkees discography.  No joke, they put out a TON of great fucking music.  Much of which they wrote themselves!

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:37 PM (hIWe1)

I have their entire TV series on DVD.  It's still awesome.

I also still own, and listen to, Flock of Seagulls (just one song, but still - and it's not I Ran).  What do I win?

229  I find it hard sometimes to separate music from the emotional moments I hear it.

Posted by: Slublog at October 01, 2011 07:35 PM (E1Iq4)

I could care less about Green Day but my grandpa passed away when Time of Your Life was popular, so I always think of that when I think of him.

230 220 First, Metallica. Did they stop being popular? Cause that's news to me.

I don't think they are as popular as they used to be. They will always have a big following, no doubt, and they may have put out good stuff after their cover of Turn the Page, but I don't hear much of their later stuff being played on the radio as much as I heard Enter Sandman, etc. when they were released.

Metallica was huge. Broke out of their genre and became really big.

They are not as big as they used to be, at least when compared to how big they were prior to Turn the Page.

Posted by: wiserbud at October 01, 2011 07:37 PM (3Okgs)

There are a lot of fans of theirs that feel they've "sold out" and stuff they do no sucks.  I do think St. Anger blows as does Unforgiven 2.  Stuff beyond Garage Inc. does not get much radio play other than one or two songs off their S&M album, or like when Death Magnetic came out and some of those got air play.  Hell I'm not even sure how much newer stuff gets played when a station has a weekly "Mandatory Metallica" hour.  I do actually like the Death Magnetic Album though.

231 but I will fight for the honor of my complete Monkees discography.

Headquarters was an awesome album.

have most of it on my iPod.

Makes me smile whenever they come up in rotation.

God, I'm old.

232 BTW, did you know Jimi Hendrix and the Monkees briefly toured together?

Can you imagine???

233 It was one thing to listen to them sing about their lives when I was in my teens and twenties.
It's an entirely deeper experience to hear them sing about my life in my thirties.

Ok. From whom did you take that quote, because it's a good one.

234

I don't think they are as popular as they used to be.  They will always have a big following, no doubt, and they may have put out good stuff after their cover of Turn the Page, but I don't hear much of their later stuff being played on the radio as much as I heard Enter Sandman, etc. when they were released.

Metallica was huge.  Broke out of their genre and became really big.

They are not as big as they used to be, at least when compared to how big they were prior to Turn the Page.

--------

They may not be, but their last album released in '08 won multiple grammys and is multiple times platinum. Hard to say "Turn the Page" was the beginning of the end, and pretty much impossible to say they haven't had another hit since.

235 I still get misty when I hear Van Halen's song Black and Blue.

But I'm just a romantic like that.

236 232 BTW, did you know Jimi Hendrix and the Monkees briefly toured together?

Can you imagine???

Posted by: MissTammy at October 01, 2011 07:42 PM (SsG4J)

Michael Bolton once toured with Ozzy Osbourne.

237 Ok. From whom did you take that quote, because it's a good one.

I don't know. Probably heard or read it somewhere.
Every now and then I get an original thought that sounds less stupid than the rest. This may be one of them.
30/70 chance.

238

I demand we next discuss favorite children's cartoon, at which point I will carve out the eyes of anyone who disagrees with my theory of why Pinky and the Brain was the best cartoon ever!!!11!

"Pinky and the Brain" was good, but Roadrunner had merits that set it apart from (if not above) all others. "Phineas and Ferb" is good, too. For wacky fun, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" rates up there, as does Ralph Bakshi's "Mighty Mouse" from the late '80s.

I know the cartoon pundits are always saying "Rocky & Bullwinkle" was the best ever. To them and to you, I reply with this:
http://tinyurl.com/yqcs7t

239 Jimi was the opening act for The Monkees.

240 catdog.

241

They actually got popular off a cover too.  Faith.

Posted by: buzzion at October 01, 2011 07:31 PM (GULKT)

Yeah?  Ah man, I tried to avoid their stuff as much as possible.  Still, Behind Blue Eyes came out and it was over for them. 

but I don't hear much of their later stuff being played on the radio as much as I heard Enter Sandman, etc. when they were released.

Posted by: wiserbud at October 01, 2011 07:37 PM (3Okgs)

Again, this is probably because they're a bunch of lazy asses.  They don't release albums with any sort of regularity.  Most bands?  YOu can set your watch by them.  Like clockwork.  Metallica?  When they feel like it.  Regardless, their albums sell like hotcakes.  The Lou Reed collaboration will hit number one simply because Metallica's name is attached (it's gonna suck, but that's another matter entirely).

Oh, and the other thing.  We're talking about radio airplay, right?  Turn to your local active rock station and I *guarantee* that they do something called "Mandatory Metallica" around between 10PM and Midnight.  I've heard variations of Mandatory Metallica or Midnight Metallica for over ten years now. 

Like I said, I like your theory.  I'm totally ripping it off and calling it my own.

242 The mention of Flock Of Seagulls reminded me...you know what supposed "one-hit wonder" new-wave group of the '80s actually turns out to be one of the greatest, most influential, and most transfixing bands of the era?  Talk Talk.  If you know them at all it's from their self-titled hit single ("Talk Talk," from the album Talk Talk...by the band Talk Talk!), or perhaps the Gwen Stefani remake of "It's My Life."  But they went on after their early pop singles to make three of the most influential albums in modern music history: The Colour Of Spring, Spirit Of Eden, and Laughing Stock.  None of them sold very much or did very well, which is why you haven't heard of them, but they literally predicted the sonic future that bands like Radiohead or Tortoise (or really the entire post-rock genre as a whole) live in. They're the Velvet Underground of their era: not many people heard that material, but everyone who did went out and formed their own band.

Seriously: listen to Spirit Of Eden, it's very close to a life-changing experience.  It was released in 1988 and sounds like it could come out tomorrow.  It's amazing how far ahead of its time it was.

243 Johnny Quest begat

The Venture Brothers

who begat

Archer, the best around.

244 Adventure Time with Jake and Finn is an awesome cartoon also. much less annoying than Thomas and the screaming shows.

245 omg, you don't, like behind blue eyes?

246 >>>Headquarters was an awesome album.

"You Just May Be The One" and "You Told Me" for the win.  The non-album single from those sessions, "The Girl That I Knew Somewhere," is pretty great too.

That's actually the point at which they became really great, and an authentic group to boot.  Head might be an even better album.

247 yeah Bandit was cute

248

Oh, and the other thing. We're talking about radio airplay, right? Turn to your local active rock station and I *guarantee* that they do something called "Mandatory Metallica" around between 10PM and Midnight. I've heard variations of Mandatory Metallica or Midnight Metallica for over ten years now.

Like I said, I like your theory. I'm totally ripping it off and calling it my own.

Posted by: Robert at October 01, 2011 07:46 PM (F79HU)

See my comment at 230.  Newer albums get air play when released but I don't remember the last time I've heard something off of Death Magnetic or St. Anger beyhond a Mandatory Metallica hour or even how much play those albums get during those times.

249 Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:46 PM (hIWe1)

Will check 'em out, JeffB, thanks for the tip.

How's the head, by the way?  You were so funny last night!

250 Is there anyone else on this moronblog who likes New Order as much as I do?  Or am I the only super-gay guy here?

Because, man, I could listen to "Ceremony," "Everything's Gone Green," "Bizarre Love Triangle," and "True Faith" on endless repeat until the day I kick it and not get bored.

251 >>>How's the head, by the way?  You were so funny last night!

It's fine now.  Was not so fine when I woke up this morning.  Ye gods.

252 sorry dood, catdog was thee best.

Catdog, good.

I like The Regular Show and The Amazing World of Gumball. CN even did a really great job a creating new Looney Tunes shows. Although they updated it to make it a bit more contemporary, they did so in subtle enough ways so as not to change the things we loved about it when we were young.

What does it say that FNC and CN are the most watched channels on my tv?

Then...there are the grown-up cartoons. The day that Parker and Stone stop making South Park will deal a mighty blow to me. And Squibillies is soooo stupid is good.

253 Oh my, most of the people on here are just youngsters.  I still remember hearing Happy Together by the Turtles at a school dance and a kid I had a crush on asked me to dance. I always think of him when I hear it. Posted by: jewells45, tea party terrorist at October 01, 2011 06:43 PM

YOU are a youngster, too!

I remember my older sisters getting all excited over Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, the Coasters...and Elvis.

Heard Johnny Cash live at the Palomino in SoCal and became an instant fan. Saw the Mothers of Invention live and got all their albums.

All these people what the guest blogger is yammering about are background noise. Gimme some Ruben & the Jets and some cheap wine, and I'm good to go.

Meanwhile, get off my lawn.

And Osama Obama is still to this day a stuttering clusterf*** of a miserable failure.

254 omg, you don't, like behind blue eyes?

I should point out that this has nothing to do with the quality of the cover.  They may actually do an amazing job of it, in fact.  I actually like Metallica's version of Turn the Page.

But, based on my theory, it's an indicator.

255

Michael Bolton once toured with Ozzy Osbourne.

Posted by: buzzion at October 01, 2011 07:44 PM (GULKT)

 

AndI couldna figger out the filthywanking Michaelwhat? Boler? whothfuggiss that? nyway this cockswanking twoholer thinks he cantour and mmmmmrblssrrr

256

There are a lot of fans of theirs that feel they've "sold out" and stuff they do no sucks. 

Posted by: buzzion at October 01, 2011 07:41 PM (GULKT)

What kills me is people have been calling Metallica sellouts since Ride The Lightning.  It's not new.

With that being said, yeah they sold out.

Or really they just changed their style and their fans revolted.  When James Hetfield decided he wanted to do bluesier stuff with Load and Reload the fans took a shit.  So then they come back with St. Anger, trying to get back to their Kill 'Em All roots, and Death Magnetic which highlights some of the sounds that originally influenced them.  But after the whole Napster fiasco nothing they do will ever really please fans.

257

Michael Bolton once toured with Ozzy Osbourne.

Posted by: buzzion at October 01, 2011 07:44 PM (GULKT)

You are so full of shit!

258 Angry Beavers
Ren and Stimpy
and when i was Fifteen, Robotech. yeah i watched that damn show religiously and right after, Thundercats. I still call my mother "Mom-Ra."

259 Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:46 PM (hIWe1)

I can't disagree - I own all their albums as well.  I know Joy Division, and later New Order, always got cred for being a major influence in the same genre/timeframe, but Talk Talk were pretty amazing.  They should have gone on to producing a la Brian Eno (maybe they did, not sure).

260 Or am I the only super-gay guy here?

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:50 PM (hIWe1)

Yessir.

261 oh. And Earthworm Jim.

262 >>>You are so full of shit!

Nah, he's not kidding.  Not Bolton solo, but the band he was in (Blackjack, a hard rock outfit) before he became, you know, "Michael Bolton."

263 As if -
Regular Show and The Amazing World of Gumball (like those too), yeah funny about cartoon network channel, my granchildren (yes i'm that damn old, hissing in my 40s)   that channel seems like permanent background in my dreams at this point.

264 I told those fudge-packers I liked Michael Bolton.

265 So, despite being a musical illiterate, I actually play guitar and piano. Poorly, but I used to play open mics some when bored. Even was in a band in college. They needed a bass player, and I wanted to sleep with the lead singer chick. Figured, how hard could it be to strum the root of a chord.

Did play Sweet Child of Mine to get a girl in bed once. Raspberry Beret another time -- chick dug Prince, what can I say.

Most asshole move was probably playing Tom Waits', "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You" to bed a girl.

Although, looking back, it's clear the songs were totally unnecessary and each time the girl had made her decision long before I got her back to my place and busted out the guitar or piano.

266

Posted by: Gushka is full of meds and pissed at October 01, 2011 07:53 PM (QNeKQ)

Robotech!  Dude!  That's awesome.

I have the original series it's based on, Macross, on DVD.

267 I see wiserbud.

268 >>>Yessir.

Then bring on the hot, hot cocks and don't tell my girlfriend, because goddamn do I ever love New Order. 

269 Nah, he's not kidding.  Not Bolton solo, but the band he was in (Blackjack, a hard rock outfit) before he became, you know, "Michael Bolton."

What the???


_{{cringe}}

270 sifty, yeah he slaughtered sitting on the dock of the bay.
one of my favoritist songs.

271 Jeff b- i like new order, but i don't think that helps you.

272 Is there anyone else on this moronblog who likes New Order as much as I do?  Or am I the only super-gay guy here?

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:50 PM (hIWe1)

Well I'm a girl, so can't be a super-gay guy, but no you're not the only one.  I had a major crush on Bernard Sumner, too. 

I grew up with all of that music, and never let it go.  You'll find some long-forgotten songs in my iTunes, 99% by British bands big in the late 70's and 80's.  Mostly due to my sister's influence - she's 8 years older than me and was listening to all of that when I wasn't even in school yet.

273 As if -
Regular Show and The Amazing World of Gumball (like those too), yeah funny about cartoon network channel, my granchildren (yes i'm that damn old, hissing in my 40s)   that channel seems like permanent background in my dreams at this point.

Uh, yeaaahhh.

About that.

I don't have any children in the house.

274 sifty, yeah he slaughtered sitting on the dock of the bay.
one of my favoritist songs.

I literally get chills at the first sound of that song.

275 Most asshole move was probably playing Tom Waits', "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You" to bed a girl.

Posted by: Clubber Lang at October 01, 2011 07:54 PM (QcFbt)

HAH!  A friend of mine sent me a story from Teh Intarwebz (no link) telling a similar story.  Was this that girl?



Welcome to Great Moments in Drunken Hookup Failure, where we showcase three heartwarming true stories of drunken love gone horribly awry. Off we go.

Nat:

I was about 20 years old and partying at the bars with my friends. I had just got dumped by this guy so was determined to get drunk, have fun and get laid. I live in a Canadian Navy town so it wasn't too much trouble if you really wanted to. Navy pukers are a dime a dozen around here.

I am at the bar in my best 1990 Le Chateau outfit and drunk. My sister is talking to the navy puker she is dating and there a bunch of his friends there. One of them, he refers to himself by all three of his names (which are Scottish and he has to keep saying them in a fake Scottish accent) is insanely cute and we start chatting, grinding on the dance floor, making out and having a good time. All his fellow navy pukers are cheering him on and high fiving and patting him on the back. He asks me if I want to go back to his place for coffee. I figure hey, why not?

I am thinking this is gonna be a good thing, but we have to walk to his place. Only about 15 mins so not bad, and okay if he doesn't want to pay for a cab. We have to walk through a group of prostitutes outside on his street. He says hi to them as he knows some of them by name, but I am so horny I am thinking no problem, what a nice guy. We walk to his rooming house, but I figure hey he's a navy puker so whatever. He takes me upstairs and makes me instant coffee by putting hot water from the tap on the coffee crystals, but I think how nice, at least he's trying. He shows me his room, which consists of a bare mattress on the floor, and I think no problem, at least it's clean. Let's get down to it.

He then proceeds to set the mood by putting on some music. What he chooses is Tom Waits. I wish I knew the song but all I can remember is it sounded like some awful violent serial killer movie death scene song, with all of the weirdness I associate with Tom Waits. He moved in and I was like, thanks for the coffee but got to go and pretty much ran out. Not sure why the Tom Waits creeped me out but there you are. No way was I sleeping with a guy while Tom Waits was playing. I was totally weirded out.

Ran into his friends at the bar the next week and they called him Blueballs. I felt bad, but there has to be something seriously wrong with a guy who chooses Tom Waits for his seduction music, amirite?

276 >>>Did play Sweet Child of Mine to get a girl in bed once. Raspberry Beret another time -- chick dug Prince, what can I say.

No apologies for playing Prince, because he's awesome (or at least he was up until 1990 or so).  "Raspberry Beret" in particular is just a fantastic song.  And every attractive girl I've ever know loves that song, so good move.

277 258
Ren and Stimpy

Posted by: Gushka is full of meds and pissed at October 01, 2011 07:53 PM (QNeKQ)

FLYING BUTT SCISSORS!

Use to crack my son up.

278 Then bring on the hot, hot cocks and don't tell my girlfriend, because goddamn do I ever love New Order. 

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:56 PM (hIWe1)

Expect a call from Bwaney Fwank.

279 as if, i've had a child and her husband move back in., with 2 babies.
(Next time i won't answer the door)

or i'll take th ebabies and slam the door shut : P

280 Archer is good. 

I vote Asian chick!

281 >>>I grew up with all of that music, and never let it go.  You'll find some long-forgotten songs in my iTunes, 99% by British bands big in the late 70's and 80's.

Name the band, and I probably have their complete discography and could talk for hours on end about them.  That's pretty much my sweet-spot, musically: late '70s/early '80s British art-rock/new wave/post-punk. 

You know who was really fucking great?  The band Squeeze, that's who.  You know who was even better?  XTC. 

282 Saw the Mothers of Invention live and got all their albums.

Weasels Ripped My Flesh...

...and that's the name of one of their albums I really like, too

283 For those who are teachers, one of the BEST cartoons is "Recess."

284

I have the original series it's based on, Macross, on ***.

Posted by: Robert at October 01, 2011 07:55 PM (F79HU)

It was Super Dimension Fortress Macross.

And so do i.

285 >>>Weasels Ripped My Flesh...

>>>...and that's the name of one of their albums I really like, too

If you like that album, do you have its sister album, released at the same time, called Burnt Weeny Sandwich?  Because that's quite possibly the single greatest record Frank Zappa ever released, right there.  Weasels is great too, but it's the noisier, more dissonant flipside to BWS.

I'm obsessive about Zappa as long as it's the original Mothers we're talking about.  (And I do mean obsessive -- a shelf full of bootleg concerts, outtakes, rarities, etc.)  I really lose the plot after 1970 or so, though.  The hardcore scatological/misogynistic stuff just loses me.  Honestly, his best stuff was instrumental...the "Aybe Sea"/"The Little House I Used To Live In" sequence from Burnt Weeny Sandwich is the way I'll always want to remember him.

286 I worked at a Subway when I was in high school. the music was a loop of Bonnie Rait and Michael Bolton.

To this day, if I hear either of them I want to jump out of a moving car.

287 ...and that's the name of one of their albums I really like, too
Posted by: beedubya at October 01, 2011 08:02 PM

Love that one.

Also loved "200 Motels," movie and soundtrack album. I can still sing "Lonesome Cowboy Burt" when I'm drunk enough.

288 Frente!...good New Order cover..

...actually better than the original because the girl doesn't make it sound gay

289 Can't beat Earth, Wind, and Fire's cover of "Got To Get You Into My Life", and they did pretty well after that. Kenny Chesney has done pretty well since covering Bruce Springsteen's "One Step Up." He did a really good job with that, too.

290 For those who are teachers, one of the BEST cartoons is "Recess."

Posted by: goddessoftheclassroom at October 01, 2011 08:03 PM (IGUvX)

Oh good...a teacher.  I've asked this question a couple of times here but no one knew anything about them.  Do you anything about Teach for America?

291 And I had all of robotech too before the divorce. damn ex took them with him. in fact he too every damn dvd i had, including a few that were on loan to me by a few friends.

292 I literally get chills at the first sound of that song.

Wish It Would Rain, by The Temptations does that to me.

293 You know who was really fucking great? The band Squeeze, that's who. You know who was even better? XTC. Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 08:01 PM (hIWe1) Mayor of Simpleton is one of the best pop songs ever written IMO. Love those guys.

294 276 >>>Did play Sweet Child of Mine to get a girl in bed once. Raspberry Beret another time -- chick dug Prince, what can I say.

No apologies for playing Prince, because he's awesome (or at least he was up until 1990 or so).  "Raspberry Beret" in particular is just a fantastic song.  And every attractive girl I've ever know loves that song, so good move.

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 07:58 PM (hIWe1)

true story: Trent reznor is a HUGE prince fan had a Purple Rain Poster over his bed at his grandparents house where he was raised. No lie.

295 heh.

Reminds me of a joke I once heard.

"Anyone named Trent or Chad will suck a dick."

Wish I remembered who told me that one.


Probably Chad. He was the funny one.

296 You know who was really fucking great?  The band Squeeze, that's who.  You know who was even better?  XTC. 

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 08:01 PM (hIWe1)

XTC had their moments of greatness, yeah - Oranges & Lemons was my fave, but I have a soft spot for Nonsuch.  I still remember that Andy Partridge had wicked stage fright - pissed on stage out of sheer fear once, even.

I remember my sister telling me that if I listened to Dear God while standing outside, I'd be struck by lightning.  I was 11, so I believed it.

I always thought The Fixx was underrated.  Also really liked Echo & the Bunnymen.

297 John Mellencamp and Wild Night.

298 heh, no that Tom Waits story wasn't me.

Actually, mine was dickish because I played it for an ex-girlfriend who was trying to rekindle the emotional part of our past relationship. I, on the other hand, was trying to rekindle the, uh, having sex part of our past relationship.

This goes back to Cash's "Hurt" because I realize now I should have married her and that was my last chance.

Instead of taking the opportunity she offered, where I would now have a family and kids ... I played an asshole song and bedded her.

She spent the night and left the next day. And that was the last I ever saw her.

299 Michael McDonald's "Motown" was pretty much unforgivable.

300 Mayor of Simpleton is one of the best pop songs ever written IMO. Love those guys.

Posted by: rockmom at October 01, 2011 08:08 PM (lSyyU)

Agreed - that was the song that got me into them.  Remember seeing the video for the first time on 120 Minutes back when MTV used to play videos.

301 John Mellencamp and Wild Night. Posted by: JohnW

mm hmm.

i like sanatana's smooth too.

302 <i>Can't beat Earth, Wind, and Fire's cover of "Got To Get You Into My Life", and they did pretty well after that. </i>

Yet another cover recorded for the soundtrack of a movie. 

I'm sure you all remember that classic film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees.

Wonder if Frampton wishes he could go back and change his mind on that.....

303 I think Prince was very talented...not always my style of music, but I DO have Raspberry Beret on a 45, so your theory is a good one! (Not saying I am attractive, but most girls I know DO like it!)

304 >>>true story: Trent reznor is a HUGE prince fan had a Purple Rain Poster over his bed at his grandparents house where he was raised. No lie.

It doesn't shock me in the slightest.  Prince is universally adored by musicians of all genres.  People who aren't familiar with his stuff outside of a few singles probably don't realize just how many genres he successfully worked in.  He wasn't just an "R&B" artist.  To cite only one example, 1980's Dirty Mind is basically a new-wave tribute to the weird Lindsay Buckingham art-demo songs on Fleetwood Mac's Tusk. 

I generally think that anyone who claims not to like Purple Rain is a bullshitter, or hasn't really heard the album.  Because it's basically impossible to dislike.

305 297 John Mellencamp and Wild Night.

perfect example.

Thank you.

Name another hit he has had since he released that.

306

Oh good...a teacher.  I've asked this question a couple of times here but no one knew anything about them.  Do you anything about Teach for America?

Posted by: Tami at October 01, 2011 08:07 PM (X6akg)

Not a teacher, but I have a friend who is seriously considering signing up - you don't have to be a certified teacher to join, which seems...strange.

307 John Mellencamp and Wild Night. Posted by: JohnW

mm hmm.

i like sanatana's smooth too.

Eleventy!!!!

308 I generally think that anyone who claims not to like Purple Rain is a bullshitter, or hasn't really heard the album.  Because it's basically impossible to dislike.

Sorry. Prince sucks. Robert Cray shakes more talent off his dick after pissin' than Prince has in his whole body.

Never understood the draw of that nasty little dwarf fucker.

309 cherry bomb?

310 >>>XTC had their moments of greatness, yeah - Oranges & Lemons was my fave, but I have a soft spot for Nonsuch.  I still remember that Andy Partridge had wicked stage fright - pissed on stage out of sheer fear once, even.

Ah, but all that is late, late period XTC.  Good stuff, but not even close to the XTC that makes me light up.  The stuff I'm talking about are 1979's Drums & Wires ("Making Plans For Nigel," "Life Begins At The Hop," "When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty"), 1980's Black Sea ("Towers Of London," "No Language In Our Lungs," "Travels In Nihilon"), and 1981's English Settlement (EVERY SINGLE SONG ON A DOUBLE ALBUM'S WORTH OF MUSIC).  Those were all done back when XTC was still a live touring band, and it was in fact on the English Settlement tour when Andy Partridge had his famous attacks of stage fright that forced them to cancel the tour and become a studio-only band.

They really never put out a bad album, all the way up until their break-up in 2003.  That's a major achievement.

311 MissTammy

Yeah Tammi, that's really in the mood good tunes.

312 with a y

313 John Cougar Mellancamp Idi Amin Dada lost me at Farm Aid.

He went full commie and hasn't looked back.

The only thing I like of his since then is a song called
The Full Catastrophe.
http://tinyurl.com/3w5do5l

314 Wish It Would Rain, by The Temptations does that to me.

Good one.

I love a variety of music (to which my mp3 player can attest) but that soulful music just sticks with me.

Sara Smile by Hall and Oates almost makes me cry it is so good and The Trinity Sessions by the Cowboy Junkies is just incredible.

315 I generally think that anyone who claims not to like Purple Rain is a bullshitter, or hasn't really heard the album.  Because it's basically impossible to dislike.

Well...not quite impossible

316 Motown music is the best because it lets you listen to the same song while you are dancing with her , screwing her, and crying over her after she dumps your ass.

Save money that way.

317 Huckabee will have Richard Marx on to discuss his music in just a few minutes.

From just where the hell did he dig him up?

318 aww sifty.

319
From just where the hell did he dig him up?

They belong to the same bathhouse.

320 >>>Also really liked Echo & the Bunnymen.

Another absolutely fantastic British post-punk group.  And truly underrated in the sense that they're so much more than the one or two singles that most people know ("The Killing Moon" is a great song, but it ain't all they did!)

"A Promise" may be single song that best summarizes what post-punk could be when jammed into pop format.  Everyone should hear it.  In fact, here it is: http://tinyurl.com/3p4x6o9

321 cherry bomb?

Cherry Bomb - released in 1987

Wild Night - released in 1994

322 aww sifty.

Sorry. Getting edgy. Wife says no hippie punching until after we get moved to Idaho.

323

Not a teacher, but I have a friend who is seriously considering signing up - you don't have to be a certified teacher to join, which seems...strange.

Posted by: tdpwells at October 01, 2011 08:17 PM (7vA7k)

No, you don't.  I have read that the teacher's unions hate them, which goes in the plus column.  But I'd like to know more.

324 >>>Well...not quite impossible

Yeah, nothing's impossible.  But Purple Rain is just friggin' hard to dislike.  You can even be one of those guys who reflexively dislikes "the popular songs" on an album (like me!) and still love Purple Rain because the album cuts are just so great as well.  Especially "Computer Blue" (what a guitar break!) and "Take Me With U."

325 307 John Mellencamp and Wild Night. Posted by: JohnW

mm hmm.

i like sanatana's smooth too.

Smooth isn't a cover.

326 Totally great mood music, willow! Then seal the deal with Whole Lotta Love....

sifty, see my comment wayyyy upthread. I expect rockers to be Libs, though I have to admit, that seeing as how Mellencamp is a quasi redneck, I was appalled when I found out how Libtarded he actually is.

As if, I LOVE the Cowboy Junkies, though I prefer other albums to Trinity Sessions. (You can keep H&O, however!)

327 woops, ok, wiserbud

328 Moronettes, He's Just Not That Into You is coming on USA.

329 goozer,  sorry i was just going for music in general, forgot our destination .

330 They really never put out a bad album, all the way up until their break-up in 2003.  That's a major achievement.

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 08:20 PM (hIWe1)

My soft spot for Nonsuch comes from the fact that it was released not long after I 'discovered' the band (my sister never liked them).  I do like the older stuff - Nigel is easily my #2 fave from them.  Senses Working Overtime is also in the top 5.  They did a lot of really solid pop tunes.  Mummer was probably my least fave album.

I remember, several years back, sitting in a restaurant with a friend around the holidays, and hearing a Christmas song over the muzak...'why does that voice sound so familar?' she asked - 'fuck me, that's Andy Partridge!'

It was like hearing Christopher Hitchens singing a Christmas Carol.

331 Also, Talking Heads did pretty well after covering "Take Me To The River."

332 329 goozer,  sorry i was just going for music in general, forgot our destination .

No worries! ; )

333 sifty, well remember i still wear my birkenstocks and flowery skirts, so look carefully before your swing.  how about we wear a skull  somewhere but not on the ring finger of the hand you hit  with . deal?

334 Another absolutely fantastic British post-punk group.  And truly underrated in the sense that they're so much more than the one or two singles that most people know ("The Killing Moon" is a great song, but it ain't all they did!)

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 08:26 PM (hIWe1)

I still have Crocodiles on vinyl - Rescue became damn near unplayable, it was so worn through.

I was bitter when they used Killing Moon in Donnie Darko.

335 Eric Clapton has redone a ton of "other's" songs... I don't see him jumping the shark yet...

336

No, you don't.  I have read that the teacher's unions hate them, which goes in the plus column.  But I'd like to know more.

Posted by: Tami at October 01, 2011 08:26 PM (X6akg)

I've heard the same, because I guess some of those schools were getting rid of experienced teachers for these volunteers at a lower salary.  There's also some form of student loan voucher money worked into the contract, which is a major selling point.

337 sifty, well remember i still wear my birkenstocks and flowery skirts, so look carefully before your swing.  how about we wear a skull  somewhere but not on the ring finger of the hand you hit  with . deal?

I can always tell a real hippie. Always.

338 k

339 Besides, willow, we have the Moron Secret Handshake.

340 Tami, I'm an anomaly. I have a BA in English (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from a liberal arts women's college (Sweet Briar) and an M.Ed. in secondary English ed (Lynchburg College). I'm a conservative. I insist on good manners and a love of America. I am passionate about free speech for my students, even if (especially if?) I disagree with them, as long as they provide evidence for their position. I refuse to teach ignorance. Tell your friend to be sure he or she can live with the parameters.

341 1980's Mystery Click:  http://tinyurl.com/6d6jbmq

Seriously, click that.  It's a song that represents pretty much everything GOOD about '80s pop music.  One of the quintessential songs of the decade, IMO.  And another example of a band that turns out to have been much better than just their few well-known hits.

342 I need to learn that handshake, cuz I am a fan of the long flowery skirt myself, and I love incense, as well as the Grateful Dead. I braid roses into my hair when I go to the concerts.

343
I generally think that anyone who claims not to like Purple Rain is a bullshitter, or hasn't really heard the album.  Because it's basically impossible to dislike.

Posted by: Jeff B. at October 01, 2011 08:16 PM (hIWe1)

whats hilarious is that he recorded on of his albums specifically in a place where he could run into Prince in the studio. Thats some pretty heavy Fanboi shit there...He got snubbed the whole time. Wanna say it was ...downward spiral?

344 Posted by: goddessoftheclassroom at October 01, 2011 08:47 PM (IGUvX)

Goddess for sure!!! Keep up the great work!

345 I'm posting from the Carmel Symphony Orchestra tonight and they're covering Tchaichovsky so they must be done!

346 I'm a conservative. I insist on good manners and a love of America. I am passionate about free speech for my students, even if (especially if?) I disagree with them, as long as they provide evidence for their position. I refuse to teach ignorance. Tell your friend to be sure he or she can live with the parameters.

Posted by: goddessoftheclassroom at October 01, 2011 08:47 PM (IGUvX)

You are an anomaly! Good for you...and your students. 

Do you know something about their parameters?  Good, bad, indifferent?

347 No, I don't know anything about the program. I believe that education is the great American equalizer, but I don't believe in giving preference to anyone to adjust for past injustice--the present is what matters. The FUNNIEST thing is that my colleagues think I must be liberal as they are...

348 >>>I need to learn that handshake, cuz I am a fan of the long flowery skirt myself, and I love incense, as well as the Grateful Dead. I braid roses into my hair when I go to the concerts.

I'm a major Deadhead myself.  Yes, a conservative Deadhead -- there are a few of us.  A very few.

I really get off the bus after Keith leaves, though.

349 the Carmel Symphony Orchestra

Name their last hit.

350 ....and has anyone ever noticed that nobody even tries to cover Santanas Samba Pa Ti? It's just accepted that even trying would be a mistake.

351 Pretty sure how this is going to end.....

http://tinyurl.com/667chup

352 ....and has anyone ever noticed that nobody even tries to cover Santanas Samba Pa Ti? It's just accepted that even trying would be a mistake.

Posted by: MrObvious at October 01, 2011 09:02 PM (eRVuM)

Saw Santana in concert when we lived in Singapore.  I was standing on the floor in front of the stage.  He walked out, came near where I was standing and gave me his guitar pic. 

I've since lost it.

353 351 ....and has anyone ever noticed that nobody even tries to cover Santanas Samba Pa Ti? It's just accepted that even trying would be a mistake.

Ottmar Liebert wants to have a word with you...

354 350 the Carmel Symphony Orchestra Name their last hit. Uhhhhh..... I think it was Beethoven's fifth of valu-rite

355 I love you, JeffB!!! Haven't been to a Dead show in awhile, though, they haven't been touring out this way, if they're even touring any more. I miss Garcia to this day, but the shows are still a grand ol' way to spend an evening.
 

Ottmar Liebert wants to have a word with you...

Ottmar has the BEST Christmas CD!! Poets and Angels, it is beeeyooootiful. And very danceable in parts.

356 I don't find this theory compelling. Bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones were huge for years before recording their first albums of solely original material. David Bowie did Pinups, a whole album of covers fairly early on in his career.

In fact, I think the theory is backwards. It is the lack of covers that dooms an artist. Truly great performers can make a song their own without resentment from fans of the original. There are numerous cases where the cover is the version everyone knows. (I loved 'Blinded By The Light' as done by Manfred Mann for many years before finding out it was a Springsteen cover, which came as a great surprise because I always thought Springsteen hugely overrated. Robert Hilburn can FOAD.)

I doubt Sheryl Crowe is washed up because she did a cover. Heck, a lot of stuff she wrote has been covered by others. More likely the combination of age and motherhood has put her career partially on hold. Plus becoming a public moonbat has cost her some audience, such as myself.

Great performers are likely to have some covers in their repertoire. Even if they have enough good songs of their own to keep a show going until they collapse. Merely good performers need covers to fill out a show if they lack enough good material of their own. Think of all the long running performers who had numerous hits over the years but their only good album is the greatest hits collection. That was often my dividing line for OK bands vs. great bands. OK bands had a few good songs I would buy on 45s. Great bands made albums that you had to listen to in their entirety. Thus OK bands could become great retroactively when they'd finally produced enough stuff for a greatest hits album.

The downside of the CD was that there wasn't an effective replacement for the 45 that retailers didn't hate.

#161

Yes! Earthworm Jim was both a great game and a great cartoon. I found a torrent last year with all of the episodes.

Jeff B., I have to disagree on Zappa. The stuff I really like starts with Apostrophe/Overnight and goes from there. A lot of what came before is interesting but suffers from really lousy recording technology. A lot of the grunge stuff in the 90s was really possible because recording quality had made it listenable instead of just noise.

357 MrObvious is a true moron. Reading AoS on his iPhone during the concert (really - I'm sitting next to him)

358

Saw Santana in concert when we lived in Singapore.  I was standing on the floor in front of the stage.  He walked out, came near where I was standing and gave me his guitar pic. 

I've since lost it.

Posted by: Tami at October 01, 2011 09:04 PM (X6akg)

My very first concert was Santana, Jan 1, 1972. Yes, that concert! I was only 8, and all I remember was that it was loud, hot, and there were smelly hippies everywhere.

My next concert was also Santana, June 12, 1981, in Philly. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. ; )

359 Another issue is that things in music have changed so much in the last decade or so. It used to be you knew who everybody was, even if you hated their stuff. Nowadays, somebody can be huge in a genre and be completely invisible to those who aren't interested.

The other day I saw a listing of what various people earned in recent years. One rapper was mentioned as being a near billionaire from the combination of his own career performing music and his other career handling other performers. The name carried not the slightest bit of recognition for me. Twenty years ago it would have been unimaginable to get that rich while being known solely to a small circle of fans. Such is the world of 500 channels and the Web.

360 George Strait.

And fuck you.

361 George Strait.

And fuck you.

Got anyone who might fit into the category I described above or are you just going to argue that country music is more popular than any other type of music ever?

'cause I truly love that discussion.

362 Love you, wiser. Let's make you a cobber. Just wanted to say that.

363  Let's make you a cobber.

heh heh heh

THE NEW PHONE BOOKS ARE HERE!!!!

364 Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure.

365 Learn the use of the apostrophe, wiserdude.

366

The Beatles are an obvious exception. They did a ton on their way to the top, and at the top, and after.

This may have been mentioned.I don't have time to check. Phil Collins did covers on the way up as a solo artist (Can't Hurry Love) and on the way down (fill in blank).

GRADE: Pretty Solid Theory with the caveat: good performers can plow right through it.

367

I will offer up one example.  Limp Bizkit.  Remember these assholes?  They got HUGE at the end of the 90s for their dumb fratboy rap rock schtick.  Then they covered Behind Blue Eyes and their career trajectory plummeted straight to earth.

---------

Even that doesn't hold up because their career took off AFTER they covered "Faith" by George Michael.

368 For the critics of Zooropa, don't forget that it closed with Johnny Cash providing the vocals for the "The Wanderer".

369 We did Careless Whisper and had a number 1 hit on the rock charts 2 years later!

The science is settled!

370 Alas, Aerosmith did initially kill their career after recording "Come Together" but they did come back. Albeit as a ballad pushing second rate 80's hair metal band. But they did sell a lot of records.

Now how does your theory handle a band like Whitesnake? They actually had their career surge, briefly,  by recording covers of their own songs.

371 Gipsy Kings - "Volare!"

Wiser's theory goes down in flames. . . again.

372 whatever happened to these guys.....
http://tinyurl.com/44ny3qa