Surprisingly some leftover Christmas music made its way into my most played list for the month of January. But other than that it seems obvious that I was on a bit of a jazz kick in January. I still have yet to rate a bunch of it though, as you can see from the above screen shot of my customized iTunes playlist.
What are some of the songs you listened to the most last month? Let me know what you've been listening too and give me some suggestions for February!
Who doesn't know and love the "Linus and Lucy Theme"? It is a piano classic and should be in every jazz pianist's repertoire. To many the song is associated with Christmas, as it should be. the song was made famous with the release of the original Peanuts Christmas special...
However I will always associate the song first and foremost with the classic Halloween special. "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" opens with the Van Pelt siblings bringing home a gigantic pumpkin, which Lucy ultimately scars brother Linus with by "killing it." the song played of course is the "Linus and Lucy Theme".
The entire opening is classic and to me is on par with any spot in the original Christmas special. But growing up I watched a VHS that was full of Peanuts cartoons and I would watch them at any time of the year. I have watched the Halloween special countless times and have grown to associate the "Linus and Lucy Theme" with this scene in the Halloween special.
I know I am in the minority when it comes to linking the song to Halloween, and I am fine with it. Which holiday do you associate the song with? I imagine the answer is Christmas.
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If you have been following me for a while then you probably know about my connection to the unsigned California rock band, Shaimus. I used to play in a destined for failure basement band with the guitar player who is currently rocking with Shaimus, Evan Brown. So when the band has something to share with their fans I like to try and spread the word in any way that I can. Maybe it is not much but I try to share their goodies through this site here. If it turns just one person on to the band then I feel like I have done my part.
Today I want to share a sneak peak at their upcoming music video. In an e-mail to their fans yesterday Shaimus shared a link to their latest music video, and as always, I like it. So I hope you enjoy it as well.
To get more information on Shaimus click here to visit their official website. There you can get a free music download, check out photos of their tour, and find links to their store.
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New Shaimus video - a documentary type video looking at the making of The Sad Thing Is, We Like It Here. 3.21.2009
Not sure why but this song has been stuck in my head all week. I must have heard it while playing iTunes on random recently.
It was a controversial song in the United States when it was released on HIStory, which resulted in many radio stations finding themselves reluctant to play the song on their air waves. I doubt Jackson lost much sleep over it as the album still did well overall. Four Grammy Awards came out of the album.
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The holiday season has a great soundtrack, but for every ten truly great songs there is always one that resembles a lump of coal. This list is my collection of six songs that should never be played on the radio between Thanksgiving and New Year's ever again.
I have come up with six songs that give me an ear ache every time I hear them. Let me know what you think.
6. Santa Baby, Madonna
For starters, I always hated the entire song "Santa Baby," but the Madonna version seriously drives the song off a cliff like the locomotive in Back to the Future Part III. And let's be honest. Did anyone ever think Madonna was an angel any year back in her prime?
5. Please Daddy, Don't Get Drunk This Christmas", John Denver
A song about painful childhood memories of a father coming home drunk and causing havoc on the family Christmas. So joyous it could only be sung by those who like country music.
4. Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Bruce Springsteen
Living in a region that is polluted with music fans who will shout out long cheers of "BRUUUUCE" as often as you will hear "E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!" this may not come across as a popular decision. But Springsteen is the most over-rated, over-hyped musicians I have ever heard. With that I present to you #4 on my list.
You know Dasher and Dancer, Donner and Blitzen... and introducing Dominick the Donkey? I don't know what's worse about this one. The fact that Dominick is important because the reindeer (who should be able to fly) can't climb the hills of Italy or the constant "Hee-Haw" of the donkey getting stuck in my head every time I hear this one!
Country twang? Check. Calling out Grandma for being a drunk? Check. Debating (and deciding) to take dead Grandma's presents back in exchange for money? Check.
What else do we need to cover here?
1. Christmas Shoes, NewSong I realize that some may consider this song great, but when it comes to holiday music I think upbeat and fun songs. Every time I hear Christmas Shoes I can not help but feel depressed. I am not depressed because of the usually touching story in the lyrics, but because there are people who actually enjoy this song.
Maybe there is a personal connection for many people with this song, but to me a good Christmas song does not talk about a sick mother on her death bed.
Snoopy's Christmas, by The Royal Guardsmen (download from Amazon for $0.99)
As a long time fan of the Peanuts gang this song has always been one of my personal favorites during the holiday season. Thankfully somebody took the time to put together a nice little video to go along with the somewhat cult classic.
Plus The world famous flying ace was always my favorite Snoopy. I have an ornament of the World War Flying Ace packed away and I always smile when I get to put it up on the tree. Of course there was also the great Atari 2600 video game, which was always one of my personal favorites. In fact it may have been my favorite Atari game that we owned, nudging out Ms. Pac-Man.
I didn't know this but Chicago was Late Night with Craig Ferguson on Tuesday night. Thanks to YouTube member ChicagoKid1969 for sharing their appearance playing Saturday In The Park.
For those of you who periodically stop by looking for more Shaimus stuff, rejoice! The band put out a video this week documenting the making of their latest album, The Sad Thing Is, We Like It Here. The video was originally posted on the band's official blog, Shaimus - Blogjammin'.
Yesterday I posted my review of the new Shaimus album, The Sad Thing Is, We Like It Here. Be sure to check it out. In my review I quoted guitarist Evan Brown. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for me as I wrote up the review, but I left out a few responses he gave me.
Brown believes that the new album is a big stepping stone for Shaimus as they have really come together and found their defining sound. For those wondering if Shaimus will be heard in a future video game though, Brown kept hush hush.
As this is the second Shaimus release, what do you feel is the biggest improvement over Paper Sun (Shaimus' debut album)? Easily the biggest improvement over Paper Sun is that this was more of a full-band effort. We were still in our formative stages as a band while recording Paper Sun, and as a result we didn't quite have our sound together yet and much of the album sounds more like Phil [Beaudreau] and a backing band. This album is 100% Shaimus and really defines our true sound as a band.
When people listen to the album, what do you want them to think after hearing it? Ideally, I'd like them to think it was the best album they've heard in a long time and that they'd like to immediately start listening again! More generally, though, I hope people feel like they've just been taken on a musical journey and experienced something more than just listening to 10 songs they hadn't heard before.
How has the feedback been so far since the release? Feedback has been great. Many people are hearing that we're starting to come into our own as a band now, and that's encouraging. All you can hope for is that people "get" what you were going for and that listeners can at least partially appreciate the inordinate amount of work that goes into making an album. Actually, that's not totally true--all I really hope for is that people listen and say "this is good." The rest is just icing on the cake.
What is your favorite part of the album? Is there one song that sticks out to you? My favorite song on the album is "While We're Young." We wrote and arranged that song while we were on tour in 2006, and the whole thing started coming together while we were rehearsing in Cam's garage in Seattle. The opening chord still makes me start sweating sometimes, remembering how humid it was in that little room. I was looking forward to hearing the recorded version of that song more than any other, and I wasn't disappointed. I think it turned into something really cool, and the song sets more of a mood than just about anything else we've done.
What's next for the group? Tour? Local gigs? Any video game news or early plans for the next album? In our immediate future is the CD release party on March 4th in L.A. [link] We have some things in the pipeline for the rest of the year, but some goals include doing some more touring (most likely sticking to the West Coast) and continuing to shop ourselves around to labels and publishers and such. Our big goal for the year is to get heard by as many people as possible, so anything that helps us achieve that we are open to. As for video games, well I actually can't really talk about that. There may or may not be something in the near future.
Fans of Guitar Hero may be familiar with a Los Angeles based band by the name of Shaimus. All of This, off of their debut album (Paper Sun), was one of the unlockable songs in the early versions of the video game iteration of air guitar.
Wanna be musicians who spend their time playing Rock Band 2 will hear a familiar sound with Like A Fool in the form of a free download. The song is part of the latest release from the up and coming band from the west coast, The Sad Thing Is, We Like It Here. Truth is, there is nothing to be sad about with the second installment in the young band's discography.
The alternative rock band hails from Boston and has come a long way in a short amount of time. I have listened to Paper Sun numerous times since its release and have listened to The Sad Thing Is, We Like It Here enough times to have noticed the progression of the style of the group. When you listen to the songs you feel like you are listening to a band that has been around for a while, one that knows who they are and where they want to go.
"Easily the biggest improvement over Paper Sun is that this was more of a full-band effort," says Shaimus guitarist Evan Brown. "We were still in our formative stages as a band while recording Paper Sun, and as a result we didn't quite have our sound together yet and much of the album sounds more like Phil [Beaudreau] and a backing band."
There is something familiar about that sound, but at the same time it is refreshing in this world of pop music. Everything is catchy and you will find yourself humming Turn the Other Way as fast as you can actually turn the other way. I know I did.
Below is a music video for Turn the Other Way...
To say that Shaimus is everything that is right about music would be an understatement. These five guys love what they are doing and it shows. All of the songs were written by the group as a whole. The band also takes the credit for producing the album.
"This album is 100% Shaimus and really defines our true sound as a band," says Brown.
Do you have $10? If so and you are looking for a new band to check out, buy this album. Not only will you be adding a fine CD to your music library but when the final track finishes you might just find yourself cheering on for Shaimus at the end and hoping they stick around.
------------------------------------------------- Artist: Shaimus (website) Album: The Sad Thing Is, We Like It Here (link) Where to Download: iTunes, Amazon
First they compare themselves to the likes of Bach and Beethoven, now they praise their superiority to Leonard Bernstein! I love it. Such a bold statement but such a true statement if you think about it.
What Terry Kath could do with the guitar amazes me as a guy who has never played guitar personally. It makes me wonder, as I am one of the few video gamers in the world who has never played Guitar Hero (except for that one time in Toronto in the arcade...before it was ever thought of for a home video game), are there any Chicago songs on any of the Guitar Hero games (or Rock Band)?
Chicago is my heaviest influence when it comes to music. It is the first real band I started to listen too and became a fan of. Perhaps it is because I play trombone and James Pankow's style is one I wanted to mold myself after.
I love how in the beginning we are given the thought that if Bach were alive at the time that Chicago is the band he'd be playing in and Beethoven would be writing music for them. Bold statements for sure seeing as Bach and Beethoven are among the highest musical intellectuals ever. They were never quite the Beatles or Rolling Stones but Chicago is in that upper tier as well.
I am not as much of a fan of the 1980's Chicago, or the post Terry Kath era, but I could still listen to this band any day of the week and twice on Sunday...or perhaps Saturday...in the park.
Today is November 7, the 312th day of the year. You can read all about it right here. On this date in 1922 trumpeter Al Hirt was born. On this date in 1957 Christopher Knight was born. Who is Christopher Knight? He is the guy who played Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch of course!
Today is also the birthday of General David Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command. A Japanese man by the name of HiroshiYamauchi also shares this birthday. You may not know a thing about Yamauchi but I will guarantee that he has touched your life in one way or another. He was president of Nintendo from 1949 to 2002, transforming the card making company into a multi billion dollar video game leader. Today he is the current richest man in Japan.
In his honor I will share with you my Nintendo ages on this, my 27th birthday (That is right, it is my birthday today - leave me best wishes in the comments section fool!);
Brain Age 2 says I am 35.
WiiFit says I am 31.
Screw you Nintendo! I am going to go play some Playstation 2 now...
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Clarification: The bassoon is a cool instrument when played well. Need evidence of that? Check out this video that I Stumbled Upon this morning...
Recognize the music? It is all from the Super Mario Brothers games. My favorite part is when they all flipped the pages in their music. Still though, pretty nice job by these kids. You have to love the kid who does the beat box percussion in the main theme, as well as some other noises.
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The Baltimore Ravens, one of the few NFL franchises with a marching band, are conducting polls leading up to the start of the 2008 season to determine what songs will be played in the stadium. The current poll is to decide what song the Ravens will play after a touchdown is scored by their home team.
Forget for a moment the fact that Song 2 was overdone years ago (I remember the Flyers doing it before using Bro Hymn by Pennywise), and a couple of those songs just don't deserve the honor of "touchdown song". Maybe it's just me, but if you have an actual marching band, which is the official band of the team, then why is there even an option? What is thew point of even having a band if they don't even get to play your team's fight song after a touchdown?
Shame on the Ravens for even contemplating this decision. I urge everyone to support your Baltimore area musicians and vote for the Ravens Fight Song on the poll, which closes at 5pm on Friday. You can vote each day. So do it!
After I submitted my vote the Ravens Fight Song had received 53% of the vote, followed by Song 2 with 39%.
Yesterday I shared with you a music video dedicated to Air Man from Mega Man II. Today another fine video showcasing the musical talents of The Megas in a tune honoring Metal Man.
Just because I love the old NES game and these msuic videos (the inner Nintendo geek in me of course), I am going to share with you a different Mega Man II music video each day this week.
First up is Air Man (because that's where you should start in the game).
The band playing the song is The Megas. From what I have read they are basically a cover band of Nintendo music. If anyone knows anything more about them let me know. Maybe I'll Google them at some point.
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, which resulted in many radio stations finding themselves reluctant to play the song on their air waves. I doubt Jackson lost much sleep over it as the album still did well overall. Four Grammy Awards came out of the album.
