Life is a Soundtrack

Two Rooms (16 years later)

2008-07-13T14:44:00.001-07:00

Flash back with me if you will to January, 1992. Most of us were still a few years away from using e-mail and I still hadn't even invested in a home computer. So when I wrote notes to myself, I literally had to WRITE notes.

On January 26, 1992, I moved into my studio on East 29th Street and there I resided....for 16 1/2 years. Last month, as I packed up to move into my Upper West Side 1-bedroom (or TWO ROOMS), I found a torn calendar page from January, 13, 1992, perhaps one of the first items to have been moved into my previous residence.

One of the more popular albums of late 1991/early 1992 was a compilation entitled "Two Rooms," featuring various artists covering songs written by the team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Elton and Bernie had a unique dynamic. Elton would write the music in one room, Bernie the lyrics in the other and only then would they meet and finish the product.

The track list for the original album can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Rooms:_Celebrating_the_Songs_of_Elton_John_&_Bernie_Taupin

I must have been a little bored at work on January 13, because I had decided it might be fun to compose a hypothetical list of additional songs from Elton John's catalogue matching artists whom I felt would do justice to the tunes.
I shall note that not all of these songs were written with Bernie Taupin and "Mama Can't Buy You Love" was a Bell/James composition. Nevertheless, this is a wild look into the mind (and ear) of my past. In my cases, I think I nailed it, though I'm really not sure what I was thinking for Don Henley and "Bennie & The Jets." Not a horrendous choice, but fairly nonsensical.

Here are the contents of that January 13, 1992 calendar sheet:

Take Me To The Pilot---Billy Joel

Healing Hands---Jeffrey Osbourne with The Pointer Sisters

Someone Saved My Life Tonight---Poison

Candle In The Wind---Marc Cohn

Island Girl---Maxi Priest

Don't Go Breaking My Heart---Kenny Loggins and Carly Simon

All The Young Girls Love Alice---U2

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters---Stevie Nicks

I'm Still Standing---Luther Vandross

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues---Robert Cray

Bennie & The Jets---Don Henley

Best of The Beatles

2006-12-07T14:43:00.000-08:00

Got a chance to meet a Rock Legend last month. Playing two blocks from my apartment was Pete Best whom I'd long referred to as the unluckiest man in the world. Fired by The Beatles right before they hit it big, if anyone had a reason to be bitter it would be him. Instead, he decided to find the best musicians in Liverpool and put together the best darn Beatles cover band out there. Playing the Hamburg sets of 1961-1962 when he was the drumer of The Fab Five/Four (Stu Sutcliffe died in the midst of the period), his band proved to be one of the most fun live acts I've ever seen. After the show, I got a picture with him and I'll post a link if the shot comes out. And....I'll try to get my next post up in a timely manner. I'm working on a list of the best cover songs of all time...get psyched!

30 Years Ago...(Part 2) or 13 Years Ago (Part 1)

2006-08-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

Labor Day 1993 was rather boring. I don't remember what my initial plans were, except that they fell through and I spent the better part of the day listening to the newly-formatted PLJ countdown the Top 300 songs of the 1970's. Once we hit the Top 100, there were few surprises and most were tunes that still received regular airplay on the radio. But the highlight of the day came on the intro to song #78 (I think). "I understand this is Joe Nolan's favorite song. Going back to The Bicentennial Summer of 76, here's The Starland Vocal Band with Afternoon Delight..."

It may have very well been the first time in 16 years that I had heard the song in its entirety (a piece of it was featured in a 1991 episode of "Get a Life"; It was also Chris Elliot's character's favorite song). It was also one of the favorite song's of my best friend from college whom I first met 20 years ago this week. In today's day and age it may seem weird to have not heard one of your favorite songs in 15 years, but this was not only before the Internet but also before many "one-hit/two-hit wonder" songs were released on CD and out of print vinyls were often very hard to come by.

Afternoon Delight was the only hit by The Starland Vocal Band and it topped the charts for two weeks (the weeks ending July 10 & July 17, 1976). The band, which won the 1976 Best New Artist Grammy, was led by Bill Danoff and also consisted of his wife Taffy and another couple that would later marry, John Carroll and Margot Chapman. Bill and Taffy had co-written "Take Me Home, Country Roads" with John Denver and had sung backing vocals on the 1971 hit.

Memorial Day, 1976 and I'm with my family riding back from Jamestown to our home in Portsmouth, Virginia. In those days, the only ways to pass time in the car were listening to the radio and low-tech games. I was playing a bingo game of sorts where I marked off sights as I passed them (a barn, a windmill, etc.) until at some point I dozed off (you can see how much fun the game must have been). When I woke up, the radio was playing "Afternoon Delight." It was my first time hearing the song, and yes, as a six year old, I did really think they were singing about ice cream.

I'm not sure how many times I heard the song during the Summer of '76. Aside from the memories of the Bicentennial (rainy day in Williamsburg, clear night with fireworks in Virginia Beach), the lingering image of the summer was when my parents told me on my birthday that we were moving (yet again). This time to Philadelphia. The first weeks in the new town were tough, but one of the initial memories I have of living in Philly was going to buy new back-to-school "Jaws" sneakers at Buster Brown. Waiting to pull into the parking lot at 47th and City Line, there was Afternoon Delight on the radio like an old friend that had followed me along from Virginia.

Largely on the strength of Afternoon Delight, The Starland Vocal Band received their own variety show on CBS in The Summer of 1977. The cast included a couple of young comics named Jeff Altman and David Letterman (I'm pretty sure I remember Dave in an amusing skit where he played a mailman). Ironically, the show flipped from from Sunday Night to Friday Night in August of 77, to make way for "A Year at the Top" co-starring Dave's future bandleader, Paul Shaffer.

Afternoon Delight has experienced a second life over the past decade, appearing on numerous soundtracks. Most notably, over the closing credits of "Good Will Hunting." If ever they make my life story into a film, we'll have to add room for it there as well.

30 years ago....(Part 1)

2006-06-01T07:32:00.000-07:00

I'd been planning an entry commemorating the 30th anniversary of May 31, 1976 for awhile and unfortunately have had no time to put it together. On Memorial Day, 1976, my family was living in Portsmouth, Virginia and we spent the holiday visiting historic Jamestown. On the way back home, I woke up from a nap in the backseat to the sounds of a tune that would leave an impression on me forever. The song: "Afternoon Delight," by The Starland Vocal Band. (more to come, I promise)!!!!

One Less Bell to Answer; One Less Mag to Read

2006-02-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

If my calculations are correct, I was an Entertainment Weekly subscriber for 604 weeks (dating back to the July 1, 1994, which I believe had The Lion King on the cover and reported that Tiffani-Amber Theissen was joining Beverly Hills 90210). The magazine was a good read in the pre-Internet era, but in recent years I'd found it to be nothing more than a regurgitation of weekly entertainment news that had already broke on the Web.

In August of 1995, I received one of the most exciting phone calls of my life. Entertainment Weekly said there was an "80% chance," they were going to print my letter to the editor in the next issue. I was responding to an article about the casting of actors in believable (or non-believable) ethnic roles and it highlighted the issues surrounding the then-current film, "Unstrung Heroes." Since the original people chosen for the lead roles weren't "believable" as Jews, the parts ultimately went to Andie MacDowell and Jonathan Turturro (neither of whom are Jewish). Since this was 1995 and I was still using snail-mail, I don't have a copy of the letter I sent but it was something along the lines of:

Dear EW,

I have some news for you. Members of the Jewish faith come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and upbringings and most of us bear little resemblance to Woody Allen. If artistic credibility is the key, then maybe we should consider casting actual Jews such as William Shatner, Nell Carter, Michael Landon and Alicia Silverstone in these roles instead of non-Jewish actors who just happen to fit Hollywood's stereotype of how we should look, act and talk.

Best Regards,

Efrem L. Epstein

As exciting as it was to receive the call in late August, it only led to disappointment in early September when the letter ended up getting cut from the issue. I never again came close to getting a letter printed in the magazine, though I did try on several other occasions. For the first time ever, here are the letters I e-mailed to EW (usually complaining about their pop music coverage), which never received any more than an autobot response from the magazine.

Letter #1

This was in response to a special issue about the 100 Greatest Moments in Rock. I thought Casey Kasem's first broadcast was far more important than some of their other inclusions:

Subject: How about Casey?
From: "Efrem Epstein" <efepst@hotmail.com>
Date: 5/31/1999 11:13 AMMay 31, 1999

Letters to the Editor
Entertainment Weekly
1675 Broadway
New York, NY 10019

Dear Editors,

For those of us raised in the 70's and the 80's pop music began and ended with the American Top 40 countdown. We often spent hours guessing, analyzing and obsessing over 13-notch jumps and long-distance dedications. Maybe Casey Kasem's first AT40 broadcast in 1971 didn't change the world, but surely it had a greater impact on the American music scene than Ginger leaving the Spice Girls or Michael Jackson's hair catching fire.

Sincerely,

Efrem L. Epstein

Letter #2:

In reviewing the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the mag made a snarky comment about the inclusion of John Farnham in the ceremony who in their mind was inappropriate since they had never heard of him. For an average Joe to be unfamiliar with John Farnham is understandable, for a writer at a premier entertainment magazine to be unwilling to spend five seconds researching his background on the Internet was inexcusable.

Subject: Olympics Coverage
From: "Efrem Epstein" <efepst@hotmail.com>
Date: 9/23/2000 9:08 PM

I've always admired EW for its knowledgeable staff, which is why I was absolutely shocked that in your coverage of the Olympics' opening ceremonies you seemed clueless as to the credentials of Australian singer John Farnham(quote from magazine: "Who? He must be the Down Under Neil Diamond"). In 1982, John replaced Glenn Shorrock in The Little River Band (surely you remember them) and ended up singing lead on three of the bands 13 Top 40 hits including "The Other Guy" which hit #11 right here in the good old U.S. of A.

Best Regards and keep up the otherwise great work,

Efrem L. Epstein

Letter #3

New York, the headquarters for EW, is the largest market in the country and it lacks a country music station which is the largest format in the country. Over the years, EW has been unable (or perhaps unwilling) to recognize the popularity of the genre. I called them out on it back in 2001.

Subject: EW picking on Country
From: "Efrem Epstein" <efepst@hotmail.com>
Date: 4/10/2001 9:22 PM

Dear EW,

I "loved" your commentary on the TV listing for the George Strait concert (if there's one thing more gripping than women's soccer, it's country music). Question: Has anyone on the EW staff recently been to a country concert? If you actually had, you might have realized what millions of us already know: no other musical genre is currently producing more exciting live shows or better pop songs. Is it any wonder that the very short list of musicians who can still sell out a stadium would include the likes of Tim McGraw, Shania Twain, George Strait and The Dixie Chicks? Oh, and did I forget to mention that Garth Brooks is now second only to The Beatles in terms of total career albums sold worldwide?

Best Regards,

Efrem L. Epstein

###

Return to Paradise

2005-12-13T08:15:00.000-08:00

(Writer's Note: I realize that it's February already, but for what it's worth I started this post in December).
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December usually brings on a mood of nostalgia. One often gets a strong urge not just to look back at the past several months, but the past several years as well. When I first started "Life is a Soundtrack," one feature I was hoping to make a regular occurence was a retro-album review, where I give a fresh listen to a record/tape/CD that had once been among my favorites, but in recent years had been relegated to a dust magnet.

Styx's "Paradise Theater" was released in 1981, a year before my I started my obsession with pop music. "Paradise Theatre" was a concept-album (like it's follow-up, "Kilroy was Here"), celebrating Chicago's legendary Paradise Theater which had closed in 1958 and tied in as a pseudo-allegory to changes in America in the 1970's. "Paradise Theater" was one of the albums that defined the early-80's, especially with it's cutting-edge logo embossed into the vinyl. I knew the hits, but I don't think I had ever listened to the entire record from start to finish until June 1, 1986 when my buddy Brian Hollander (who as 'The Bison' would DJ evenings on Classic Rock Z-93 in Atlanta during the mid-90's), lent me his walkman on a trip to Great Adventure. Wow! Not only were all the tunes great, but they all flowed so nicely one into another. The songs that I had previously known from the album, made so much more sense in context. I haven't listened to the tape much in recent years (I taped over Brian's vinyl-to-tape copy, with a CD-to-tape copy in the middle of my Freshman year of college....courtesy of Funby, of course), but I think the time is ripe to go back to paradise. If you've familiar with the album, this is going to be fun. If you're not, fasten your seat-belt and get ready to be introduced to one of the greatest pop-rock concept albums of all time!

AD 1928

Gotta love that quick piano chord that begins the record and seems to come up out of nowhere. The producer really knew what he (or she) was doing. Dennis DeYoung's falsetto is simply amazing on the melodic refrain that will appear a couple of more times later in the album. I'm normally not that big a fan of singing through a synthesizer, but the background vocals make it work on this cut (just as they will later on "The Best of Times"). Styx takes its name from a river in Greek Mythology and whenever I hear this cut I picture myself on a small boat in the Mediterranean, serene as can be. There's little hint that we're about to kick into overdrive until Dennis goes high on "Here at the Pa-RA----

Rockin' The Pardise

---DIIIIIIIISE. It's never been entirely clear to me where "AD 1928" ends and "Rockin' the Paradise" begins, but the last syllable of paradise seems as logical a starting point as any. This is one of those songs that makes you want to get up and go. I've always gotten into the "Watcha doing, Watcha doing" background chants on this one. This track rocks!!!

Too Much Time On My Hands

This was one of the two major hits from the album, peaking at #9. I remember back in 1982, Tommy Shaw was a guest-DJ one night on the then newly-launched WAPP (103.5). He closed the show by playing this track and explaining how it was the last song written for the album and how the tune just came to him and then the next dayhe walked into the studio and directed each of the other members what he needed them to do to make the song work (Writer's note: Sorry for the run-on sentence). Tommy's account helps to explain why "Too Much" seems like the one track that's out of place on the album. The song has its good points, specifically the "Too much time" whispers over the ticking clocks at the end. I had never really noticed those cool claps in the chorus, until one day in camp when a bunch of people were singing the song and clapping along in time. The hi-tech intros and outros sound great on the recording but weak outside the studio, which is probably why "Too Much" always fell flat when it was played live.

Nothing Ever Goes As Planned

This one kind of grows on you. Didn't think much of it at first, but it fits well within the sequence of the record. It's kind of cool, how the tune stirs up a bunch of sounds (70's pop, jazz, Motown) but delivers a smooth end-product. If nothing else, it serves as a nice bridge between "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "The Best of Times."

The Best Of Times

The big hit from the album, peaking at #3. Probably one of the best power ballads of all time! If you were a teenager in the early-1980's, this was one of your songs. Romantic and haunting, "The Best of Times" still sounds as fresh as ever.

Lonely People

Never quite understood why they decided to kick of Side 2 with the weakest song on the album. The thunderstorm at the beginning is actually the only real cool part of the tune. Not a bad song, just way below par for the rest of the record.

She Cares

This is a great no-frills pop song. The type that sounded great on rock stations in the early-80's and on country stations today. Most people who have never heard "Paradise Theater" have never heard "She Cares," and boy are they missing out. A few years back, Tommy Shaw was a guest on Scott and Todd's morning show on WPLJ and someone called in and asked if he'd play a few bars of "She Cares." It was great to know that I wasn't the only one who took a liking to this one.

Snowblind

Hands-down the best song on the album and by far the most progressive as well. Eerie and dark yet melodic and sweet, "Snowblind" captures a bundle of contradictory emotions by having the lead vocals split between James Young with his ghoulish delivery and Tommy Shaw belting out what amounts to a musical S.O.S. Dennis DeYoung's backing vocals on the chorus seal the mood of desperation on "Snowblind." If songs were movies, "Snowblind" would be a contender for Best Picture.

Half-Penny, Two-Penny

JEG claims to be a big fan of my blog so he's going to love this one. I've always thought the opening line of "Half Penny" was "Half-Penny, Two-Penny, go through the rounds." Well I recently learned that it's actually "Half-Penny, Two Penny, GOLD KRUGERRAND!" I know the average Styx fan would probably say that "Miss America" had the band's best riff, but I'm partial to the one on "Half-Penny." Once again, James Young's deep vocals set the stage on the verses, giving way to the more melodic harmonies on the chorus. The song finishes with an instrumental which flows right into....

AD 1958

Musically the album ends in virtually the same manner as it began, except instead of hope and anticipation, we're left with a sense of bittersweet longing. The album is over, the theater has closed, the times have changed and all we have are the memories. At least I think that's the message they were trying to convey.

State Street Sadie

So as to not leave us on a down note, the record adds on about 20 seconds of ragtime music, taking us back to where we began in 1928.

What a Kick-A** record! It will probably still sound just as good 25 years from now. One thing that occurred to me during this last listen is how much parts the record remind me of the Rent Soundtrack. That started me thinking how Styx would be the perfect band to have their music adapted for a musical. Not like that Beach Boys disaster from last year or "Mama Mia" which only sold because millions of ABBA fans have been waiting since 1980 to see their favorite band reunite. This could be a GOOD show and I already have a plot outline in mind. Interested? Give me a call. I'll be willing to serve as techical consultant for a cut of the profits.

Mr. Mississippi

2005-10-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

Writers Note: I dedicate this post to the wonderful residents of Biloxi, Mississippi whose spirit continues to inspire me.

Ask anyone to name a singer from Mississippi and it's a safe bet they'll respond with "Elvis Aaron Presley." Maybe 1 in 20 will name B.B. King, but Mr. King is sure to trail THE King by a large margin. But, I've always been partial to the great singer/songwriter from Meridian, Mississippi who once set the record for most consecutive weeks on The Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. I'm talking about Paul Davis and, to me, he is Mr. Mississippi.

From 1974-1982, Paul scored eight Top-40 hits and two Top-10s. I guess that's not a lot compared to the 114 Top-40 hits scored by the man from Tupelo, but let's give Paul his due: he actually WROTE most of his records. The timeless "I Go Crazy" spent a then-record 40 weeks on the charts from 1977-78 (give yourself two points if you know that "Tainted Love" was the song that broke the record when it logged 43 weeks on the charts in 1982), ultimately peaking at #7 and almost single-handedly defining the late 70's mellow-rock sound. The influence of "I Go Crazy" can be heard in many other tunes from that era, most noticeably on Styx's 1979 hit "Babe," the only #1 hit of the lengendary band's career.

As one who's obsession with pop music imploded during 1982, I relate heavily with Paul's two Top-20 hits from that year: "Cool Night" and "'65 Love Affair." The former is surely one of the most sentimental ballads of all time. The first time I ever listened to Casey count down the entire Top 10 was on Sunday, February 7 1982 (two points if you know that it was Garth Brooks' 20th Birthday) and I turned on the radio as "Cool Night" was being played at its peak position of #11. '65 Love Affair, which became Paul's biggest hit peaking at #6, was one of the most infectious records of the year and its Lindy/East Coast Swing beat still gets me pumping everytime I put it on.

Paul's songs sounded great no matter who was singing them. In the mid-80's, Dan Seals (one half of 70's hit pop-duo England Dan and John Ford Coley and brother to Jim Seals, one half of 70's hit pop-duo Seals & Crofts), resuscitated his career on the country charts. Two of his biggest (and best) hits from that era were written by Paul Davis: "Bop" (a song about dancing, though everyone thought it was about sex) and "Meet Me in Montana" (a gem of a romantic duet with Marie Osmond, one half of 70's hit pop-duo....oh you know who).

Paul's life story may never make it to the big-screen (especially since I don't think he had any drug, alcohol, violence or gambling issues) and you may never see his face on a postage stamp. But one day I hope to have kids and I plan on using music to help them understand history and what life for me was like growing up. Paul Davis has earned a prime place on the soundtrack of my life, I hope he earns a place on theirs.

###

You Don't Know Jack!

2005-08-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

On April 17, 1986 a new radio format came to New York City, as 105.1 reinvented itself as WNSR or "New York's Soft Rock." If you didn't know what "soft rock" was, no worries. The way too enthusiastic spokesmodels in their commercials would tell you over and over again. "Billy Joel AND The Beatles"; "Barbara Streisand AND Whitney Houston"; The Best Mix; The Best Mix; The Best Mix of The 60's, The 70's AND The 80's.

The exact same commercial (with only the call-letters changed) would air in Baltimore for their own "Best Mix of the yadda-yadda" station, WMIX--Mix 106. One day, a friend from Freshman year named Eric Von Borstel (NOTE: Hey Eric, if you happen to come upon this post by Googling yourself....drop me a line and let me know what's up) articulated what many of us had thought. Wouldn't it be great if these so-called mix stations played a REAL MIX! Barbara Streisand And Whitney Houston??? Try The Screaming Blue Messiahs And Whitney Houston. Now that's a mix! The next thing you know, we were all coming up with our own outrageous mix pairings....Leonard Bernstein AND Van Halen.........Depeche Mode AND Arlo Guthrie. The joke ended up taking on a life of its own......Olivia Newton-John AND Elton John..Jeffrey Osbourne AND Ozzy Osbourne...Europe AND Asia...Meatloaf AND Bread.....Prince AND Queen.....Queen AND King.....Gene Loves Jezebel AND Johnny Hates Jazz....(Call us misfits if you must, but there was never a dull moment)!

Well, maybe we should have been a little more careful as to what we wished for, because now we've got Jack. The format, which is supposed to be so revolutionary, basically plays everything, or as my old suite-mate recently commented "Camper Van Beethoven AND Beethoven!" (I one-upped him with "Camper Van Beethoven" AND "Rock Me Amadeus!"). Anyway, the whole thing is the "brainchild" of Bob Perry, a radio programmer who was working on an American Internet radio stream in 2000. Perry named his stations after a fictitious persona, "Cadillac Jack" Garrett, described as "a hard living radio cowboy." (And you thought I was a misfit??!) The first station to adopt the Jack format was Vancover's CKLG, which makes me want to call up my local Jack station and request "Blame Canada."

There's been a lot of hype lately over Jack, even though the whole idea is no more creative than a bunch of mix tapes. Still, I found the whole thing rather harmless...until this past June 3rd at 5 PM. When the once-legendary 101 WCBS-FM flipped, without warning, to Jack, a line had been crossed. For those of you outside New York, this may be a little difficult to understand but, you do not mess with 101, 101 A-aah...101, 101 A-aah...101 WCBS-FM. The best DJs of all time (Cousin Brucie, Ron Lundy, Harry Harrison, Norm N. Nite, etc.). The greatest hits of all time. The original Top 20 oldies Countdowns. The Lunchtime Brown Bags. The Love After Midnight Hour. If you were ever in a bad mood, all you had to was click on 101.1 for a few songs and all would be well. CBS-FM was the good friend that was always there and never let you down.

Calling CBS-FM an oldies stations is way too simplistic. In most cities, the oldies station plays the same 100-200 songs over and over again, rarely spanning more than a decade or two. CBS-FM was different. They played their share of Doo-Wop, but they weren't afraid to play recent "oldies" as well. By the early 90's they had already added a healthy share of 80's hits into their rotation including Madonna's "Dress You Up," Huey Lewis and The News' "Heart & Soul" and even Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight." And the station cut deep. Sure, they played all the classics and primarily stayed with Top-20 hits. But they weren't afraid to occasionally play an oldie that you'd never hear anywhere else. I was listening one night in the Fall of 1994, when they decided to play Lenny Welch's "Darling, Take Me Back," a tune that never cracked the Top-40 nationally, though it had fared well in The New York-area (It reached #7 on the WABC-AM countdown in June of 1965). I had to call CBS-FM the next day to find out the artist and they were only too happy to tell me. It took me another three years to locate the track on CD.

Finally, CBS-FM was special because it was loyally devoted to its own format, but it knew when to break the rules. One of those times was in the late morning of August 9th, 1995 as news began to spread of Jerry Garcia's death. The Grateful Dead was not a band that you would expect to hear on CBS-FM and most non-Classic Rock stations nationally probably mentioned Jerry's passing as a news item and moved on. But CBS-FM realized that he meant a lot to many of their listeners and for probably the first time ever on the station you heard "Here's a song that Jerry recorded with The Grateful Dead back in 1970 called 'Truckin."" This was especially impressive when you consider that CBS-FM could have taken the cop-out and played "Touch of Grey," the one song by The Dead that actually hit the Top 40 (#9 in 1987). But, CBS-FM knew better and figured that if one was going to break format to honor a legend, then one might as well honor him properly in the process.

Maybe there is a place for Jack on the dial, but not at the expense of well-thought out radio stations with trademarked programming, charismatic DJs and loyal listeners. The same way as musical revues on Broadway may be nice once in awhile, but not if they are forever replacing traditional theatrical performances. What happened on June 3rd was nothing short of an outrage. Still, all hope may not be lost. The latest Arbiton ratings (though preliminary) came out this week and showed 101.1 dropping heavily since adopting the Jack format (9-17 over the last six months). Will CBS-FM as we know it come back? It would take a lot of hard work (and money) to re-hire the DJs. After all Jack works on a programmed shuffle. But who knows, CBS-FM may be the station that proves that nothing can replace the human touch. It's been widely reported that the last song played by CBS-FM around 4:55 PM on June 3rd was Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind." The first song on the new WCBS-FM should be "Hit The Road Jack!"

Armageddon It!

2005-07-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

There's something that just feels right about hitting the ballpark on July 4th weekend, even if it's to hear music played by Canadians and Englishmen. Having been a fan of both Bryan Adams and Def Leppard for over two decades and having never seen either live, this was my must-see concert of the summer. Called the Double-Header Tour, the two acts are playing shows exclusively in Minor League Stadiums and so I found myself venturing up about 70 miles north to Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York (home of The Hudson Valley Renegades, a Single-A affiliate of The Devil Rays) for the show.

Note: You may be an AT40 geek, if you know that Bryan Adams and Def Leppard debuted with their first Top 40 hits on the same week---w/e April 16th 1983. You are definitely an AT40 geek if you know that it was "Straight From The Heart" coming at #39, while "Photograph" was the highest debut of the week at #32.

Living in Manhattan, it's been a long time since I've driven to a concert and I'd forgotton how backed up the road to a parking lot can become. After making great timing the entire way there, it took us 45 minutes to get off the I-84 exit. We arrived at the stadium lot only to find out it was full and that we'd have to drive another six miles to a mall to catch a shuttle back to the stadium. In short, we arrived about 20 minutes into Bryan Adams' set and I was royally ticked! We missed two of his best songs ("Run to You"; "Somebody") and had to hear two others from outside ("One Night Love Affair"; "Summer of '69"). The show was General Admission and they had way underestimated the appeal for this ticket. There were only 4,500 seats in the stadium and there must have been 15,000-20,000 people in the park. Most were standing on the field and that's where we headed as well. The rest of Bryan's set was decent, but nothing made up for the disapointment of missing four of his best tunes....until it was time for Def Leppard to take the stage!

Now this is what a rock concert ought to be. People standing throughout the show. Fans that know every word of the songs (well, almost every word. It's amazing that after 18 years, people still haven't figured out that they're saying "Sa-te-litte of lo-o-ove" in "Rocket").

We were within 30 feet from the stage in a sea people that seemed to stretch all the way back to the infield and my voice was hoarse by the end of their 90-minute set. They played 'em all: "Women," "Photograph," "Love Bites," "Let's Get Rocked," "Bringing on the Heartbreak," and they saved "Pour Some Sugar on Me" for the final encore.

Def Leppard is now officially on my list of groups that I must see a second time in concert. They were just too much fun this time around and they actually still seem to get the idea of how to put on an exciting live show. Sometime soon, I'm going to write a posting about how some of the best stage acts today are ones that have been around for 25+ years (e.g. Jimmy Buffett, Neil Diamond, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones). As for right now, I'll just say that it was a band from Sheffield, England that helped me properly usher in July 4th, 2005.

Classic Rock is Dead---or is it? (Part I)

2005-05-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

This week was Bono's birthday. I know that because the radio station made a really big deal about it.....20 years ago when I was on my way to my high school youth organization's Spring Convention. But it wouldn't have shocked me to hear a radio station making the same big deal about Bono's birthday this past Tuesday because they are just as hot now as they were then. Considering the music landscape of today, that is nothing short of amazing.

If you think I'm speaking as a partisan U2 fan, think again. In my collection of 300 or so CDs, a grand total of 0 are by U2 (though I probably should have picked up "War" or "October" at some point). I thought "The Joshua Tree" was one of the most overrated rock albums of all time. I am fairly sure that their version of "Helter Skelter" is one of the worst Beatles remakes ever. Finally, when I hear Bono's buffoonesque screaming of "Uno...Doz....Tres....Catorce," I get a strong urge to punch somebody...hard!

But U2 has my respect. They have my respect because in the 1980s they were often the only new band that classic rock elitists would admit to liking and they have my respect because in 2005, they are the only members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that are still on the top of the game. Sure, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton remain popular and sell out arenas, but none of them have put out a relevant album with staying power since the 1980's (the last Bruce album to really stand the test of the time was "Born in the USA" back in '84).

U2 on the other hand continues to remain fresh and hip and their new music is welcomed with the same enthusiasm as their old. Back in April, I went to The Eagles sold-out concert at MSG and on the two occasions that they played a song less than 20 years old ("Hole in the World"; "Love Will Keep Us Alive"), the audience responded with either confusion or ambivalence. At a U2 concert, I would imagine that much of the audience expects a set list that draws heavily from the three most recent albums.

I remember back in the Spring/Summer of 1983 when the band was just beginning to catch on. Two things struck me at the time. First, that they were being embraced by a contingent that otherwise hated 80's music. Many a Classic Rock fan who otherwise insisted on a steady diet of Stones, Floyd, Doors and Zeppelin adopted U2 as the one then-current band that mattered. Second, that they were being embraced by another, equally surprising contingent. Their records were being bought by listeners of Top-40 radio, despite the band receiving next to no airplay on those very stations. In fact, U2 would not score a Top-20 until 1987. By contrast, Men at Work was working on their fourth Top-10 hit in 12 months during the Summer of '83. Talking about the two groups back then, many might have predicted that twenty-two years later one band would still be releasing platinum albums and the other would be merely the answer to a trivia question (and probably a difficult one at that). But how many would have picked the right group?

I was a Freshman in college in the Spring of 1987 when "The Joshua Tree" came out. As I said earlier, I never much cared for that album, but I was quite impressed by the anticipation and hype surrounding its release. Back then, the vinyl (and tape) versions of the album would become available 2-3 weeks before the CD and there were plenty of people in the dorms who bought the vinyl (knowing darn well they were going to buy the CD a couple of weeks later) because they simply couldn't wait that long to own the new record.

U2's status as the token 80's band for classic rockers was taken to a new, sometimes absurd level by K-Rock (92.3 in New York City, back when it was classic rock from 1985-1996 or thereabouts). The station would play up it's classic rock identity by filtering its records through a slight distort over the air and having its DJs sound like Steven Wright's character in "Reservoir Dogs" (Yep....he was the DJ that you heard throughout the flick). But whenever they wanted to show that they "didn't believe a song needed to be old, to be classic," they'd play some U2. They'd even play the 12-inch version of "Desire" which sounded downright ridiculous throught their distort sound, but their point was clear: 80's music s__ked, but U2 was cool!

Now the band has come full circle. They're the one classic rock band that are not being labeled as aging dinosaurs and have kids waiting in line to buy their new albums and concert tickets. They're also proof that classic rock and roll is not dead, even though at times it seems like it's in a coma. I'm not quite sure what it is that U2 is doing right, but whatever it is it seems to be working.

Vive Le Rock!

###

P.S.---I recently purchased Pete Battistini's "American Top 40 With Casey Kasem (The 70's). It is a must-own for all AT40 fans and I e-mailed Pete to thank him for putting it together and see if he needed any help with an 80's version (there's none in the works at this time). I also asked him to visit "Life is a Soundtrack," and he took me up on it.

He made a very interesting observation about my first post (from June 20, 2004). He was wondering if I was mistaken about listenting to the countdown on WNBC in June of 1982, since ABC-affiliates cornered the AT40 syndication market around that time. Well, the countdown did switch from WNBC to WPLJ, but I don't believe that happened until Thanksgiving Weekend 1983 (I remember turning on WNBC on the return ride home from spending the holiday weekend with my grandparents and was shocked that the countdown was nowhere to be found). But.....Pete's note helped me remember another point relevant to the June 20th post. When I noted that I had a late start on the morning of December 11th, I must really have had a very late start. When the countdown switched over to WPLJ, the times changed as well from 9-1 to 10-2. So, I must have not turned on the countdown until around 10:30 that morning. Thank you Pete, for keeping me accurate.

It's All in the Call

2005-03-30T22:08:00.000-08:00

Last month, everyone was talking about the 25th anniversary of the USA's upset victory in hockey over the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Many forget that it was non-elimination game that didn't mean anything until the USA upset Finland two days later (Until 1992, the format for awarding Gold-Silver-Bronze in hockey did not resemble a playoff mode and instead was based on cumulative points against other teams that made the medal round).

Nevertheless, the 4-3 victory over the Soviets did give us one of the greatest calls in broadcast history. Yes, of course, I'm talking about "Do you believe in miracles?!" but those five words alone don't do it justice. To get the entire feel, you've got to take in Al Michaels from the 11-second mark:

"Eleven seconds, you got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now...Morrow up to Silk...five seconds left in the game! Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"

The game would have been no less significant without Al Michaels, but once we had his call, we could never relive the moment without it. This is why I believe there will always be a place for the radio DJ, no matter how many iPods are sold. If you don't believe that the right intro (or outro) can elevate a song, then you haven't been listening to the right radio hosts.

So what makes a great intro? It should you get psyched to hear the song. It should be tailored uniquely for that song. The right DJ can deliver their intro with just the right inflection, just the right tempo, just the right build-up and will know the just right instant to stop talking and let the music take over.

Fans of American Top 40 were treated to the art of the great into on a weekly basis. Of course, in many cases it was the producers filling in the music over the taped intros long after Casey had left the building, but that didn't diminish the beauty of the end product. I can still remember this one from around 9:35 AM on Sunday, November 7, 1982:

"Of the eight British acts in our survey, three are from the town of SHHHeffield! Paul Carrack who we heard at #37; Joe Cocker who appears at a higher position in our countdown; and the band at #35, here's ABC with The Look of Love!" (Note: For full effect try reading the above text over the intro of "The Look of Love," still one of the greatest musical intros of all time).

As much as I loved Casey, you have the respect the DJs who had to ad-lib on the fly. Here in New York, WCBS-FM used to have a program where they'd play the Top 20 from that week in a past year (i.e. on April 1, 2005 they might feature the Top 20 of April 1, 1972). I happened to be listening on Saturday Evening December 7, 1991 when they were playing the Top 20 from December 7, 1978. Since my sister was born on December 8, 1978, I figured I'd tape the show for her (No, I never got around to giving her the tape....serves her right for complaining that I overuse parentheses in my writings).

Recently, I gave the tape a listen because I remembered it had some great calls on it, and yes I do mean great! The DJ for the night was Mark Summers (not the Mark Summers who hosted Double-Dare and to whom I've been told I bear more than a slight resemblance) and he was on a roll. The best was when song #7, Alicia Bridges' "I Love the Nightlife" is fading out. "Yeah, Disco was big back then as we count down the Top 20 from December 7, 1978.....," and then as the unmistakable opening rifts of Foreigner's "Double Vision" begin, "........But so was ROCKNROLL BABY!!" Mark kept it going throughout the countdown. As "Double Vision" was fading out, right before Gino Vanneli's " I Just Wanna Stop came in at #5, he added "Who cares about double vision? With great rock and roll like that, you don't need to see!"

Sometimes an anticipated classic call disappoints. Just as Al Michaels had one one of the greatest sports calls of all times, I happened to be listening to the radio when I had what might have been one of the all-time worst. The night was July 31, 1990 and I had just listened to the Expos beat the Mets 7-4. Joe T. Mac (at least I think it was Joe T. Mac) was going through the wrap-up on WFAN and then announced that he had a surprise. We were going to pick up the feed for the 9th inning of the Texas-Milwaukee game, because the Rangers were up 11-3 and Nolan Ryan was going for win #300. And calling the game...the one and only Bob Uecker. Sure, Ueck was the play-by-play man for the Brewers, but Milwaukee had the game lost anyway and they weren't going anywhere and he was BOB UECKER! This was bound to be a great call.....Not! He treated the end of the game as just another frustrating Brewers loss and then acknowleged in passing that Nolan's teammates were congratulating him on the mound. The classic call of the night actually went to Joe T. Mac when they came back from the feed, "Whoa! Way to be emotional Euck!! I bet Mr. Belvedere could have done a better job!"

Sometimes it takes a little time to appreciate whether or not a call is classic. On Sunday Morning, September 29, 1985 my family was in the middle of our annual ritual of putting up the Sukkah (a clubhouse of sorts which commemorates the Jewish holiday of Sukkot). I knew I had to find an excuse to get inside for a coule of minutes around 9:1o or so, because I was expecting a once in a lifetime historical call that could not be missed. I had first heard The Hooters on WNEW in early June and then had seen their popularity spread in cult-like fashion all summer. I had them pegged as The Next Beatles and I knew that their first American Top 40 hit, "And We Danced" was about to debut at #38. No way was I missing Casey's call on this one. Well, the call was mediocre, "And We Danced" peaked at #21, the follow-up "Day By Day" made it to #18 and the band mustered only one more Top 40 single after that. "Nervous Night" is still a great album, but the band fell way short of my projected Beatlesque stature.

I've always admired Scott Shannon, not only for his own great calls but for his recognition of the art. He's one of the few DJs who will publicly laud other industry-mates on the air and even incorporate them into his routine. In the past, when he's played a song like Patrick Hernandez's "Born to be Alive" he'd intro it with "This is Paco on WKTU Disco 92." (An inside joke for those who used to listen to the OLD WKTU circa. 1981 when it occupied the 92.3 signal now possessed by K-Rock). And it's Scott and Todd's show that on an annual basis provides one of the greatest calls that one hears all year. On the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, every year since at least 1993, shortly after 8 AM, Joe Nolan gives an amazing into to "Born to Run" that officially welcomes in summer. Every year it seems to get a little bit longer and a little bit better, but the basic theme is always the same. "It's 1976, (as the opening drumroll kicks in) whether you're in Atlantic Highlands, Point Pleasant, Asbury Park or Long Branch, it's summer...and Bruce is on the radio!"

Now there's something you can't get on an IPod.

Isn't it Romantic?!

2005-02-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

I'm FINALLY compiling my first list. I'm a little excited because this is one of the reasons I started a blog in the first place. When I was nine, one of my favorite books was Irving Wallace's "Book of Lists" and I would never have become the music geek that I am if I hadn't bought Dave Marsh's "Rock Lists" when I was 13 and then spent the whole Summer of '82 memorizing the darn thing (or near-memorizing it, heck it was 500 pages with something like 2,000 lists).

In honor of February 14th, I'm putting together a list of 20 of the most romantic songs of all time. I want to emphasize that these are not necessarily THE 20 most romantic songs of all time but just 20 that I felt made a nice compilation. There are plenty of great ones left for another list next year. Hence, these songs are not being ranked. Rather, I've listed them in a manner that I felt gave the order a nice flow. One that could be taken and played and the progression of songs would resonate with the ear of the listener.

Now I've been planning this post for weeks, but then earlier today I got my weekly copy of Entertainment Weekly in the mail and they decided to list what they felt were the 50 Greatest Love Songs of all time. I'll stick with my 20 for right now. People actually read lists of 20 items, but at 50 they're glancing and browsing at best. I also prefer to use the word "romantic" over "love" when discussing music. Romance describes an atmosphere or mood. Love is an emotion. Music can set the mood, but in the end the emotion needs to come from the heart. In the end our lists had two songs in common and a few others on their list just missed making mine. So, the next time that you need the perfect song to set the moment just right, consider one of these:

1) "Never My Love"----The Association

There's a reason why it's still the third most played song in the history of radio at nearly 7 million spins (surpassed by only "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Yesterday"). The Association's 1967 recording of The Addrissi Brothers' tune is as relevant and refreshing as ever in 2005. My buddy Dave wondered how I could have chosen "Never" for my list over "Cherish." Well "Cherish" would have been a good choice (it made the Entertainment Weekly list) and it would have allowed me to tell my anecdote about meeting The Association and having them autograph my 45 of Cherish (see, I just managed to get that anecdote in anyway). "Cherish" could pop up on a future list, but in the meantime ask yourself the following question: If you were with your ideal mate, in the ideal romantic location, at the ideal romantic moment and you had to choose between hearing "Never" or "Cherish" at that moment, which would it be? Thought so.

2) "I Love How You Love Me"----Bobby Vinton

The Paris Sisters may have had the original and bigger hit with this tune, but it was Bobby who sang it like he meant it. There aren't too many guys who can seriously pull off a line like, "I love how your eyes close whenever you kiss me." Bobby did and the women swooned.

3) "We've Only Just Begun"----The Carpenters

Many couples have chosen this one for their wedding song. If I were making a movie, it would be the song playing the instant after the groom carried the bride over the threshold and closed the door.

4) "When You Say Nothing At All"----Alison Krauss

My friend Annemarie has a great story on this one. She had never really been into country music until one night when she was in a bar and this one came on over the loudspeaker. As the song played on, one of the couples dancing had their eyes lovingly glued to each other and were singing each word in unison. Needless to say, she's been hooked on the genre since.

5) "5-10-15-20 (25-30) Years Of Love"----The Presidents

For better or for worse, there are many more romantic songs about falling in love then there are about having stayed in love for a lengthy period of time ("Still The One" by Orleans is fun, but not what I would call romantic). When my parents celebrated their 30th anniversary on May 29, 1996, this was the one song I wanted to hear on the radio. Back then, WPLJ was still big on 70's music and I tried to get Scott and Todd to play "5-10-15-20 (25-30) Years of Love" for them. They didn't play the record, but they did wish my parents a happy anniversary on the air and then proceeded to make fun of me for another four minutes. Off the air, Scott Shannon and I dueted on a few bars of the song. Hey, I thought we sounded great.

6) "Sharing The Night Together"----Dr. Hook

This one gets into your senses even before the vocals start and, ever so subtly, becomes more intoxicating as it progresses. By the time the song hits the "We can bring in the morning light" part, your face definitely needs a splash of water.

7) "Here, There & Everywhere"----The Beatles

Might not even rank among The Beatles 100 biggest hits, but all-around this was probably their best love song.

8) "La-La Means I Love You"----The Delfonics

Here's one of the two songs that my list shared with Entertainment Weekly's. You can feel the yearning in the singer's voice all the way through until the final fade-out.

9) "On The Wings Of Love"----Jeffrey Osbourne

So soulful, yet so optimistic. Even on days that you feel unlucky in love, this one still sounds great.

10) "Faithfully"----Journey

Written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain as an anniversary present for his then-wife Tane. The fact that they later divorced in no way diminishes this immensely moving musical love letter.

11) "Truly Madly Deeply"----Savage Garden

I was being to think that the sweet pop song had become extinct when this one came out in 1997. It shook me from the first time I heard it and within a couple of days it seemed that everyone had discovered the record. I remember walking past a row of cubicles in the office when the song was playing and one of my co-workers was glowing, as if she had never heard a song that made her so happy.

12) "What You Won't Do For Love"----Bobby Caldwell

The first time I ever went to a karaoke bar was in Washington, DC on New Year's Weekend 1995-96. My turns at the mike were less than memorable, but towards the end of the night a guy got up and tried his hand at "What You Won't Do For Love." The hostess noted that the number of women in the room doubled during the course of his performance. I would pay good money for voice lessons if the teacher could guarantee me that I'd sound half-decent singing this one by the end.

13) "Love Is"----Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight

We always knew Heather Locklear was sexy, but we never realized how much we ached and longed for her until that night in January, 1993. It was the middle of Season 1 of Melrose Place and Billy and Amanda were to about to make love for the first time. The scene wouldn't have hit home like it did without the then just-released "Love Is" playing in the background. It wasn't the first time I wanted Heather, but it was the first time I cried at the sight of someone else kissing her.

14) "All I Know"----Art Garfunkle

An all-around beautiful tune written by Jimmy Webb ("MacArthur Park," "Galveston," "Worst That Can Happen," "Wichita Lineman"), that gave Art Garfunkle his first major hit as a solo artist. Just a few years earlier, Art had sung about how love calms all in "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The message and tone of "All I Know" was almost a complete U-Turn. Love hurts and has more than its share of disturbing moments, but in the end the reward is worth the pain....usually.

15) "It's Your Love"----Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

It seems that most die-hard country music fans have a great story on how they became attached to the genre (see #4 above). Here's mine. I was flying SwissAir to Israel in the Spring of 1998. There was no movie on the Zurich-Tel Aviv leg, so I checked out the various music-listening options. One of the channels was offering an eclectic mix of mellow tunes including some I hadn't heard in quite awhile. I was especially excited to hear Linda Rondstadt's "Heartbeats Accelerating" and a few songs that were following shortly thereafter in the program. But I was also curious about the tune that was scheduled immediately after "Heartbeats Accelerating." I knew who both Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were (Tim's father, Tug "Quick Draw" McGraw had been the star closer of my beloved Phillie teams in the late 70's and early 80's), but I didn't think I had ever heard any of their songs in entirety to that point. I didn't even know they were married until hearing it from that program's emcee. I never expected to be blown away by the song like I was. I was actually hoping that the flight would be long enough for the program to wrap around to the song again (it was). Eight days later, I got the same program again on the Zurich-New York leg and I made sure to catch "It's Your Love" everytime it came up in the program. I also knew that if even a fraction of country music could affect me even a fraction of the way "It's Your Love" had, I was going to be listening to a lot more of it when I got back to New York.

16) "You're The Only Woman"----Ambrosia

Ambrosia's blue-eyed soul never quite reached the popularity of The Doobie Brothers or Hall and Oates, but their tunes had a sweetness to them that was unmatched by their more prominent counterparts. What makes this song so extra special is that it's so well thought out. Limited backing vocals on the first chorus, only to be added later on. The sensual "Don't speak....Shhhhhhhhhhh," at the start of what would be the third verse. The intrumental that follows with the volume fluctuating ever so slightly up and down. One of the last great songs to come from The Golden Age of Lite Rock.

17) "Baby, I Need Your Lovin' "----Johnny Rivers

Originally a #11 hit for The Four Tops, it was Johnny Rivers who took the song into the Top 5 three years later and made it the romantic masterpiece that it is. My friend Ivan who's written with the best of them, said that one time Jimmy Webb (see song #14 above) was in a car when this song came on the radio and he had to pull to the side just to compose himself.

18) "Follow You, Follow Me"----Genesis

One moment Genesis and Phil Collins would be dark and deep, the next sappy and sweet. Rarely were they able to mold the two together into a truly romantic song that at the same time wasn't whiny. They got the balance just right with "Follow You, Follow Me." One time, back on Dave Herman's morning show on WNEW over a decade ago, they were bemoaning the fact that so many couples were using Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" as their wedding song. "Follow You, Follow Me," was the one they pushed for as the more appropriate choice.

19) "I'll Never Break Your Heart"----The Backstreet Boys

Put all your biases about The Backstreet Boys aside, they did just fine on this one. I wouldn't have smirked if someone included "More Than That" on one of their lists either.

20) "When A Man Loves A Woman"-----Percy Sledge

This was the other song to appear on both mine and Entertainment Weekly's lists. Simply too obvious to be left off.

###

Aborted Holiday Post

2005-01-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

Over the past six weeks, I have been writing and re-writing a post entitled "What I don't want for Channukah!" The basic idea was that I had no desire to get an iPod and how I thought digital downloads were destroying the idea of the classic album. I still hold by many ideas and the thoughts (and I had some great one-liners) but that post is being put on the back-burner for the following three reasons:

* After six weeks the piece is nowhere near complete and what is complete is nowhere near satisfactory.

* To the shock of many industry insiders (and yours truly), CD sales actually rose in 2004. The first annual increase since 2000.

* Many of my concerns and points I wished to make were articulated quite nicely by David Browne in this past week's Entertainment Weekly (Jan. 14, 2005). I encourage all to read.

G-d willing, I'll be back next month with my first musical list. In honor of Valentine's Day, we'll look at 20 of the most romantic pop songs of all time.
Stay tuned.......

Hey There Mr. Blue!

2004-09-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

Think you know movies? I'm going to stump you right...now!

What do the following three films have in common:

* Look Who's Talking

* Mr. Deeds (2003 Version)

* Along Came Polly

Nope, nothing to do with the actors. You can stop trying to recall the plotlines (or lack thereof) as well.

Answer: They all feature Pete Townshend's timeless "Let My Love Open The Door" over the closing credits.

Ever notice how certain songs seem to appear over and over again in the same movies, trailers, TV shows and commercials? What's interesting is that the list seems to have no rhyme or reason. There is nothing especially significant about Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill," a 1977 single that didn't even hit the Top-40 at the time. Neither did Melissa Etheridge's "Dance Without Sleeping," or George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone," two of the more over-used tunes in movie trailiers and television commercials respectively.

It would be too easy to blame this repetitiveness solely on a handful of lazy copy-cating producers. In some cases, there are songs that just bring out certain moods or emotions (like "Solsbury Hill") in ways that no other tune can. A couple of years ago, I talking to my friend Janet about a number of "lost" classic rock tunes. Songs that seemed on their way to immortality but in recent years had faded into irrelevancy (this conversation actually took place within the context of compiling a list of songs that, to the best of our knowledge, had never been aranged a capella, but ought to be). One song that I put on the list was ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky," a song that DID hit the Top-40...barely (peaked at #35 in August of '78). Well no sooner had I labeled it a lost classic that the song started popping up in trailers (Adaptation; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and commercials (Volkswagen). Now I've come to learn that the tune serves as the theme song for the new NBC drama LAX (still haven't seen it....but now I have a reason to check it out besides Heather). I almost have to wonder who it was that overheard my conversation because now there is absolutely no escaping the pulsating keyboards and the falsetto voices shriekings "Hey, there, Mr. Blue, we're so pleased to be with you." Perhaps I should have gone into advertising after all.

So tell me, what over-used tunes have I left out? E-mail me with your best and I'll try to list the best in a future post. Until then, be thankful that most of the tunes we're overusing seem to at least be decent ones. We COULD be forced to listen to "I've Never Been to Me."

Wanna be a Survivor? Beware, it all begins with The Ides of March!

2004-08-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

Let's start off this post with a quick word-association pop quiz. When I say the word "survivor," you immediately think of

A) A CBS show where everyone you wish was naked is clothed and everyone you wish was clothed is naked.

B) A lame, overplayed tune by Destiny's Child.

C) The band that sang "Eye of the Tiger."

D) The band that sang "Poor Man's Son."

If you answered "D" then you and I are cut from the same cloth, even though "C" is referring to the exact same band. Survivor was hardly my favorite group of all time, but it bugs me to death that they're thought of as a one-hit wonder. If you've been watching ESPN Classic, then you probably know that they've been running the Rocky movies in order on Sunday Nights over the past few weeks (they're up to Rocky IV). Survivor is probably best known for their songs from the soundtracks of Rocky III ("Eye of the Tiger") and Rocky IV ("Burning Heart"), so the time seemed right to flashback on a band that was much more interesting than most people realized.

So yes, it all did start with "The Ides of March." I'm talking of course about the Chicago-based band that scored a #2-hit with "Vehicle" in the Spring of 1970. Now, there's a band that WAS a one-hit wonder and is consistently been referred to as one of the greatest one-hit wonders off all time. You know the song even if you don't think you do. It's been used in many car commercials and you can always count on Paul Shaffer to play it on March 15th (The Ides of March--get it??; Thanks to my buddy Bret for pointing that out to me while we were watching Letterman all the way back on 3/16/89 in the McCoy Hall Lounge. The show was taped on the 15th but didn't air until the wee hours of the 16th).

The man who wrote, sang and played guitar on "Vehicle" was Jim Peterik. In 1978, Peterik would form Survivor and in an interesting twist would serve as neither their guitarist or lead vocalist but rather as their keyboardist and primary songwriter. Survivor's first Top 40 hit, "Poor Man's Son" would peak at #33 in the Fall of 1981. While the song, which appeared on the band's "Premonition" album, did not attract an incredible amount of attention, this writer believes it was the best song of the band's career. But more importantly the album did catch the attention of a certain big-name actor who was in position to give the band an opportunity that was reminiscent of, well, the opportunity granted by Apollo Creed to a certain no-name boxer from South Philly.

Here's how Peterik descibed it in an interview with StrutterZine:

"....It started with a message to both (Survivor guitarist) Frankie (Sullivan) and my answering machines from Sly Stallone. Frankie and I got together at my house and called him back. He told us of his new Rocky III movie, that it was complete except for the title song. He had heard our Premonition album and liked the tough honesty of that record. But he was looking to update the sound he had on the earlier Rocky movies and thought we'd be perfect. We knew at that moment that our big break had come - if only we could deliver the goods. Stallone sent us the first three minutes of the movie where the song was to appear. It featured Stallone getting rich and soft contrasting the sinewy Mr. T.- rising up, ready to kick his ass. I started playing the dead string riff as Frank and I headed to my music room. We got a good start on the music that day but needed more grist for the mill, lyrically. We persuaded Stallone to send us a rough cut of the entire movie. It was then that song really came together. We pulled the phrase “the eye of the tiger” from the dialogue and from there the ideas flowed. We sent Stallone a demo we did quickly with the band. He flipped out over it, but made us write a third verse and offered a few other suggestions. Due to the tightness of the schedule, the version you hear in the actual movie was the demo version that Frankie mixed in L.A. while he was spotting-in the music to the soundtrack...."
(The full interview is available at http://www.angelfire.com/ma/strutteraor/).

I first heard "Eye of the Tiger" on Tuesday, June 22nd, 1982 at an end-of-school swim party. The second time I heard it was around 11 AM on the following Sunday Morning. I was spending the weekend with my two best friends from 8th grade, Sim and Leon, who are largely responsible for me being the chart-geek I am today. So naturally we spent Sunday Morning huddled around Leon's new portable radio/cassette player listening to American Top 40. How into it were we? After we heard what we thought were the four debut songs of the week ("Dancing in the Streets" by Van Halen at #40; "Island of the Lost Souls" by Blondie at #39; "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago at #38---Casey noted it was their first hit of the 80's; And "Even the Nights are Better" by Air Supply at #34) we took time to figure which four songs must have dropped out of the countdown that week. Even though it was never announced that Air Suppy was the highest debut of the week, it became rather clear to us that it was as the countdown rolled on....until after song #20. Then, on way to commercial we heard it: "Up next, the highest debuting song in nearly two years!" We were floored. For us this was the equivalent of man's landing on the moon, a song debuting all the way up at #19. Nowadays, thanks to music videos and the Internet songs debut in the Top 10 all the time but back then a song coming into the countdown that high was something of a novelty.

As the show resumed post-commercial break, "Eye of the Tiger's" trademark, opening guitar rift set the stage for an excited Casey introducing the highest debuting song since Diana Ross's "Upside Down" entered the countdown at #10 in August of 1980. We would hear "Eye of the Tiger" again later that day when hit the cinema to catch Rocky take on both Mr. T and Hulk Hogan. It's amazing to think that professional wrestling might never have become the pop-culture phenomenon that it was, had Rocky not decided to give Mr. 24-inch pythons himself that cameo in the flick. "Eye of the Tiger" would go on to spend six weeks at #1 and finish the year as Billboard's #2 song for 1982. Survivor would follow-up "Eye of the Tiger" with "American Heartbeat," which despite reaching #17 in the Autumn of 1982 has received virtually no attention since it fell off the charts 22 years ago.

Survivor received some minor airplay on the rock stations in 1983 with "Caught in the Game" but it failed to reach the Top-40 and it seemed like Survivor's best days were gone. Then, a wild thing happened. Lead singer Dave Bickler would leave the group for medical reasons. By the time Survivor released their Vital Signs album in 1984, they were fronted by Jimi Jamison...WHO SOUNDED EXACTLY LIKE DAVE BICKLER!! Admit it, you're shocked! Survivor really had TWO lead singers who sounded exactly the same. Never had any group pulled such off such a stunt and a tough stunt it was when one considers how distinctive Bickler's vocals were.

Jamison's vocals must have been blessed by Midas because over the ensuing two years Survivor reeled off five Top-20 hits: "I Can't Hold Back" #13; "High on You" #8; "The Search is Over" #4; "Burning Heart" #2; "Is This Love" #9. Jamison's vocals would continue to be heard by millions worldwide on a weekly basis as he sang the theme to the world's most popular TV show: Baywatch! (Note to self: Being asked to sing while Rocky and Apollo run on the beach--Good. Being asked to sing while Nicole Eggert and Pamela Anderson run on the beach--VEEEEERRY GOOD!!)

As for Jim Peterik, he continued to be Survivor's keyboardist but would continue writing songs for other groups as well. Over the years his tunes have been recorded by The Doobie Brothers, Aerosmith and, most notably, 38 Special. Four of 38 Special's biggest hits ("Rockin' into the Night"; "Hold on Loosely"; "Caught Up in You"; "You Keep Runnin' Anyway") were either writen or co-written by Peterik. On an interesting note, Peterik had back-to-back tunes on the chart for the week ending July 3, 1982 when "Caught Up in You" was at #10 and "Eye of the Tiger" was at #9.

See, I told you there was a lot more to this band than you realized. The next time "Eye of the Tiger" comes on the radio and the one know-it-all in your crowd proclaims the band a one-hit wonder, reply with a sly "No, not really" and then hit them over the head with a few tidbits from above. Trust me: it's really, really satisfying.

###

P.S.---Going back to the original word-association game, if you're one of those people who started thinking about The Soul Survivors, I'll try to get around to them when I do a piece on legitimate one-hit wonders. Now there's a tune that still rocks, 37 years later!

I DO like "Spiders and Snakes!"

2004-07-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

The title of this post is only factually true when you include the quotation marks. In reality, I like spiders, snakes and other creepy crawly stuff about as much as Michael Moore likes President Bush. No, I'm not a big fan of spiders or snakes but I can now say I do like Jim Stafford best known for the 1974 hit "Spiders and Snakes" (Peak Position on the Billboard Charts---#3).

I really didn't know a lot about Jim until earlier this month when I caught his variety show at The Jim Stafford theatre in Branson, Missouri. The guy is a real showman, something desperately missing from many performers today, and his act was full of entertaining sight gags that one might of found on, say, The Muppet Show---and yes we were treated to some Hensonesqe spiders and snakes singing along. Quite impressive for a guy who many think of as just a one-hit wonder (for the record he scored six Top-40 hits from 1973-75).

Well, it turns out Jim's career is significantly more multi-faceted than I had previously realized. As an actor, he starred in Clint Eastwood's "Any Which Way You Can." He hosted his own variety show on ABC in 1975 and in the early-80's he co-hosted the popular prime-time show "Those Amazing Animals" with Burgess Meredith and Priscilla Presley. And, as all we know, during Johnny Carson's hey-day the size of your stardom was measured by the number of appearances you made on The Tonight Show. Jim Stafford's tally: 26!

One of the few things I did know about Jim was the he was buddies with another 70's hit singer/songwriter whom I had previously met: Lobo. In the future, I hope to write an article or series of articles of the many singers and bands that I saw perform at the WTC summer concerts (the terrorists will never take away my memories) and I'll detail my conversation with Lobo then. Anyway, as Jim's show broke for intermission they announced that his wife Ann, who manages the theatre, would be manning the concession stand during the break. I decided it was worth springing the $17.99 or thereabouts for a T-shirt in order to have the opportunity to meet Mrs. Stafford, especially since I'd actually be able to name drop with her (Yeah, I know....Jim's first wife was Bobbie Gentry who's own hit "Ode to Billy Joe" topped the charts back in 1967).

I changed lines to insure that Ann Stafford would handle my order. I told her that I had covered music for The New York Post, had met Lobo and wanted to know if he and Jim still spoke. Ann talked about how Jim and "Kent" (Lobo's real name is Roland Kent Lavoie) had just performed a reunion show together back in their native town of Winter Haven, Florida. During their High School days the two of them were in a band call The Rumours along with the late Gram Parsons (Z"L--1973). Gram is considered by many to have been the father of country/rock and is best known for 1)being hand-selected to replace David Crosby in The Byrds; 2)being the vocalist that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had in mind when they wrote "Wild Horses." I also complemented Ann on her two talented kids who now join their dad on stage: Sheaffer (either 11 or 12)and GG (somewhere around 8 or 9). She said that when the kids get a little older, they may bring the show on the road. Good! They're bound to be the only travelling family act incorporating 3-D glasses, trick microphones, and soaking wet frisbees into a hi-tech musical variety show.

With all of Jim's accomplishments, he's not all that well known in 2004 and many of those that did know him would probably be surprised to learn that he's alive and well and still drawing in excess of 1,000 people a show; 350 shows a year. I don't feel bad for Jim that he's not as recognized as he should be. I do feel bad for the people who will never realize how many great performances they've missed out on and the many great hits of the past that they will never hear. Jim was not a fringe performer, he was at one time a bona-fide superstar! Someday, maybe he'll be recognized as such again. For now, I'll do my part and wear the T-shirt I bought at the show. It says: "I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes, But I Do Like Jim Stafford."

###

P.S.---True story! As I was walking down Sullivan Street on a coffee break a few weeks back a lady asked me if I knew what time it was. I glanced at my watch and it was 3:34 PM. "Yeah," I responded "It's 25.." Then it hit me and with a smile I continued, "It's 25...or 6, to 4." I looked into her eyes for the slightest bit of recognition, but nothing. Now, maybe if she had asked me if I "REALLY knew what time it was."

Blame it on Bill Murray (and Sofia Coppola and Scarlett Johansson)

2004-06-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I rented "Lost in Translation" and, as a result, I now have a blog. Confused? I'd been toying with the idea of starting a blog for some time, but my motivation was never high enough to move me beyond the blogspot intro page. Sure I love to write, but I didn't need a blog for that. I was very happy submitting the occasional freelance piece for publication to The New York Post, Philadelphia Daily News, Entrepreneur or Brandweek and sending out an annual, lengthy, witty (or so I believe) update of my life to family and friends. Most of my opinions and beliefs about the world, current events and even pop culture were already being articulated by others on the Web and, in many cases, better than I ever could have said them myself. If I wasn't going add anything to the equation, then there were much better things I could be doing with my time.

Then on Thursday I finally saw "Lost in Translation." I'm not going to review or analyze the film (there are plenty of other blogs for that) except to say I enjoyed it immensely and Scarlet Johansson is cute as a button. But the scene that launched this blog came towards the end when they're in a bar and in the background you can hear the haunting bluesy keyboards of "So In To You," a song which The Atlanta Rhythm Section took to #7 in the Spring of 1977. While it's not one of my all-time favorites (it's not even my favorite tune by The Atlanta Rhythm Section), I'd heard the song several times over the last 27 years and it even appears on one of my compilation CDs. But this time something clicked and a 20-year old mystery was solved.

Like many a Sunday Morning in my teenage years, I would devote a healthy block of time to listening to American Top-40 and December 11, 1983 was no exception. I must have had a late start that morning because I remember that they were already in the middle of song #34 when I turned on the radio. From the vocals I could tell immediately that it was Genesis and that made sense since the group had just released a new album but the tune sounded a little too familiar. I figured if it was a remake Casey would let me know, but he said nothing of the sort as the song faded out. Just a "Coming in at #34, that's the British trio Genesis with `That's All.'" And, no it wasn't a remake. So this bouncy "original" tune with a slight subtle tinge of eerieness must have reminded me of another song I'd heard before.

Ultimately, I'd go on to buy the Genesis tape with "That's All" on it (the title of the album was simply Genesis, though they were originally going to call it "Pieces of Perfection"---check out the album cover) but in recent years I hadn't given the tune a lot of thought...until last Thursday Night! Now if you happen to be familiar with both songs ("So In To You" and "That's All") think about them.... think about them realllly carefully. See where I'm going here. The songs, while not exactly identical, flow together rather nicely. While I was walking to work on Friday, I started thinking how I wished I was talented enough to record the two songs as a medley (reality check: I play a grand total of 0 musical instruments). I even had it all figured out where the tunes from each would switch back and forth. The songs even have some lyrical similarities with both touching on the matter of unrequited obsession.

I figured I couldn't be the first person ever to come up with this idea. So I googled the titles to both songs and the only joint results returned came from music databases. If someone else has made the connection they haven't written about it yet. So.....that's what I will do!

Life is a Soundtrack will focus on the nuances of pop music, both yesterday's and today's. I hope to put together some interesting lists (ideas in the works include "The Top 20 Best Produced Songs,"
"The Top 20 Greatest Remakes," and "The Top 20 Best Songs for Slow-Dancing ). We'll also have some thought-provoking pieces ("Were the Gin Blossoms influenced by The Grass Roots?"; "Why the WNEW-FM of the 1980's was the greatest station of all time") as well as trivia and concert reviews (including some retro-reviews). And yes, occasionally I may even get a little autobiographical and talk about how a certain song or group of songs defined a moment or phase (a la John Cusack in High Fidelity) and earned their personal place on the soundtrack of my life.

Oh, and we're not done talking about how songs like "That's All," have (inadvertently or not) borrowed from other tunes. In the near future I expect to revisit the issue in greater detail (Yes Britney, "Ooops, I Did it Again" sounds a little too much like Barbara Streisand's "Woman In Love." For what it's worth, I actually like your recording better).

While the blog will hold special appeal for music-geeks, radio-geeks and, especially chart-geeks, my aim is to make it fun for everybody. For right now I'm going to shoot for one solid post a month (on or around the 20th) and we'll see how it goes. Comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.

Exactly 22 years ago yesterday (Saturday June 19th, 1982) was my Bar Mitzvah and so exactly 22 years ago today (Sunday June 20th, 1982) was my Bar Mitzvah party. With the party starting around 1:30, you can guess what I was doing from 9-1. I had my ears glued to AM 66 WNBC (my how times have changed) as Casey Kasem counted down the 40 biggest hits of the week. This was actually a nice Bar Mitzvah present for me as I had just become a music (and chart) geek earlier in the year and, between my massive 8th Grade project and my Bar Mitzvah preparations, I hadn't had the chance to listen to AT 40 in its entirety in several weeks. I committed that week's list to memory and can even tell you that I said morning prayers from songs 23-20 and showered between songs 11-8 (I found out those songs from friends later on in the day).

I thought what better way to end this initial post than with a nod to yesteryear as well as a taste of some of L.I.A.S.'s things to come. So, according to Billboard Magazine, these were the 40 hottest songs in the land for the week ending June 19th, 1982:

#40 "Stone Cold"---Rainbow

#39 "Be Mine Tonight"---Neil Diamond

#38 "Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do"---Huey Lewis and The News

#37 "This Man Is Mine"---Heart

#36 "Abracadabra"---The Steve Miller Band

#35 "After The Glitter Fades"---Stevie Nicks

#34 "Keep The Fire Burnin'"---REO Speedwagon

#33 "Hold Me"---Fleetwood Mac

#32 "Personally"---Karla Bonoff

#31 "What Kind Of Fool Am I"---Rick Springfield

#30 "Still They Ride"---Journey

#29 "Forget Me Nots"---Patrice Rushen

#28 "Break It Up"---Foreigner

#27 "Do I Do"---Stevie Wonder

#26 "When It's Over"---Loverboy

#25 "Empty Garden"---Elton John

#24 "Without You"---Frankie and The Knockouts

#23 "Play The Game Tonight"---Kansas

#22 "Take Me Down"---Alabama

#21 "Any Day Now"---Ronnie Milsap

#20 "Only The Lonely"---The Motels

#19 "Man On Your Mind"---The Little River Band

#18 "I've Never Been To Me"---Charlene

#17 "Tainted Love"---Soft Cell

#16 "Caught Up In You"---.38 Special

#15 "867-5309/Jenny"---Tommy Tutone

#14 "Don't Talk To Strangers---Rick Springfield

#13 "Making Love"---Roberta Flack

#12 "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me"---Juice Newton

#11 "Body Language"---Queen

#10 "It's Going To Take A Miracle"---Deniece Williams

#9 "Hurts So Good"---John Cougar

#8 "Let It Whip"---The Dazz Band

#7 "Crimson And Clover"---Joan Jett and The Blackhearts

#6 "Heat Of The Moment"---Asia

#5 "Always On My Mind"---Willie Nelson

#4 "The Other Woman"---Ray Parker Jr.

#3 "Rosanna"---Toto

(COOL ANECDOTE: While introducing "Rosanna," Casey made the observation that there were a few elements of The Wizard of Oz in that week's countdown. There was Rainbow at #40; Kansas at #23 and then finally at #3 there was Toto.)

#2 "Don't You Want Me"---The Human League

And The Number One Song For The Week Ending June 19th, 1982 (Drumroll)

"EBONY AND IVORY" BY PAUL MCCARTNEY AND STEVIE WONDER

(Note to Cynics: Back issues of Billboard Magazine are available at the library for verification purposes)