6 February 2013 - Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl

I remember when this song first came out in the 80's.  I was too young to understand that it was such a deep and eloquent song about jealousy.  All I knew is that that guy was on the soap opera that my mother watched and now he was singing.

General Hospital, people.

The song is quick-building, with most of the story-telling done in the first minute and fifteen seconds.  Go ahead.  Watch the timer.  The song isn't just about jealousy, though - it's about how great Rick Springfield is.  A straight-ahead rock anthem, it's a complexly structured song with a simple hook.

It also won Rick Springfield a Grammy.



In 1999, Rick rerecorded the song as an acoustic tune.  It seems just a little dirtier in this version.  I don't know why.  But here - enjoy it.

5 February 2013 - Sunny Sweeney - Staying's Worse Than Leaving

Well, since Scott is away on vacation, I get to fill in for his posts over here.   So, I figured I'd better find some contemporary country music.

Luckily, there's some of this music that is also pleasurable to me.  Each of us has posted a Sunny Sweeney song before (him at Christmas, and me as part of a Kasey Chambers double bill), so it seemed appropriate that, as Scott has left for a sunny - pun completely intended - vacation destination, and I'm staying here in this bitter cold, that I post this tune.

I'll put this plainly - Sunny Sweeney is the most genuine country artist today, in dealing with her fans, and that genuinity - is that a word? - is clearly reflected in her music.  And... she's nominated for at least one ACM award this year - New Female Vocalist (although we are a bit puzzled by this "new" things - so here's hoping bigger things are coming.

4 February 2013 - Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy

This might be the campiest song ever released. It was, however, intended to be that way, as a slight jab at the fashion industry.

But it's also a well-constructed song, with a cold ending, which is hard to pull off.  Instantly quotable, instantly danceable, instantly posable.  Musically, it's complex, which makes sense, because the Fairbrass brothers at the center of Right Said Fred are accomplished musicians outside of the band.



Recently, the brothers have redone the song, with slight musical changes.  See if you notice.  They kept the cold close, though.

3 February 2013 - Super Bowl Special - The 1985 Chicago Bears - The Super Bowl Shuffle

What better way to celebrate this Super Bowl than to enjoy this classic tune recorded before Super Bowl XX?  That day in 1986, when I was the only one in the room not rooting for the Patriots, is the first Super Bowl I actually remember.  And it was gleeful - arguably the greatest victory in Super Bowl history.

Which is why they have the greatest Super Bowl music video in history.  Sure, it looks like Walter Payton and Jim McMahon didn't show up for the original shoot, but it's still brilliant.  And, as the late, great Sweetness said, "We're not doing this because we're greedy.  The Bears are doing this to feed the needy."

So, watch the video and enjoy the game!

1 February 2013 - Miranda Cosgrove - Dancing Crazy

Sometimes, I'm even embarrassed to say I like a song.  But, this is Wicked Guilty Pleasures, right?

Miranda Cosgrove is best known as the titular Carly from the Nickelodeon television show iCarly.  I'm a little sad that I know that.  Like that show, this song is harmless, lighthearted fun. But it's more than that.  It's well-constructed, with a lot of different-sounding sections that all remain equally danceable.  She might have a long career in entertainment ahead of her.



Oh, and she ain't the best singer in the world - I get it.  That's not what this blog is about. She's not bad, though. Proof: here she is live, complete with a couple of pitchy spots.  It happens, but she holds it together, by not bailing on the song.  Even in the rough spots - mostly at high notes - she retains her stage presence and engages the audience.



And, since we're talking about iCarly, here's the famous Spaghetti Tacos scene. Enjoy.

31 January 2013 - Bon Jovi - Runaway

C'mon, I know you've all been missing it, so for one week only . . . IT'S THE RETURN OF HAIR METAL THURSDAY!!!

Here's some classic Bon Jovi for no good reason. I was going to post the Bad Medicine video if only because Sam Kinison is in it, but Runaway is a much cooler tune ("cooler" of course being a very relative term).

30 January 2012 - When In Rome - The Promise

Sometimes, a song is a pleasure from first listen.  Sometimes, it takes a little longer for me.

I hated - HATED - this song when it was new.  It was 1988.  I was 16.  And this song didn't connect to me and it didn't interest me and it bored me.  But, at the time, I was just starting to understand music outside the mainstream, and this was probably too close to the border between mainstream and alternative for me to understand.

But now, I appreciate song structure and lyrical creativity a little more.  This song starts with a piano melody that reprises throughout, but has a very contemporary-sounding (for 1988) electronic beat as the base of the song.  Two men - Clive Farrington and Andrew Mann, specifically - harmonize throughout.  It's considered a classic song, because it is structured just like this, combining electronica with harmonized vocals.

And that chorus! Intensely catchy (and a little creepy)!