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bear

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Everything posted by bear

  1. HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD? A DEAD MEN GHOST WHORL Oh, wait...that's an anagram. Never mind.
  2. Thanks. It's good to be here. I was a member of another pretty sizeable music forum, but it devolved into a circus. 200 posts a day in the fun and games forum, 10 in music. So, I left. Anyway, moving on to the third entry in the thread, following the trend, I'm going back a little further, to 1970. What was going on then? Let's take a look, shall we? In 1970, the average cost of a gallon of gas was .36 cents, to fill the tank of your Plymouth Fury, which cost $3.600, right off the showroom floor. A new house would run you around $24,000, and you could mail a letter anywhere in the world for .06 cents. At the movies, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice & a bunch of stuff us kids weren't allowed to see, M*A*S*H gave us an ever-so-brief glimpse of Sally Kellerman's girl parts, George Lazenby made an even briefer appearance as 007, Patton slapped the crap out of some shell-shocked soldier, then apologized (without really apologizing). And the greatest soundtrack of all accompanied, in my opinion, the purest music movie ever, Woodstock. On the not quite boob, but getting there fast, tube, Josie and the Pussycats set the standard for little boys, like myself, who watched them every saturday morning, but weren't quite sure why they were so interesting. With Flip Wilson, what you saw was what you got, Mary Richards turned the world on with her smile, and the Partridge Family spawned Danny Bonaduce. The music scene was pretty darned good. 1970's freshman class* included Queen,The Doobie Brothers, Stxy, and ELO (*meaning they formed, not necessarily releasing anything) Some pretty darned good albums: George Harrison ~ All Things Must Pass Neil Young ~ After the Goldrush The Beatles ~ Let It Be Black Sabbath ~ Paranoid Janis Joplin ~ Pearl James Brown ~ Sex Machine The Doors ~ Morrison Hotel Simon decided he was just about tired of carrying Garfunkel, and went on his own (kinda like George Michael and that other Wham guy, only 20 years earlier) The Monkees, still imitating the Beatles, broke up. (actually, I rather like a bunch of Monkees songs) On the charts, the above mentioned Simon and Garfunkel's last effort, Bridge over Troubled Water, was number one, The carpenters longed to be close to you, the Jackson 5 sang their ABCs, and coming in at Number One on the charts the week of April 27, 1970, we had... The Ides of March ~ Vehicle A great, ballsy, crunchy song I've always loved, and invariably makes the cut on any 70's mix cd I burn. The Ides of March were born in 1964, in a basement in Berwyn, Illinois. Originally a guitars , bass and drums band, they later added a horn section. 'Vehicle' was written by Jim Peterik*. A lot of people think the song is about a dark perv, trying to lure girls into his car, but in actuality, it was written about an ex-girlfriend of Peterik, who, after their breakup, continued to call him and ask for rides here and there and everywhere. Peterik says he finally got fed up and told her "I'm just your vehicle", and it clicked with him. Instead of writing the whole story: From Songfacts This is really a great song. The horn section is simply spot-on pure energy, and rivals anything Tower of Power or Chicago ever did. (Early Chicago, not that 80's crap, after Peter Cetera castrated them). Anyway, give it a listen, and be sure and crank it up!! http://www.yousendit.com/download/QlVpSkhlcTIzMWswTVE9PQ * after doing some research, I have found out a lot about Jim Peterik. this guy has been ariound for 40 years in the music business. Before Ides, he was in a band called the Chitown Hustlers (I couldn't find any music on line), and after Ides, he founded Survivor (Eye of the Tiger), then was with .38 Special for a long time, cowriting a bunch of their hits (Wild Eyed Southern Boys, Hold on Loosely, Rockin' Into the Night, Caught Up in You, Fantasy Girl, among others). In 1990, Jim reunited with Ides, then in 1993, went back to Survivor. In 1997, back to Ides, where's he's been ever since. They still tour. The Ides of March, 1970: 2007:
  3. cleat tach (because I'm not sure which game we're playing)
  4. well, that's true enough, but I was going for pop charts. I guess I should have clarified that from the beginning.
  5. This, and Elton John's first G.H. album, were the first two I ever own, ever. I prefer the 71-75 album as well. The 71-75 album stands the test of time, to this day, 30 years later. The Eagles were great storytellers. They could capture a person's emotions and circumstance in a few lines. From Lyin' Eyes: She gets up an’ pours herself a strong one, an’ stares out at the stars up in the sky. Another night it’s gonna be a long one, she draws the shade and hangs her head to cry. She wonders how it ever got this crazy, she thinks about a boy she knew in school. Did she get tired, or did she just get lazy, she’s so far gone she feels just like a fool. A stark picture painted of a woman trapped by her own design. The line 'she thinks about a boy she knew in school', is especially poignant, because for a second, she's taken bakc to a time when she was free.
  6. I dig the Beatles. Hello Goodbye, Penny Lane, Blackbird, Rocky Racoon. Good stuff. And I agree about their later stuff. It was experimental, as was their drug usage at the time. Very creative stuff done in the studio later in their career. Sure, at first, they were a grutiars and bass and drums band. But if you listen to their later efforts (i.e., Abbey Road, The White Album, Magical Mystery Tour, Sgt. Pepper), they went everywhere with their music. Glockenspiels, violins, cellos, trombones, timpani, fench horns, congas, tambouras, accordians, piccolos, flutes, flugewlhorns, just to name a few. they we're lazy when it came to thier music. Here's a great site I found, detailing their studio sessions: Beatles in the Studio
  7. Rats. scratch this one off my Weekly one hit wonder list. I was beaten to the draw. a great song.
  8. bear

    Schoolhouse Rock!

    Zero, My Hero. Interjections!!! I Am Just a Bill.
  9. The song also features hammer-ons, or tapping, or whatever you want to call it, a sound everyone seems to think Eddie Van Halen invented with Eruption.
  10. Of all the concerts I've been to, Boston had the best sound. It was like listening to your stereo, only really, really loud. No distortion or hum or anything but full, rich music. Believe it or not, the second best show I've ever been to, sound-waise, was Madonna.
  11. they'll be sent back to the prop room, like Tom and Nicole's kids.
  12. You know, this woman has emotional problems. There's no way she should be permitted to adopt a child. On that subject, it's really irksome the way these bis stars go about this. Angelina, does that camera crew live with you? You, the one that is always there when you visit third world countries? Or are they just there, waiting for a celeb to show up? And on the subject of Mariah, she has great range, no doubt, but I don't think she's a great singer. Every song doesn't have to show off her incredible range. "Look, look, how many notes I can cram into a single syllable! Oh, and by the way, there's some drums and stuff, too, but i'm the most important" She has no subtlety whatsoever. It's splatter her voice everywhere. No control, no understanding that her voice is part of the song, same as the drums, keyboards, guitar, etc. She just doesn't get it. It's ok to show off your capabilities, sure. But good grief, enhance the song, don't smother it. Give me Tracy Chapman, Dinah Washington, Etta James, Steve Perry, and singers like that. They understand how to make a song better, with their voice, stepping out to take the lead, and stepping back to fill the song, for the sake of the song. Mariah just starts bellowing and doesn't stop for the entire song, crushing everything but her precious voice under her diva heel. Bah!
  13. I can't dance, but this is one of those songs that makes me want to. Plus, it's a great video. I love the vamp.
  14. I think those two, and 'Dark Lady' are her best. Then she got all weird. "If I could turn back time, I'd probably date a fetus"
  15. bear

    The Police

    amen. I looked around for the show in Philly. 800-1200 bucks. As if. I've always loved the Police. Sychronicity is a brilliant piece of work. (Except for Mother, which is bunk)
  16. Hey, I like this stuff. Their influences are clearly evident. Pink Floyd, Zep, Cream, Blue Cheer. It's all in there. Angel could be on a Zep album. I Want More sounds like 19th Nervous Breakdown AND My Generation. Pretty cool. It's got a real rough, distorted edge.
  17. I believe the last 8 track I ever bought was Ted Nugent ~ Free For All. Did anyone else do the matchbook shoved under the 8 track?
  18. Trick shots in bowling. I guess as long as they don't start spiking the ball...
  19. Ok, and off we go, to 1974. At the theaters, Mel ruled the roost with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstien, and disater fims were all the rage, with The Towering Inferno, Airport 1975, and Earthquake grossing big at the box office. Sequels also made money, as Herbie the Love Bug rode again, Billy Jack went to trial, and unbelievably, Godfather II was even better than the first. On the Boob Tube, Florida Evans left her job as Maude's maid and let the Good Times roll. (I never could figure out how a woman living in the projects of Chicago commuted all the way to New York to clean house). The spinoofs continued, with Rhoda leaving the apartment above Mary's, (she was finer than Mary, I think), President Nixon resigned Live!, on tv. Happy Days debuts, and within a few years, Fonzie turns into a cartoon of, well, himself. Other debuts in 1974 included The Rockford Files, Policewoman, Chico and the Man, and one of the coolest saturday morning shows ever, The Land of the Lost. (Sleestacks scared the crap out of me). Monty Python's Flying Circus airs it's final episode in the UK, and debuts on American TV. In music, The Doobs release 'What Once Were Vices Are Now Bad Habits' (a great title), spawning the hit 'Black Water' (which, if I remember correctly reading somewhere, was a B-side). The Captain and Tenille got married. Cher files for divorce. The Ramones play their very first concert in New York. Peter Wolf marries Faye Dunaway. (Wow! I did not know that!). Some self titled debut album released in 1974: Bad Comany Kansas Badfinger Kiss Rush And speaking of self titled debut albums, that brings me to the next one hit wonder, the Scottish band... Pilot and their one hit wonder, Magic Their debut album, Pilot, was produced by Alan Parsons. The band members were: David Paton: Bass Billy Lyall: Keyboard Stuart Tosh: Drums Ian Bairnson: Guitar Some of these names (Paton and Lyall), you may recognize from another Scottish band, The Bay City Rollers. The song was poppy, fun, bubblegum fare. I liked it a lot, though, and still do to this day. The song reached #11 in the UK, but made it all the way to #4 on the Billboard charts. They did have another hit in the UK, 'January', which went all the way to #1, but for the purposes of this thread, I'm sticking to the US charts. They had a few other songs that charted, 'Call Me Round', & 'Just A Smile', but they were very, very minor, and barely made a sound. Not that I could find, anyway. The video. (I didn't know there was one!!!) In 1977, with only two members remaining(Paton and Bairson), Pilot released their 4th and final album. Their discography: Pilot (From the Album of the Same Name) - (1974) Second Flight - (1975) Morin Heights - (1976) Two's a Crowd - (1977) 1978 came along, and Tosh, Paton, and Bairnson became members of The Alan Parsons Project. Tosh also worked with 10cc.
  20. I didn't think this song would ever end when it came out. The only thing worse was his 'Hot Legs'.
  21. This entire album is pretty good. It was more poppy, relaxing on the whole prog rock thing. Shorter songs, more melodic. This is one of those albums that will always remind me of a very specific place and time. I was stationed in Germany from 83 to 85, and did a 45 day stretch of guard duty, and I had two cassettes. This one, and a Great White* one. I must have listened to them on the headphones, easily, a couple hundred times apiece. Leave It is probably my favorite cut from the 90125 album. (the title of the album, for anyone who doesn't know, is actually the release number, or serial number, or catalogue number, of the album. I'm not sure what they call it, really) *The Great White album, which I bought in Germany, didn't have a title, and I don't know that it was ever released in the US. It was a rocker, though. Not that Once Bitten p*ssy crap. This album rocked. Some of the cuts I remember were Out of the Night, Bad Boys, Down on Your Knees. Man, I wish I could find that tape.
  22. I aced it. Slash needs to ditch the cig and tophat thing, still. It was silly then, and it's silly now. Poison sure was purty. 80's hair metal contributed absolutely nothing of substance to music, did they?
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