17 January 2012 - The Bangles - Eternal Flame

I know my co-author knows this song well.  We once sang the song as a duet at a wedding.  Our friends Mike and Lisa were married that day, and rather than the whole clinking-of-the-glasses thing, anyone who wanted the bride and groom to kiss had to belt out a romantic song.  Scott and I happened to both be in the wedding party and sat next to each other at dinner.  And we spent the entire meal 1. drinking and 2. trying to come up with the perfect song.  It was during dessert that we both had a eureka moment.  And we immediately belted it out.  And the bride and groom kissed. And we would NOT shut up.  I'm pretty sure we got through two verses.

I absolutely love The Bangles.  Perhaps the most underrated band in history.  Those four women were all excellent musicians, and at least three of them had the pipes to match their instrumental prowess.  Is this my favorite Bangles song?  No.  I absolutely hated the song when it was new.   But since that wedding, it's on my good list.

16 January 2012 - Dashboard Confessional - Screaming Infidelities

This is an odd choice for me, mostly because I don't really think of Dashboard Confessional as a "guilty pleasure," but I know plenty of people who would. I can't say I've been on board with DC since the beginning (I discovered their second album when they opened for the Get Up Kids years ago). While the heart on your sleeve lyrics may turn off some (and yes, I've heard the claims of him sounding whiny), I always found it refreshing. They have remained one of my favorite bands to see live...it's always a great experience to hear about 10,000 people singing every lyric (and while the person next to you may be tone deaf, it somehow sounds like the coolest choir ever). It goes without saying, but this video is from one of my favorite movies ever...

15 January 2012 - The Captain and Tennille - Love Will Keep Us Together.

This was a feel-good song in the era of Studio 54.  Clearly not in that scene, this real-life couple had the biggest hit of their career with this song, which also got them their own variety show.  The song also marked the return of the legendary Neil Sedaka, who wrote this song, except for the ad-libbed line at the end, "Sekada is back."  That was all Toni Tennille.

I saw them live in Rochester in 1997.  My brother-in-law (at the time - he isn't anymore) was (and still is) a huge fan of Toni Tennille.  After the show, I got to meet them.  Genuine, kind people.  I talked with the Captain about web site development for the better part of a half hour.

Now try not to clap along.

14 January 2012 - Mandy Moore - Senses Working Overtime

Years ago, my old office had an administrative assistant who listened to a lot of the same indie rock and alt stuff as I did at the time. Needless to say we got along smashingly. One day I was asking her a question and today's song was playing on her computer. I then had a non-work question: "who's this covering XTC?" She wisely asked if I liked it. I said, "yeah, it's pretty cool." She said, "It's Mandy Moore." I died a little inside that day. Fortunately, Mandy went on to marry Ryan Adams which of course made her cool in the eyes of hipsters everywhere (I'm certainly making that last part up). I should say though that her last two records: Wild Hope and Amanda Leigh are some damn fine folkie/pop.

13 January 2012 - Rebecca Black - Friday

You all asked for it.  I'm not one to ignore requests. Here it is.

I've written pretty extensively about this particular tune already over in my other blog not about curling.  Now if only @MsRebeccaBlack would follow me back....I will add this, however: To slag on Rebecca Black for the song's poor lyrics is a mistake.  She didn't write the song.  She merely did an earnest rendition of a poorly written song.

Please, let us know your thoughts in the comments.

12 January 2012 - Barenaked Ladies - One Week

Years ago I remember watching one of those VH-1 countdowns that they seemingly used to puke out every other month with an old friend. This one was about 100 women who rock. I forgot what number she was, but Jodi Mitchell was in this countdown (ROCK ON JODI!!!!). Anyway, they interviewed the Barenaked Ladies about Jodi (I suppose because they are both Canadian). One of the singer guys said and I quote: "Jodi really influenced our songwriting," to which my friend retorted, "Yes, I'm sure the line Chickity China the Chinese chicken, You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin' was a direct result of the Blue album." Well put old friend. Well put.

11 January 2011 - Vixen - Edge of a Broken Heart

Vixen was a group of women trying to make hard rock music in an era when that did not happen unless you were Lita Ford (who might be featured at a later date).  They succeeded where others had failed by 1. being a little bit better at playing their instruments than Warrant, 2. forgetting to get fully dressed for this particular video, and 3.naming themselves Vixen.

In all seriousness, despite their vampy look, they rocked hard and deserved a lot more respect than they got.  They're still around, too, although I don't think they dress like this anymore.