It soon rolls around again, and with the rain finally past us (Fingers and Toes crossed) the pub may start to fill up again both on the inside as well as the smokers on the outside. This week was OK a bit of a slow, well non starter really. As you will see from Shaun's Blog we only got a handful of songs in tonight, unlike the newbie who got all four of his in despite being asleep for most of the night!. Ah well not to worry, at least it gives me the chance to ramble on about other inane drivel to fill up this weeks space with.
Now I have been accused of spamming other bloggers to get my readership up, and although I have done a little of this, some of these other blogs are quite, well, strange. You do get the occasional good read though. You can also come across the odd widget or add on for your blog page, all of which comes in very handy. All in all though it amazes me just how many people do write these things. Some are very good, some are very funny, some are just plain weird, but each to their own I say. Hayley didn't think I would of stuck to mine for as long as I have, but I love my little weekly delve into publishing. It's not all about spouting off your views, but its a great way to keep a diary of your life I suppose. In a way blogging has become the 21st centuries diary, especially if you read some of the other blogs out there. If you ever have a spare minute click on a few next blog links at the top of the page and have a read of some of these other pages. You may not always get a good one but if you look you will eventually find a gem!
Now on my blog travels I have also find a couple of links for blog directories. The best so far is BRITBLOG.COM. If you click on the link you can search through all the registered blogs in the U.K. and some ex-pats around the globe. You also get the nifty little flag to place in the sidebar! (Mine is right at the bottom of my side-bar) If you get a U.S. blogger there is the same kind of thing to get registered over on there blog listings too, but the U.K. one is for me! Now you also get to read blogs by people who, for whatever reason, have found the time to find some absolutely cracking YouTube videos, even funnier than the ones you post up Shaun! So as I feel it my duty to bring these amusing videos to you here is a couple of the best I have found so far.
First up is the amazing Chinese Back Street Boys. These lads have been knocking around on YouTube for ages, and the amount of hits they get is unreal. Now the quality is not the best, but the lip-sinc by these guys is unbelievable. They have even got themselves a T.V. deal out of this in China, and they advertise for such giants as Pepsi. All this from a pair of student's pissing about on YouTube! Anyway here it is so enjoy.
Next up is equally impressive, and another gem from our Asian friend's. This time it is from a...get this Filipino jail with 1500 inmates dancing to the Micheal Jackson 'Thriller' music, doing the routines to a very high standard. Now it does look a little put on I admit, but if it's real then what a blast this little bugger is. They have also filmed sequel's as well which I will bring you on a slow Blog week in the future...... to much of a good thing will spoil you. Anyway here it is so enjoy....
Now I know I did just say too much of a good thing will spoil you, but on my search for the above video I found an even better one! So too much of a good thing... no way bugger it here you go more funny stuff. Again its a Michael Jackson take off of the ' Thriller ' video. This one speaks for itself. Its the video done in Lego form. Brilliant stop-go animation. And it is is true to the original video, if you don't believe me just look at the werewolf transformation and the big Zombie dance routine, they are priceless. Sit back and relax folks its a long one, but worth every minute....
Now I could go on with these for ages. All three had me in stitches, especially the Lego one. Now the first two are from checking out other blogs, but the Lego is my contribution to the 'I've found something funny on YouTube and your all going to see it' file. Much more to come I'm sure in the future.....
Now with enough space filled up this week, it's time for this weeks songs. As I said earlier not many sang this week, only three i fact, but three good ones. They were 1. Union Of The Snake by Duran Duran 2. Hand Enough by The Enemy and 3. Something Beautiful by Robbie Williams.
Union Of The Snake by Duran Duran link
A little change of direction to start off with this week with this 80's classic. Now not taking the michael in anyway but my good lady wife was not even 2 year's old when this little ditty came out, so unsurprisingly I don't think she was to familiar with it. It is in my opinion one of the best tracks Simon Le Bon wrote. There was a lot of speculation among fans and critics as to what the song actually means. Some think it references a cult or military organisation. Others believe that the song is about the darker side of humanity and that the 'snake' represents the evil taking control of a person. This is somewhat strengthened by the chorus: "The Union of the Snake is on the climb, moving up, it's gonna race, gonna break through the borderline". The borderline is that between good and evil and evil is beginning to take over. Simon Le Bon hinted in the Duran Duran lyric book The Book of Words, that the borderline might be one between the conscious and subconscious minds. In later interviews he admitted it was a reference to Tantric sex. I love the old 80's stuff and I hope to spark a mini revival in the next few weeks. on the night rating 7/10
Had Enough by The Enemy link
Well from the old to the new, the very new. This is a great track by a great new British band. Way back in February when myself and Shaun went to see The Fratellis in Birmingham, The Enemy were the support band, and my review of them was well lets say a little critical, but in six months, some constant radio airplay, and with a change of heart from me, they are now blooming into a brilliant young band. They recently supported The Fratellis, Kasabian, Ash and Manic Street Preachers on their UK tours. They have since begun their own UK tour and in-store signings to promote their current single, "Had Enough", as well as their recently released album, We'll Live and Die in these Towns.The band were formerly known as Bridges and as Bridges they held the title of BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Band of the Month in July 2005. In 2006 the band were the opening act of the Godiva festival, and again played the event in July 2007, second headliners beneath the Super Furry Animals. In June 2007, The Enemy played twice at Glastonbury Festival, played the 'Guardian lounge' on Saturday and the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night of T In The Park in the 'Futures' tent on the 7th July. On July 16, 2007 the band's debut album: We'll Live and Die in these Towns went straight to Number 1 in the UK Albums chart on release.
The Enemy have been confirmed as headliners of the 2007 NME Rock N Roll Riot Tour, to be conducted during September and October. on the night rating 8/10
Something Beautiful by Robbie Williams link
Short and sweet line up of songs this week, and I ended tonight with a request from Tina (Thanks hon) and the wife (See me later for a flogging!). I suppose I don't mind the Robbie stuff. He is a Vale fan after all, and he did make the majority of his song right smack bang in my vocal range. It's like we come from the same town or something... spooky! The video of the song featured a casting in which people from all over Europe contested to win the chance to perform as Robbie Williams at the end of the same video. The first part of the video shows many fans trying to impress the jury of the contest (one of which is identified to be Robbie's father), which finally selects 3 finalists: Peter, Rebecca and Bjorn. The second part of the video shows the preparation of those three participants to appear in the video, learning from a dance teacher how to dance like Robbie Williams and also some of the Celebrity status they get as finalist of the contest, with an interview in a radio station and a stay in a luxury hotel room. The final part of the video shows the live performances of the three finalists, each representing a different stage in the career of Robbie Williams.
The first version of the video ended inviting the viewers to vote at the Robbie Williams' website for who they thought was the best performer. The second version of the video ended with one of the finalists meeting Robbie Williams at a Bus stop as the winner of the contest. The one who meets Robbie varies from country to country. However, none knew that they would be meeting Robbie and the bus stop so their surprise is genuine!
This video shows some influence by Reality shows, specially X-Factor, and is one of the few which has two different endings. on the night rating 8/10
There you go then gang short and sweet. Next week will hopefully have a few more tracks to write about, including hopefully a My Chemical Romance song and the new one by the fabulous Biffy Clyro. Now I did promise a review of the new Simpson's movie which is now out on general release, and all will happen in the next few days folks so stay patient, but as usual to end on a Homer high note, here is his quote of the week. Ta Ra me hearties......
"I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to speed around a city, keeping its speed over fifty and if its speed dropped, it would explode! I think it was called ... "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."
Homer J Simpson
Thursday 26th July
Thursday 19th July
Stop Blowing Holes In My Ship
Hello there gang. Welcome to any new readers that have joined us. I have been secretly posting notes on all manner of Blogs this week hoping for some new readers (It Pays To Advertise!) and along with my mini article on the KJ Forum website, it has brought in a couple of newbies to our blog, so welcome and thanks for reading to Andrea and Sketch, and to the others who haven't left a message. But as you can see on the sidebar this week I have included a message box (Thanks Again Shaun!) for your comments so don't be afraid to say hello and drop us a line.
So this week, as Shaun had informed us he was to be a little late as he was out with his work colleagues, it was again my duty to start taking down the songs sang on my little notepad. He did eventually make it up to us and had time to throw in a couple of tunes. It was yet again a bit thin on the ground with singers this week so for the first time in ages I managed to get six songs in. Now the Smoking Ban has come into place in Smoke Free England it appears that most of the regulars seem to spend the night all perched on one of the tables outside the main entrance of the pub. This, on any normal summer night, would be ok, but with our current weather it can't be all that fun for them. Talk about civil rights is banded about all to often nowadays, and this is not really a civil rights issue, but is it the first on a long road towards stopping the working class from having any fun at all! It cost a fortune to drink in these pubs, it cost a packet to smoke, unless you get them from off your hols in the duty free, and more and more people are now keeping away from pubs as they find it more fun to sit at home drinking from the same bottles of lager/cider/wine/spirits for a fraction of the cost. As a non smoker I welcomed the smoking ban with open arms, but many others seem to make a point in staying outside the pubs for the duration of the night (not the Hotel by the way), and in some places, intimidating passers by with smokers and drunken louts upsetting the locals. Surely this has backfired on the publicans somewhat, who cannot please everyone, but have to now contend with rising beer prices, cheap beer from supermarkets and now locals complaining to them about smokers! I think that today's Blog has got about as political as it will ever get, but wouldn't it be nice to please everyone all over the time instead of nobody any of the time! Right rant over on to this weeks splendid song list!
So tonight's rather longer than usual song list for me is as follows. 1. Does Your Mother Know by ABBA {ZMP016-12} 2. Somewhere In My Heart by Aztec Camera {SF137-08} 3. Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies {TH0708-07} 4. Old Black & Blue Eyes by The Fratellis {XX166} 5. Old Habits Die Hard by Mick Jagger {MM06496} AND 6. You Can't Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones {SC8964-08}
Does Your Mother Know by ABBA link
Yes its an ABBA song but it is an ABBA song with a difference. It is the only ABBA song not to have lead vocals sang by Agnetha and Anni-Frid but by the two guys in the band Benny and Bjorn. Does that really make a difference to this song....well no not really, but it does give myself and Andy a chance to dust down our seventies gear and slip into something more comfortable! Well vocally that is! It is a great song to duet with, and amazingly, it was the first time we have sang this one this year. Thank god for those karaoke stats that Shaun provides. It a great show starting song, and one that I'm sure puts everyone in the mood for a good old sing song. on the night rating 7/10
Somewhere In Your Heart by Aztec Camera link
An old classic next up, and straight after the duet with Andy, so two in a row for me, as the singers had not got their confidence up yet, so it was left to me and Andy to get the party started, as it were. Its a late 80's classic this one from Glasgow indie rockers Aztec Camera. Lead singer Roddy Frame was the bands main songwriter, and is better known for his collaborations with other artists such as Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits and Mick Jones from The Clash. The band had a string of hits in the late 80's notably this one, Oblivious and Good Morning Britain. Frame is still performing today as a solo artist, but instead of his indie sound he is better known for his acoustic style. Great song and really easy to sing, although a bit repetitive after a while. on the night rating 7/10
Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies By Biffy Clyro link
I'd firstly like to take time out to dedicate this song to my Mum and Dad, who are lifelong fans of the Scottish rockers and lovingly refer to them as "Just Noise". Now as expected with any new music, almost the entire pub had never heard of Biffy Clyro, except for myself, Hayley and Chill. He did ask Andy to 'get with it and keep up with the scene' which gave us a laugh. Now as you will of read in previous blogs, I did get to see the band at Download earlier this year, and they were bloody brilliant. Although the band have always had a dedicated following and have been around since the mid-1990s as well as producing an EP and four albums, it is only in 2007 with their fourth album, Puzzle that they have found real commercial success. This album is seen as less heavy and experimental, and more widely accessible and has won wide critical acclaim. Puzzle has been championed on TV and radio, and Biffy have promoted it with a tour and many festival performances over the summer of 2007. Biffy's sound is a heavy but melodic mixture of guitar, bass and drums, with all three band members contributing to vocals. They are known for complex and interwoven guitar riffs, strums and melodies, that change many times within each track. As with the guitar riffs the vocals are also very complex, making it a tricky song to sing, but I loved it. Let me tell you, and I was right about The Darkness, these guy's are the next big thing, and Puzzle is a great album worth a listen. on the night rating 7/10
Old Black & Blue Eyes by The Fratellis link
Another great track from the Scottish rockers, although this one has not done quite as well as the rockier tracks, it is probably one of the best tracks off the brilliant album Costello Music. As usual we are weeks ahead of the karaoke companies, and this one is one of Shaunio the Geniuses contributions (watch out for more in the next few weeks). It is slightly more on the acoustic style, but it is a great song to sing along too. It is pointless now trying to knock the Frats off the most sang artist chart o the stats page, so if you can't beat them then you may as well join them, and I did love singing this one, as I do love the acoustic stuff. The band have just been on a heavy Festival season this year including Glastonbury, T in The Park and The Radio One Big Weekend, and have been extensively touring the U.S. where they have appeared at Lollapoluza and they opened for The Police in Philadelphia on July 19th, 2007. on the night rating 8/10
Old Habits Die Hard by Mick Jagger link
Now I only did this one as the songs I wanted to do tonight hadn't gone in the database yet, so I had to improvise, and the good lady wife put a request in for this one for me to sing, so here it is. And as it was sang by Mick Jagger, well there you go, not much arm twisting there then! The song was written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame, and was taken from the Alfie soundtrack from the updated version of the 60's classic, staring Jude Law, released in 2004. The song won the 2005 Golden Globe Award for best original song. Great vocals by Mick on this track. Two versions of the song were released, the solo version and a duet with Sheryl Crow. Again a song I have done before, but again the first time this year. on the night rating 7/10
You Can't Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones link
Yet another Stones classic to finish with tonight. This is definitely the longest one I have done so far, coming in at a whopping 8 minutes. Still you gets what you pay for in this game, and every minute was worth it, plus it gave Andy a well earned cigarette break. From the haunting choir at the start of the track, the single french horn in the background, and the brilliant lyrics by Jagger and Richards, this is one of the best Stones tracks ever. Written in 1968 and released on the Let It Bleed album in 1969, the track quickly became one of the Stones classics, and is still a firm favourite at the live gig's today (Take Note Wifey). The track was named 100 in the Rolling Stone magazines 'Top 500 song's of all time' poll in 2004. The song has also been used extensively in several top rated U.S. tv shows such as Nip/Tuck. A great way to end off any night of karaoke. on the night rating 9/10
So another bunch of great tracks again this week, all of which I got through with very little problem's, apart from the lack of Biffy Clyro fans in all was well. I really must educate these people more! Next week I do hope to do the song's that I had practiced for this week, as they do involve a couple of classics, and with the Stones teetering on the brink of the top of the most individual song's by an artist chart, I will need to bring in another Stones classic, a couple of which I am working on this week.
Now of course this week is the last week before the greatest blockbuster movie of all time is released 'The Simpsons' movie. Over the last few months Homer has been dropping his words of wisdom at the end of the Blog, and his best of clips have been thrust upon you at every opportunity. The hype from this film has been huge, and of course, as I'm sure you will all expect, a blog will feature on the epic after I have seen it. So in traditional fashion I will leave you with the final theatrical trailer for the film, and one of Homers little words of wisdom for you to dwell upon. Until the next time folks Ta Ra...........
" Homer's Answering Machine - Hello. You've reached the home of who ever you are calling. We can't take your call right now because we're at Moe's Tavern with a frosty mug of Duff beer. Mmm…Duff. Please leave a message at the beep and we'll call you back if there isn't a good wrestling match on TV. Beep. D'oh! "
Homer J Simpson
Thursday 12th July
Its here again folks, another dose of karaoke fun for you to get your lips around. It was back to the quite night again this week with not a lot of singers in at all, leaving Shaun and myself to pick up the slack again! It was the first time that the smoking ban seemed to have an effect on the night as well. At one point there were more people outside smoking than inside singing, and Nicky only did three songs!
Now as we are a few weeks into the vote for the most popular song of the year I think it is fair to give an update this week. Def Leppard is, at the moment, running away with the lead, followed by Sam Cooke. Now as I can see it, some unfair voting has been going on with certain bloggers trying to sway the vote to Def Leppard by posting the video on line and threatening kittens! Vote 'rigging' will be frowned upon by the adjudicating committee (well the wife!) and if the Lep's win my life will be hell! So to all who have voted so far many thanks. To all who haven't yet voted, then scroll down and vote or click on the post link in the sidebar. Remember you can vote more than once, just not on the same day, and please vote for the other songs, I wanted to do a Stones track of Linkin Park. Also you could purchase the " I'm Voting for __________ " T-Shirt at my T-Shirt Emporium. And if you need any encouragement to vote at all then remember Vote or the puppy gets it!
Now onto tonight's songs. This week I sang four new songs and one that I thought was a fast version but ended up a slow version. So the songs this week were 1. Times Like These by Foo Fighters (MM6390-05) 2. Numb by Linkin Park (THR0401-11) 3. Let Her Cry by Hootie And The Blowfish (SC2033-03) 4. I'd Wait For Life by Take That (EZI010-05) and finally 5. Desperado by The Eagles (ZMP040-08)
Times Like These by Foo Fighters link
First song of the night and I really wanted to rock the place up a bit, but instead of the fast version I got the slow acoustic version that I love, but tonight this one kind of broke my mojo a bit. Great song and I have sang this one before although not this year. After the bands great performance at Live Earth I really got the Foo Fighter rock groove going and wanted to belt this one out but I picked the wrong number so ended up feeling a bit like a damp squib! Never mind I enjoyed singing it just the same, and this weeks link is to the fantastic Live Earth performance. Rock On! on the night rating 3/10
Numb by Linkin Park link
Well at least this one was the rock version of this classic Linkin Park song. Thanks to Shaun for posting it me on X-News, giving me time to practise at home. Not the easiest of Linkin Park's tracks to sing, but I managed to give it a good go, and I felt it went really well.Numb is about how young people feel pressure in being able to live up to many expectations, especially parents. The lyrics 'all I want to do; is be more like me and be less like you' show the much demanded freedom that most underage people feel. This was the third song from Meteora, and was the bands biggest hit from the album. It features mainly Chester's vocals, with Mike only rapping a couple of lines on the track, during the chorus and during the bridge at the end of the track. It is also one of the bands best videos, filmed in Prague. on the night rating 8/10
Let Her Cry by Hootie & The Blowfish link
A little known song by a little known band. The band was formed in 1989 and released two EP's before making it big with the 1994 release 'Cracked Rear View' which had the better know track 'Only Wanna Be With You' on it. The band have a great blues style to them, and are very much easy listening. Lead singer Darius Rucker has a very distinctive voice, with overtones of the great Blues singers of the past. Not really a band that were ever going to make it big in the U.K. but a lot of their music has been used in many U.S. television shows such as E.R. Friends and the C.S.I shows, and they even had a mention on the Simpson's once. on the night rating 5/10
I'd Wait For Life by Take That link
Well I have been looking forward to this one since the boy's released it a few weeks back. It is one of the best tracks off the latest album. Definitely a different pace to the song than the other tracks released so far, 'Patience' and 'Shine', but in proper Take That tradition, it is a brilliant ballad written by Gary Barlow. The song only reached number 17 in the U.K. charts, and is the first song since 'I Found Heaven' in 1992 not to reach the top ten. It is slower than the usual Take That song's but I think the vocal on the track is brilliant, in fact one of the best by Gary Barlow in a long time, but maybe the fact it is more him than the rest of the band is the reason it didn't chart so well. This Easy Hits version is the first one out, and I'm hoping the Sunfly version might bring it to a wider audience. Great song, deserves to be heard more often. on the night rating 7/10
Desperado by The Eagles link
A complete change of musical direction for me for my final song tonight. I have always loved the original by The Eagles, but I was moved to do this track after the cover by Journey South, whose X-Factor cover I have linked above, and especially as it is one of Hayley's favourites by the band. Although it is one of the bands signature tunes, it was never released as a single. It has been covered by countless artists in its time other than Journey South, such as Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt and The Carpenters. It is a typical type of song by the Eagles, in the rock/country style, and has that great cowboy feel to it. A great song to end the night off with. on the night rating 6/10
So as another night draws to a close, another five great new tracks to add to my ever growing list of songs for the year. I am growing ever nearer to the one hundred different songs sang this year, so if anyone has any suggestions on what the momentous song should be feel free to let me know in the comments box. At least it won't be Let's Get Rocked!
Now as you all know I do have a small Simpson's fanatic side to me, but in know way can I be held responsible for what has gone on at the 'Cerne Abbas' hill in Dorset, to promote the new film. A giant Homer brandishing a doughnut has been painted by the side of the Cerne giant, the famous chalk man carved into the side of the hill. It's all legal and above board, and the paint is biodegradable as to not damage the environment, but its not permanent unfortunately, and will wash away in the rain, so it probably gone now! Surely after all these years the locals are bored of that giant with his knob out and at least Homer has a towel on! I vote to keep Homer on the hill and put some pants on the giant knob as it's very off putting to young children! Until next time folks.......see ya!
"Marge, I'm going to miss you so much. And it's not just the sex. It's also the food preparation."
Homer J Simpson
Captain Jack Gets Rated
I always knew it would happen one day. My blog has received a rating from a fellow blogger, and due to the adult? content I have been deemed a R-rated restriction blog. Bloody foreigners!!!!!
Thursday 5th July
Get your groove on, New Shiny Shoes On!!!
- 21st August O2 Arena London - Rolling Stones All done on this one now, tickets coming soon, and just to decide on bus or train to get there.
- 4th September Carling Academy B'ham - Chris Cornell Looks like a defo for the ex Soundgarden frontman after his Hyde Park showing.
- 29th September Regent Theatre Hanley - We Will Rock You The West End comes to Stoke with the Ben Elton Queen inspired musical coming for a run at the Regent.
- 23rd October Wolves Civic Hall - Bowling For Soup Could be a good one with the band on tour with Bloodhound Gang
- 27th October Carling Academy B'ham - Ash Last time I saw Ash they supported The Darkness and were brill, very tempting
- 11th November N.E.C. B'ham - Stereophonics Last time I saw the Welsh rocker's was the last time I saw Aerosmith, and they were just starting out then!
- 13th November Carling Academy B'ham - Biffy Clyro Dubbed 'Just Noise' by my mum and dad, who have seen them twice now support The Stones. Would like to see them again after their great performance at Download.
- 22nd November Carling Acadeny B'ham - Thin Lizzy Would be nice to see the band, even if without Phil Lynott, God Rest His Soul!
- 27th November Wolves Civic Hall - Thunder A defo on the list. Not seen them for years now, and they are always guaranteed to be brilliant, Rock God's
- 8th December N.E.C. B'ham - Status Quo As it's not likely I'll see them at Trentham, due to being on my hol's, good chance to see the wrinkly rockers, and a great way to end the year off!
Now I'm not expecting to have to bore you with gig reviews of all the above on the list, but I at least expect to get at least four of them in. Of course that is dependent on other factors! Like if anyone else fancies any of them! Nudge Nudge Wink Wink! But joking apart these are pretty much all going to be great nights, and who knows it may educate the old Brit Rock non-believers.
Anyway then on to the nights songs. As I was informed by Shaun earlier on in the night, The Stones were just two songs behind the most different songs by an artist stat with 9 [Elvis and The Beatles are on 11] so with that in mind I was determined to make them top tonight. So without further ado my song choice's tonight were 1. King Of Emotion by Big Country (SFMW888-03) 2. Mixed Emotions by The Rolling Stones (SC8820-13) 3. You Got Me Rocking by The Rolling Stones (SC8820-09) and finally 4. Wild Horses by you've guessed it the Rolling Stones (SC8964-13).
King Of Emotion by Big Country link
I was so glad when this one came out on the latest sunfly most wanted disc. These were a great band in their time, and were probably one of the loudest band's I ever saw. I watched them at the Victoria Hall in Hanley in the late 80's and they were so loud I thought my head was about to explode, and it felt like my ears were bleeding! Not bad for a Scottish Folk Band. This was one of the bands biggest hits and were well known for their other tracks like 'Look Away', ' In A Big Country' , 'Peace In Our Time' and 'One Great Thing'. Sadly the groups main songwriter and frontman Stuart Adamson committed suicide on 16th December 2001 in Hawaii. The most interesting fact about the band is despite the heavy Scottish influence, not one member of the band was born in Scotland! Its was a good song to start off with, nice and easy to get to grips with, despite not a lot of practice. on the night rating 7/10
Mixed Emotions by The Rolling Stones link
First of three from the band tonight, and Hayley's and the Hotels Stones education gets a huge Stones boost tonight. This is a real rocky effort from the band, and is one of the band's biggest U.S. hits to date, getting to number 6 when it was released in 1989. Taken from the album Steel Wheels, the tour of the same name, established the band as the biggest touring band on the planet. It was a 115 gig tour, including 5 nights at Wembley. On the last night of the tour on 25th August 1990, Bill Wyman played for the last time on tour with the band just before he left the band to go solo. It's a great rock/blues track and is pretty easy to sing. One of the better later Stones tracks, but not done as often on tour now. on the night rating 7/10
You Got Me Rocking by The Rolling Stones link
Second Stones track tonight, and another rockier track by the boys. This song was taken from the Voodoo Lounge album, and was one of the song's played at the first time I saw the band at Longchamps in Paris on 1st July 1995, and I have been hooked ever since. In fact it was that good when I got back I went to buy tickets to see them at Wembley on the 15th July! It is one of the few later Stones track that is done on tour still today, being sang 50 times on the Bigger Bang tour. The song was a U.K. only release, reaching number 23 in the charts in 1994. Apart from the ad-lib bits on the karaoke version it's a great Stones track, and proof again the band still produces some of the best guitar riffs around. on the night rating 7/10
Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones link
Third and final Stones track tonight, and one of my favourite's to sing.This track is one of the most covered tracks by The Stone's, being covered by no less than 18 artists so far, including Sheryl Crow, Gun's & Rose's, Alicia Keyes and Deacon Blue to name but a few. It was taken from the 1971 Sticky Fingers album and is a firm favourite of the band, being performed at most of the live shows on the 40 Licks tour. It is one of those great songs that sounds good being performed by a male or female vocal, hence the number of female singers covering the track. Its a song about the emotions of splitting up, so I suppose that's why it works so well as a male or female vocal. Very easy to sing and by far my best song of the night, even though the pub was empty by now! on the night rating 9/10
So another week done , and the Stones are back on the most songs by an artist list, taking back the lead from the unknown Elvis and The Beatles! We were a little thin on the ground this week, with Tina not well and Louise in London, so they didn't get to sing of course this week. Hopefully next week we will have a full squad, and I have a couple of new song's I am itching to have a go at.
Now as the Simpson's movie is fast approaching, the Simpson's movie website has placed on it a 'Simpson Avatar Creator' which is easy to use, and allows you to create yourself as a Simpson! See what you think of me and the wife below!
This was great fun to do and found completely by accident! I mean it's not like I trawl the net looking for this kind of rubbish! D'oh. Anyway have a click on the link and have a go yourself and E-Mail them to me at treaclez@yahoo.co.uk. I look forward to seeing your efforts! Anyway until next time folks arrivederci i miei amici.
[Homer taking a bath trying to remember what he forgot]
Homer : What the hell was I supposed to do?
Homer's brain : Pick up Bart, pick up Bart, pick up Bart.
Homer : Who the hell is Picabar?
Homer J Simpson
Satellite Party Carling Academy 4th July 2007
A late edition to the gig season this year was the welcome chance to see Satellite Party at the Academy in Birmingham. The chance to see the band at this years Download festival was short lived, as with the running order of the day meant they clashed with Marilyn Manson, who seemed to but the bigger crowd puller on the day. The band is the latest project by former Jane's Addiction front man Perry Farrell, and has former Extreme lead guitarist Nuno Bettencourt as his fellow superstar band member, along with Farrell's wife on backing vocals, Carl Restivo on bass and Kevin Figueiredo on drums.
- Stop
- Hard Life Easy
- Mountain Song
- Mr Sunshine
- Kinky
- Been Caught Stealing
- Milky Ave
- Wish Upon A Dog Star
- Insanity Rains
- Ain't No Right
- Only Love, Let's Celebrate
- Ultra - Payloaded Satellite Party
- Encore
- Rock N' Roll
The night was over all to soon. Personally I think they more than lived up to my expectation's. Perry Farrell is a brilliant, if not strangely insane front man, and in Nuno Bettencourt the band has one of the best lead guitarists in the business. I'm very surprised they haven't had more radio airplay, as most of the songs on the album are very radio friendly. The band did one thing very rare for them tonight, an encore. It was brilliant to see them so close up, and it was unfortunate to forget my camera, but I'm sure they will be back in the country soon to promote the album further. All in all it was a brilliant night, and the fact they seemed to really enjoy themselves in such a smaller venue was obvious. It would be a shame not to get the chance to see them again, and I urge you all to take a listen to them if you get the chance, as it is rare in this day and age tho see a band that is so well polished up on stage that they exude cool!
Thursday 28th June
Well its good to be back into the swing of things after last weekends over exuberance at the Aerosmith gig. It's a sign of how good they were as I'm already eager to go and see them again, and I just hope that it's not another eight year wait. The other thing about last week is I finally managed to get the tour shirt I wanted in my size! Normally they only have the ones nobody wants left in small only so I was relieved to get the new Aerosmith ' Relics ' tour shirt in my size. The buzz from the day will last in my memory for a long time to come, and I'm sure that Hayley can't wait to see them again either.
Onto the latest on the karaoke front now. As many of you will of read in an earlier blog, the vote for my top song of the year has taken a surprising turn with Def Leppard seemingly running away with the vote so far. This has taken a huge lead in the poll so far, much to the annoyance of the wife! Please if you have any resemblance of hope for me not getting moaned at for the rest of the year at least give the other songs a vote to ease the pressure on the runaway leaders! The constant nagging is now on a daily basis and if she doesn't stop my head will explode!!!! Joking aside thank you all for voting so far and keep it up, it's always nice to keep my public happy lol.
So onto the song's for tonight. After week's of being asked I have finally done some Robbie Williams songs tonight, another Stones lesson for Hayley, and after seeing Chris Cornell at the weekend sing a great acoustic version of this one, a track by Soundgarden. So tonight's tracks were 1. Jumping Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones (SC8964-10) 2.Come Undone by Robbie Williams (SF204-16) 3. Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden (SFMW874-09) and 4. Better Man by Robbie Williams (SF176-05)
Jumping Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones link
What a song to start up with this week. As its now only about eight weeks until we go to see the boy's at the O2 arena in London so as long as Hayley has been taking note over the last few months she should be pretty on board with the main songs they should play at the gig. This is one of the bands best and most recognisable tracks. It hit number one in the U.K. in 1968 and as the story goes was written about Keith Richards gardener. After a night spent at Richards country house and being abruptly awoken by a figure passing the window, Jagger asked 'who was that' to be told by Richards 'Oh that's Jack, jumping Jack' and there the song was born. If I was Jack I'd ask for a bonus! A great song to start the night. As always I love the Stones stuff as at least everyone over the age of 35 seems to know all their stuff and I get to educate the younger sprogs! on the night rating 8/10
Come Undone by Robbie Williams link
Well you don't get one for ages then two come along at once. No not buses Robbie Williams tracks! The first one tonight was one Tina has been asking me to do for weeks now, and one I know Hayley likes too, Come Undone. It was the second track taken from Robbie's Escapology album, and got to number 4 in the U.K. charts. The song is another Robbie dig at the media's infatuation with the singer's life and lifestyle, and how he has to be leading a double life most of the time to please the media's prying camera lenses. I really should do more Robbie songs as I always feel comfortable with the Robsters songs. It may be that its the Stoke accent, but I seem to be able to get them pretty much spot on, and of course he is a Vale fan so I don't mind singing any of his songs! (Just think folks,if he had been a Stoke fan I'd of never sang anything by him on principal!) Anyway if you want more Robbie then get the requests in! on the night rating 7/10
Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden link
After seeing Chris Cornell's awesome performance at Hyde Park last week, I couldn't resist doing this Soundgarden classic grunge anthem this week. It was released in 1994 and is easily the bands most well known song, although most in the Hotel didn't seem to know it! (God where have these people been!) It also won the band the 1995 Grammy for best Hard Rock Performance. Admittedly the band did have a bigger following in the States, but the track did make the U.K. top ten. Chris Cornell has now embarked on a solo career, and apart from his great new album, 'Carry On' an obvious reference to the fact he is going solo after Audioslave split last year, he has a huge back catalogue of songs to pick from now, with Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog and Audioslaves songs to pick from in his live shows! It does have the usual 'suicidal' feel that made the grunge movement so popular with the American teenage sub-culture, so it was never going to be my most well liked song of the night, but from a vocal point of view, I felt it was my strongest song tonight. on the night rating 10/10
Better Man by Robbie Williams link
So last up tonight is the second Robbie track. This one was a request from Jayne, one of the semi-regular singers, whose birthday was tonight, so she asked very nicely for this one. This song is one of Robbie's best, but amazingly it was never released in the U.K. but has been one of his most popular live tracks. It was only released in Australia, New Zealand and Latin America, where a Spanish version of the song was recorded (Imagine a Spanish/Stoke accent!) It was taken from Robbie's 'Sing When Your Winning' album. It was a shame it never got a U.K. release as it is a great song. Again the vocal range seems to suit me, so no problems with this one. I only stumbled on this one by accident when I first sang it ages ago, and Jo and Jayne always ask me to sing this one, and they only get me to do It about one in ten times of asking, so they were lucky tonight! on the night rating 7/10
Well there you have it. Another good bunch of tracks tonight. I pretty much enjoyed all of the songs this week. It does help when you know all the songs to give a better performance, and as I have practiced all tonight's about a million time's before they were all no problem tonight. I do try my best to bring a wide range of music to the karaoke scene at the hotel. Not all are successful, like Soundgarden tonight, but these always are the songs I love to sing the most. It's a shame as I do like such a wide range of music, and most of the time I do have a pretty good ear for good stuff, well in my ears anyway!
Another gig is on the horizon next week. We are off to see Satellite Party at the Carling Academy in Birmingham on Wednesday. The band was on at Download, but I missed them as they were on at the same time as Marilyn Manson. So in less than a month I have caught both of the bands I wanted to see, but missed at Download, after seeing The Answer last week at Hyde Park. Will try my best to give a review of the band in next weeks blog. Until then folks its bye bye until next time!
" Marge, I've finally learned how to walk on stilts naked! "
Homer J Simpson
Hyde Park Calling 24th June 2007
Well folks the day finally arrived, Aerosmith back in the U.K. for the first time in eight long years since that brilliantly sunny day at the Toxic Twin Towers Ball at the old Wembley Stadium, and was it worth the wait, you bloody bet it was! Although I must admit it was a seriously different day to the last time I saw them on 26th June 1999. On that day the guys had just come off the back of a two year world tour from the Nine Lives album, but more importantly had scored a huge worldwide hit single in 'I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing' taken from the Armageddon soundtrack. At the time they were one of the biggest rock band's in the world, and it seemed inconceivable it would be so long for them to tour the U.K. and Europe for that matter, but it has been eight long years and the waiting was now finally over.......
The Answer were certainly the answer to everyone's dampened prayers as they came on to the Hyde Park stage. The Belfast lads were on at Download earlier in the year, and I missed them on that day, so I was really looking forward to them. I was truly not disappointed. This is one of the best new bands around at the moment, in fact Kerrang describes them as 'superstars already, it would be cruel not to make their dreams come true'. Never a truer word spoken. They have all the swagger of Free and sound like Led Zeppelin, The Black Crowes, The Stones,Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy to name but a few. The lead singer, Cormac Neeson, has a great stage presence, and conversed with the crowd at every possible moment, making sure we had the rock sing-along and jump around wildly moments to take our minds off the rain, but on this showing, the rain was hardly noticed as their music hit the right vibe for the day, brash, loud and rocking. I'm sure they will be around for a long while yet, and if you get chance to listen to some of their stuff ' Keep Believin' and 'Only The Strong Survive' are stand out tracks and their debut album 'Rise' has just been re-released. And to add to that, the bands mySpace page there is a brilliant cover of Aerosmith's 'Sweet Emotion'. 
Aussie rockers Jet were up next. They are a polished act now after touring with the likes of The Rolling Stones and Red Hot Chilli Peppers for the last couple of years. They are well know for their hits in the U.K. over the last few years such as ' Are You Gonna Be My Girl', used in the i-Pod launch ads 'Look What You've Done' and 'Cold Hard Bitch'. The band is heavily influenced by such bands as The Kinks, AC/DC, The Beatles and obviously The Stones. They produced a great performance on the day, maybe not quite as good as The Answer, but good. They are much more used to playing in front of huge crowds, and this does show through with an extremely well put together set, culminating in the fantastic 'Rollover DJ'. As I had seen them before I knew pretty much what to expect from them, and they didn't let themselves down, although I think it's time they come out of the shadow's of the bands they support, and try to make more of a go on their own, as the British rock fans like nothing more than a good old rip roaring rock band, and Jet do have the potential.
Before Chris Cornell had come on stage I was a bit wary at how he would fill his hour and a half set, but I was wrong. Cornell is a well schooled rocker with one of the best voices in rock today. He has a huge back catalogue of tracks to pick from as a solo artist as a former member of legendary rockers Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog and Audioslave so to fill his set was no problem at all. He is also the singer of the last James Bond title track for the last film Casino Royale, and is the first American male artist to perform a Bond theme. By the time Cornell came on stage the weather had taken a sever turn for the worse, as it was now belting down, but Cornell had no problems in getting the crowd going, venturing out into the thick of things to get soaked himself! His set was a great mix of classic Soundgarden tracks, grinding and thumping Audioslave tracks (Cochise was awesome!) to a great mix of his new solo stuff. You Know My Name had guest appearance from David Arnold, composer to all the latest Bond films, who was amazing on keyboards, although he did seem a little overwhelmed by the huge crowd going wild. Cornell also did an amazing solo acoustic section singing Soundgarden's 'Black Hole Sun', Audioslaves 'Like A Stone', Temple Of The Dogs 'Hunger Strike' and his own 'Scar On The Sky', all of which showed his enormous vocal talent. Cornell is a great performer, and I was surprised at how good he was live. He filled the set with the old and the new, pleasing all there who new his old and new stuff alike. He deserves to get a huge pat on the back as to play in these conditions must of been very off-putting to performers as well as the crowd, and he kept the spirits up, as by now everyone was raring for Aerosmith.
Well, as I said earlier, it had been eight long years since my last taste of Aerosmith, and nothing at all would dampen my spirit on the day. After standing in the almost the same spot for nine hours the wait was finally over. Hayley had manoeuvred us into a spot virtually at the front and myself and the assembled 75,000 other fans were waiting with baited breath for the boys to appear on stage. The set up seemed to take forever, but then the huge video screen at the back of the stage kicked in, and a huge Planet Earth image appeared. As the planet revolved the image appeared as if the sun was coming over the horizon and then it hit, a huge Aerosmith logo directly over London, they had arrived and then, to a huge cheer they boys arrived on stage. The set list was as follows.- Love In An Elevator
- Same Old Song And Dance
- Crying
- Eat The Rich
- I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing
- Jaded
- Baby Please Don't Go
- Hangman Jury
- Seasons Of Wither
- Dream On
- Living On The Edge
- Stop Messin' Around (Joe Perry Solo)
- Tom 'Mr Sweet Emotion' Hamilton bass solo
- Sweet Emotion
- Draw The Line
- Encore
- Walk This Way (Featuring DMC from Run Dmc )
At 59 years old Steven Tyler is still one of the most energetic frontmen around, running from one side of the stage to the other, and making sure everyone in the audience gets a close up of the singers in you face attitude. As a live act, Aerosmith are one of the best around, and without a doubt are the best act rock act to come out of the States. The set was full of their classic, and included two tracks I had never seen them do live before, due to the fact they had been away for so long, in Jaded and Baby Please Don't Go. They played all of the well know tracks, such as Love In An Elevator, Crying, Sweet Emotion, Dream On and Draw The Line to perfection. I have never seen a bass solo before, and Tom Hamilton was brilliant. This was probably one of the reasons they had been away so long, as he had spent some of 2005 and 2006 recovering from throat cancer. But his solo was amazing, and it led into Sweet Emotion, one of the bands best live tracks, and also written by Hamilton. Steve Tyler announced to solo by Mr Joe ' Fucking' Perry to the crowds delight, and he didn't disappoint with his track from the Honkin On Bobo album Stop Messin' Around, a blues classic. The whole show had the usual fantastic lighting and many, many guitar changes by Perry (I counted about 8 in all) just so they get the right sound for the brilliant rock anthems. The guys ventured to the middle of the crowd on the mini stage to play Hangman Jury and Seasons Of Wither, and used a mini cam, held by Tyler to show just how well Joe Perry can play the guitar. The set was unfortunately short, just an hour and a half, but was brilliant from start to finish, culminating in the encore of Walk This Way featuring DMC from RUN D.M.C., who collaborated on the huge remixed hit in 1986. This was Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels first appearance in the U.K. since the untimely death of fellow band member Jason " Jam Master Jay" Mizell was shot in 2002. It was a great end to the show, and the day, and to be fair, after Aerosmith came on the weather was not even a factor. Hayley said I looked like a man possessed as they came on stage, and decided to 'leave me to it' as I was far to excited to calm down. It was a brilliant show and a great weekend, and I just hope it's not another eight years before they tour the U.K. again, although I am sure seeing the reception they got they won't be leaving it as long until they hit our shores again.
