Thursday 26th July

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 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