Hallelujah

So we have the iPod playing the other night and "Hallelujah" comes on. This is not an unusual occurance, as we have four versions of the song on my iPod. This was the Rufus Wainwright version, but I also have Leonard Cohen's, Jeff Buckley's and k.d. lang's live version.

I don't know if this is my favourite song, or even Cathy's favourite. But surely god it is one of the very few songs that we agree is amazing (let's put it this way, the anniversary CD is proving challenging this year. I'm finally running out of songs we both like). But we started talking. A lot of people have covered this song, but we wondered who else we would like to hear cover it because we think they would do a great version of it.

So this isn't so much a "which version is better" question, but instead it's a "who would you want to hear cover this song." As it turns out, quite a few have covered it over the years. But here's our list of people we want to hear sing this song:

1. U2 (although it seems Bono covered it. I must find that now)
2. Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies
3. Tori Amos (that's all mine. Cathy hates Tori)
4. Neko Case (again mine, for the same reasons)
5. Corrinne Bailey Rae
6. Tom Waits
7. Ron Sexsmith
8. Ron Hynes
9. Johnny Cash (yes, he's dead. It would still would have been a great version)
10. Tony Bennett
11. The White Stripes
12. Hawksley Workman

And here's the list of people who should be executed on sight if they even think about covering the song.
1. Celine Dion
2. Mariah Carey
3. Rod Stewart
4. Bryan Adams
5. Britney Spears

And having seen the list of people who have covered the song, I now need to hunt down John Cale's and Allison Crowe's versions. And what are your suggestions?

Last Five
1. 11 o'clock, tick tock - U2
2. Miss teen wordpower - The New Pornographers*
3. Anywhere I lay my head - Scarlett Johansson
4. No reason to cry your eyes out - Hawksley Workman
5. Have you no pride - The Donnas

Why Waits?

I can't say for certain when I became a fan of Tom Waits. I remember being at a party at a friend of mine's house around '93 and he was drunkenly trying to explain to me why Swordfishtombone was not only the best Tom Waits' record, but one of the best records of all time. "Fuck the Beatles," I believe he said, "This is the real shit."

But I was into Tom before that. No doubt it was probably the way most people get into Tom Waits. You're attending university and someone plays Closing Time and you think this quite possibly might be one of the greatest things you've ever heard in your life. And why had it taken until you got to university to hear something this Goddamn brilliant.

Closing Time tends to be the alpha and omega for many people and Waits. It's not that his later stuff is bad. A lot of it, lyrically speaking, is much better. But the voice is what gets a lot of people. Waits voice gets progressively gruffer and more raw as he gets older. Now, I have no problem with that. I've always liked my male singers to sound like their vocal chords have been put through a meat grinder - Robbie Robertson, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, etc. No idea why, I just do. They're as far from pitch perfect as it gets, but they all have character. The voice tells the story almost as well as the lyrics they're singing.

So I like Waits a lot. Not all of his stuff is genius, but he hits more than most. One of my favourite recordings isn't even out as a proper CD as far as I know. He did a VH1 Unplugged special a few years ago. I found a copy of the audio online and it's magical. A lot of great Waits songs, done unplugged, obviously, but in-between songs he's telling all these great and strange stories. It's worth it if you can hunt it down.

So why am I mentioning Waits? Well, while I like him, Cathy really doesn't care much for him. She likes some of Closing Time and a smattering of other songs ("San Diego Serenade" comes to mind), but other than that, can't listen to him. She calls him "goat boy" because, well, his voice reminds her of a goat. Sacrileige, I know. But I guess I'll stay married to her.

(I kid, I kid)

One of her long standing theories is that she knows Waits is a great songwriter, but maybe his songs would work better for her if they were sung by someone else. I have to hunt down a copy of Holly Cole's Temptation at some point and see if she would like that. But on a whim, I thought perhaps Scarlett Johansson's new CD Anywhere I lay my head might be all right. I figured her voice would be about as far removed from Waits as possible, so perhaps that would make the music more palatable.

Dear God, I could not have been more wrong. What a hideous disaster. Waits' voice might be gruff, but by God it has character. You can sense the pain, longing, bemusement or anger when he sings. Johansson's voice is just empty. It's like listening to air try to sing. There is an absence of character and feeling when she sings these songs. It's like she doesn't understand, at all, what she's singing. Or simply doesn't posses the voice to be able to show those emotions.

It's a terrible record that will shortly be purged from my iPod.

Then again, I'm trying to think of how many artists have been able to successfully cover Waits. I'm open to suggestions, but I can't think of any. Cole's record, if I recall, was a noble failure. Natalie Merchant tried to cover "I hope I don't fall in love with you" and managed to miss the point of the song completely by trying to turn it into a pretty little pop song.

And I will personally hunt you down and harm you if you suggest Rod Stewart's "Downtown Train" as it as Abomination before God. Stewart will probably have a lot to answer for when he dies. Butchering this song will surely be high up on the list (his version of "People get ready" with Jeff Beck almost makes up for it. But not quite).

So there you go. Do not buy Johansson's album. I admire the guts. I really do. That doesn't mean I have to admire the album.

Top Five Current Favourite Tom Waits songs
1. Beautiful when you dream
2. Bottom of the world
3. San Diego Serenade
4. Hang down your head in sorrow (live)
5. I don't want to grow up

Missing the Bells

We're updating our iPods a bit for the upcoming trip. Trimming out some stuff that we no longer want. Cathy, for example, begged me to remove the Grease OST and the Best of Abba. I'm still going through mine. I could probably stand to curb some of the Tori Amos I have on there. And there are a couple of other albums that I tend to hit skip when they come on that should probably go. But I always give records a lot of time to grab me. It can take weeks or months before something grabs me. For example, I think it took about three months for Neko Case's Furnace Room Lullaby to grab me. I very nearly sold it at Fred's. And if I had, I would have lost one of my favourite records.

I'm also adding some Christmas music for Cathy. It'll go as soon as we come back next month, but she likes having some Christmas music to listen to during the holidays, which makes sense. Her main one is Roger Whittaker's Christmas with Roger Whittaker. And yes, I can see a few of you going "What the hell?", but it was the record her family listened to every year at Christmas, so I understand the memories that go along with listening to 'Darcy the dragon."

Alas, I wasn't smart enough to pack my favourite Christmas CD - The Bells of Dublin by The Chieftains. I have so many Chieftains CD and I had to make some choices when we moved up here. I didn't want to add it to my iPod, but didn't want to bring up the CD because we were desperate for space (we brought up no CDs at all). So it stayed behind.

And yet I find myself craving that CD. I even went to iTunes, figuring if it was there I would drop the $10. It is there, but for unfathomable reasons, only two of the 24 songs are for sale, which is kind of moronic. I've even tried poking around on torrent sites to see if it's there. Ethically I would have no problem downloading it, since I already own it. It's just in storage in St. John's. Alas, as I expected, the Chieftains don't have a whole lot of torrents available online. Good news for the band, I guess. Bad news for me in this case.

Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky in Florida and find a copy. I kind of doubt it, though.

My other bit of musical news is this pretty handy list from The Scope. It's some of the best releases in Newfoundland in 2007. We've been out of the loop musically for so long and I do like supporting Newfoundland artists whenever I can. With no Sean Panting, Colleen Power or Mark Bragg releases this year, I'm kind of at a loss what to get.

Having looked at the list, theFeast of Cohen: Live is the one I want the most. That would be followed by The Coast Guard, Chris Picco, Sherry Ryan and, of course, The Wonderful Grand Band re-release. The Fables and Patrick Canning are maybes. And hey, if anyone else has a recommendation, I'm all ears.

Granted, this is all far too late for Christmas. But I do have a birthday next month....

Last Five
1. Presentation cheque - Sean Panting
2. The littlest birds - The Be Good Tanyas*
3. Cloud on my tongue - Tori Amos
4. Rene and Margritee - Paul Simon
5. Sea lion woman - Feist

Fall music

So I read this story about music releases coming out this fall. There's a surprising number of releases that I might actually consider getting. I really didn't have high hopes for the fall and Christmas, but there's a few here I'm going to get.

Here are the highlights. And, well, some stuff I feel like mocking.

Sept 11
Hot Hot Heat -- Happiness Ltd. : I loved their last record Elevator. Give me more high energy, insanely catchy pop and I'm there.

The Proclaimers -- Life With You : I'm curious, that's all.

Sept 18
James Blunt -- All the Lost Souls : Because we can always use more whiny British pop music.

The Donnas -- Bitchin : Their last record, Gold Medal, was a kick-ass rock album. I'm hoping they can keep it up.

Dropkick Murphys -- The Meanest of Times : I'm hit and miss on these guys. But the song they had in The Departed was a highlight of the movie.

Mark Knopfler -- Kill to Get Crimson : Knopfler's solo stuff has been very hit and miss. So here's wondering.

KT Tunstall -- Drastic Fantastic : I cam late to her first record, but kind of like it. I'll give her follow-up a try.

Sept 25
Tony Bennett -- Ultimate American Songbook : Tony's always worth a listen. I'm curious as to what this will be like.

Blue Rodeo -- Small Miracles : Their last record didn't do much for me. I'm hoping for a change of pace.

The Doors -- The Very Best of : Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there already a 100 Greatest Hits CDs of The Doors out there already?

Foo Fighters -- Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace : The first single is one of the better things I've heard from them in years. I'll give it a whirl.

Frank Sinatra -- A Voice in Time (1939 - 1952) (Box) : This might be waaaay more Sinatra than I need, but I might look up the song list to see what's on it.

Stars -- In Our Bedroom After the War : Thanks the the miracle of releasing albums on the internet before they come out on CD, I already have this. Not bad, not as good as their last one.

Oct. 2
The Beatles -- Unseen Beatles (DVD) : Because it wouldn't be a fall without a Beatles release. I also given good money that the band's catelogue comes out on iTunes as well.

Celine Dion -- These are Special Times (Collector's Edition) : On the upside I know what to get my mom for Christmas. On the downside, the gates of hell are opening once more.

Mick Jagger -- The Very Best of : Has Jagger released any solo stuff that anyone has enjoyed, let alone enough for a greatest hits?

Annie Lennox -- Songs of Mass Destruction : I don't think I need the album, but it has the fall's best title.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Magic : Duh...

Oct. 9
Jennifer Lopez -- Brave : Once again, somewhere in New York, there is a studio musician getting paid good money to pretend to be Lopez.

Oct. 16
Toby Keith -- A Classic Christmas : Would prefer to band my head on a wall for an hour instead.

Neil Young -- Chrome Dreams II : Neil Young automatically gets a try with me.

Oct. 23
Robert Plant + Alison Krauss -- Raising Sand : Surely God, this fall's strangest release. And yet, I'm insanely curious about it. And in a twist, I'm a much bigger fan of Krauss than Plant.

Oct. 30
Backstreet Boys -- Unbreakable : Just die already. Where's my stake, silver and garlic?

The Eagles -- Long Road Out of Eden : And now I know what to get my dad for Christmas.

Nov. 6
Garth Brooks -- The Ultimate Hits : Has Brooks actually put out a record since his last greatest hits collection? I don't think that should be allowed.

Duran Duran -- Red Carpet Massacre : One could only hope they're the ones being massacred on the red carpet.

Spice Girls -- Greatest Hits : This is being released the day after Guy Fawkes night, but I have no problem giving a penny to burn the band. Or at least all copies of the record.

Nov. 13
Celine Dion -- The Woman in Me : Twice in a matter of months? Now that's evil.


And that's it...so far. I'm sure there will be a few surprises. Hopefully good ones, unlike two Celine Dion records. That's just mean.

Why don't you listen?

OK, so clearly you people have not listened to me about the whole Tara Oram/Canadian Idol thing. I asked you, heck even begged and pleaded with people, to just ignore the show. Turn it off, go out and have a drink. And if you felt any guilt about not being there to support a Newfoundland girl in her attempts to get fame and fortune...go downtown and watch a band play. Or go buy a Colleen Power CD.

Then again, you should all be buying Colleen Power CDs anyway.

But noooo, you went and sat in front of the TV and watched Idol and then scrambled off to payphones or whipped out your cell phones and began the same doomed campaign that’s happened each year for the past five years – trying to get a Newfoundlander to win a reality TV show talent contest.

Good on ya, she’s in the Top 10. I now wash my hands of all you. Go begin your silly campaign to have her win the show. Organize your little armies to make sure as many Newfoundlanders as possible can vote for her. Be sure to call VOCM’s Open Line when you can’t get through and darkly mention conspiracies against Newfoundlanders by Aliant, CTV and Stephen Harper.

"It's bad enough he doesn't give us the offshore revenues, Randy, but now he won't even give us an Idol winner."

And God help us all if she makes it to the final two and loses. By all means, feel free to lose your shit and please make sure it gets picked up by national media who will once again wonder if we’re not all retarded for believing our identity as Newfoundlanders is some how tied to the success of a person on this show.

This is the best part, though. When she doesn’t win, promptly forget she ever existed and repeat again next summer with the next helpless victim of this show’s grist mill. How are Craig Sharpe and Jason Greeley doing these days? Buy many of their records lately?

I despair sometimes. I really do.

Back in the 80s

I normally don't look back too much when it comes to music. I tend to focus more on getting new music and finding new things to listen to. The idea of people listening to classic rock all the time is kind of bizarre. Listening to the same thing over and over and over again always stuck me as being a terribly boring thing to do. Don't you want to find something new and cool? How many times can you listen to Led Zepplin? Or Queen?

I mean, I like The Beatles and Queen, but if that was the only thing I listened to I would go mad. I need new things. Among the recent records that I've downloaded include Bright Eyes' latest (not bad), Feist (not bad, but I think it will grow on me more) and the Arctic Monkey's (pretty damn good).

It's probably why my iPod is now over 5,500 songs. I just have to keep finding new stuff to add. Granted, some of the music should probably be deleted, but as anyone with a collector mentality will tell you, once you get something, it's awfully hard pressed to part with it. Which also explains the 10,000 comics in storage.

Still, I guess I'm not exempt from wanting to look back occasionally in terms of music. But what I want to find is old 80s stuff, music I grew up with, but have forgotten about. The music that I liked when I was 13 or 14 years old, but were only minor hits. Not the songs that have been played to death like Madonna or Michael Jackson, but the song that got no higher than #28 on the Billboard chart and I simply didn't understand as a 14 year old why more people didn't like it.

That's the stuff I'm in the mood for right now. I spent part of the evening digging around on iTunes looking for that kind of music. It was an interesting venture. I manged to find "Don't Walk Past" by Blue Peter, "Radioactive" by The Firm, and "One Thing Leads to Another" by The Fixx (which reminds me, I need to find 'Red Sky at Night" by the same band).

In some ways, it's almost like discovering new music again. I haven't heard "Radioactive in 20 years at least.

It's not going to be a regular habit, this digging up forgotten 80s memories. But hey, it's been a lazy Sunday so why not indulge in a little nostalgia.

Music notes

On the off-chance anyone from Iqaluit is reading the blog and doesn't already know the news, The White Stripes tickets are going on sale in town on Friday morning at 10 a.m. You can get them at DJ Sensations, Raven Rock and the Arctic Winter Games Complex. Also, as of this morning at least, you could still get advance tickets through the White Stripes website. I noticed today the tickets were charged to my Visa, so I'm assuming it works and I'll get the call to pick up our tickets soon.

The other tidbit of White Stripes news that I find amusing is this interview with Jack White where he admits there is little chance this tour will make any money for the band, they just want to do it. He's also apparently fascinated with the word "Yukon."

Once again, good on him. They didn't even want to play Toronto or any of the major centres, but decided to add a couple to just to pay the bills. It's fascinatingly eccentric and I have to admit my respect and admiration for the band for doing something like this has gone up a notch.

On an unrelated musical note, I finally found a music video I liked the other day. I appreciate this might not seem like a big deal, but I' m trying to remember the last time I saw one that I thought was cool or interesting.

Music videos have taken a real hit in the last few years. Part of it is, I'm sure, that I'm older and that the music played on Much Music is not designed to entertain people of my age (God help me for having typed that last sentence). And we don't get Much More Music on cable up here, so I'm not subjected to the more "adult" videos out there.

Which is kind of depressing. I grew up watching music videos. Up until a couple of years ago I still rather quite liked watching them. But with music video stations actually playing fewer of them (MTV is practically a joke in the US) it's kind of hard for me to understand why some musicians might spend millions on them. There was a time if you didn't do a video for a song, you might as well forget selling any records. I imagine it's much easier these days for musicians to get away without producing a flashy, expensive video if they don't want to.

Having said all that, I found the video below by Snow Patrol for the song "Signal Fire"...well, there is no other word for it...adorable. I like Snow Patrol any way, and this is the first song for the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack, so I was going to give it a whirl regardless. But this is a hell of a charming music video.

I've suggested to Cathy she should stage something like this at her school. She declined. Apparently they frown on hanging kids from wires.

Pity...

God bless Jack and Meg

1. Official word came down today (and Bonnie mentioned it in a previous blog post) that the White Stripes will be playing in Iqaluit on June 27 at the Arctic Winter Games Complex. Also known as the building slowly descending into the tundra because they built it in the wrong spot.

So yes, not a hoax, not a dream, not some kind of sick joke by Jack and Meg, the White Stripes are actually going to play here. I found their release interesting, actually, in that they committed to playing in provinces, territories and states they've never played before. It's a pity more bands don't make that same kind of commitment. Not that I expect many would come here. You can't get bands to go to Newfoundland because they complain about the cost. I can only imagine the cost the band is going to experience playing here.

Still, how cool is that? And the fact that the tickets might only be $40 is astounding. I can barely buy a loaf of bread and a 2L of milk for $40. I would have bet money on them being more than $100 each. They should be going on sale perhaps as early as next week. They say about 500 tickets are going up for sale and despite the mocking I read on some site about how nobody other than polar bears would be going, the tickets are going to disappear fast. There's still 7,000 people in Iqaluit and they aren't all going to fit in that stadium...



2. With the good news comes the less than good news. Got a notice today informing me of a rent increase. And I had just been thinking the other day that I hadn't heard anything. Bollocks. Anyway, the rent is going up $105 to about $930 a month. For those thinking about coming here and gagging a bit on that price, keep in mind two other factors. A. We live in a very small apartment. B. Our rent is subsidized. Well, it is until 2010, when the government ends subsidizes for employees in Iqaluit.

Still, it's cheaper than the place we had in the 6-story. Oh yeah, also cleaner and quieter. We're not complaining...much. It's still an extra $100 a month. Let's not pretend that doesn't hurt.

And no, we're still not thinking about buying a house. I still can't get my mind around $350,000 for a home where we wouldn't own the land. Sorry.



3. I've always admired Roger Ebert tremendously. This only makes me admire him more. Obviously he's not about to get back on television any time soon. I'll be astonished if he's back this year. But I do hope he gets enough strength back to start writing again on a regular basis. I miss it.


4, This story has been making the rounds. It's also been discussed on a couple of blogs. I've commented on one of the blogs already, but I'll just reiterate the point here. I really do feel sorry for them. They were put into a stressful, unexpected situation where they felt threatened. I know I would have been freaked out. I don't know if I would have handled things much better than they did. And I admire their courage in coming forward and talking about what happened to them and warning others to be careful.

However, the first thing I thought of when I heard this story (and it was making the rounds before the media reported it) was "Why didn't they contact their embassy?" Yes, there was a lot happening and a lot of pressure. But by god I would make sure in some way, shape, form or manner, I was getting to speak to someone from my embassy. Or someone was going to call the embassy for me.

Maybe they did try although the resort manager is denying it (and saying other unpleasant things), I don't know. However, it does serve as a nice reminder for both myself and Cathy. We plan on doing a considerable amount of traveling over the next three years or so. Note to selves – make sure we have the number for the local embassy or consulate when traveling in case there is trouble.

Apparently, I am unhip

I like to think I’m relatively up-to-date on pop culture and music related things. After all, I did write a pop culture column with The Express. And lord knows I’ve talked enough about music on this blog. But I heard that Rolling Stone had released their 100 best songs of 2006 so I swung over to see what the list looked like, figuring I would nod in agreement with some disagree with others and there would be a few I simply wouldn’t recognize.

Of the Top 10, there are three songs I’ve heard. Three! I’ve heard “Steady as she goes” by The Reconteurs, “Thunder on the Mountain” by Bob Dylan and “Oh la la” by Goldfrapp. I can’t really count “Ridin” by Chamillionaire because I haven’t heard it, only the spoof “White and Nerdy” by Weird Al.

This is what happens when I stop listening to radio. I’m trying to console myself that this is Rolling Stone and of course they’re going to pick some weird and obscure indy stuff to show how cool and hip they are. But man, I would have thought I’d at least heard the #1 song. Or heard of some of the rest of the Top 10. And it only gets more depressing the further you go down the rest of the Top 100. All told there are 22 songs on that list I’ve heard this year. And some of them only in passing. I only know a handful pretty well.

Their top 50 albums is a little better. Of those I own, or have owned, 13 of them. So that’s 26 per cent instead of the 22 per cent for songs. Although two of those records – The Dixie Chick and Cat Power – have since been purged as I didn’t care for them.

I fear I am no longer hip and aware of what the kids are listening to these days. Perhaps on the advent of my 37th birthday, this is not a shock. But still, it’s a touch depressing.

Then again, I’ll need something to do this weekend once Cathy heads home. I suspect I’m going to go on a little downloading spree to see what some of these songs sound like. That way I can see if I’m just missing out or if Rolling Stone is on drugs. Probably a little of both, I suspect.

Complaints department

Here’s one of the things about living in Iqaluit...I can’t complain about the little things that occasionally bug me about the north.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I can still bitch and moan like nobody’s business. I excel at it. But I am now part of a small, but nice, northern blogging community. I visit their blogs, some of them come here. It’s quite nice.

But I can’t complain about things. For example, it’s gotten cold this week in Iqaluit. Not that unusual, it’s December near the Arctic Circle. It should be cold. It’s about time it was cold. Hell, we’ve been warmer than Edmonton in recent weeks. But for awhile last week, it’s dropped down to around -25 with wind chill rattling things around -40 on a couple of occasions. It’s our first time dealing with temperatures this cold in about seven months. So a little “fuck it’s cold” would not be inappropriate, especially since the starter in our car froze last week (with an able assist from building management who have finally turned on the electricity for the car plug-in slots. They ignored me so my wife went to have a chat. Voila. Fixed in a few hours. She used the teacher voice. It always works).

People in Newfoundland read -40 and go “Holy shit, that’s cold.” Someone in Rankin Inlet is going to read that and laugh. “What are you bitching about? It was -40 this week before the wind chill.”

I could complain about the food prices and selection and people down south would agree. “$10 for a honeydew? Wow!” Except that Iqaluit has the best selection and prices in Nunavut. Someone in Igloolik would murder to have what we do in town. “I dream of being able to buy a honeydew.”

Same thing with the amount of daylight. The shortest day of the year is a scant 10 days away. At that point we have about 4.5 hours of direct sunlight (sunrise today is 9:09 am. Sunset is 1:45 pm) and probably six hours total of daylight. Again, harsh if you’re down south. Some people can’t handle that little daylight. Then again, in Arctic Bay, if they get an hour or so of the horizon lightening up, they’re happy. Only another six weeks or so until they see the sun again!

So yeah, it’s hard to complain. Kind of frustrating, really. I’ll just have to try harder to find things to complain about in the entertaining manner to which my friends have become accustomed to.

Oh, one last thing...I've discovered recently that when feeling the urge to bitch and moan, or a touch down, that what cheers me up is the new Me First and the Gimmie Gimmmies CD called "Loves their Country." Twenty-eight minutes of punk rock covers of country songs, especially "Eastbound and Down" the theme song from Smokey and the Bandit. Man, if that song doesn't put a smile on your face, there is no hope.

Cathy's list

And now, Cathy's list from 1995. You may notice the following things: she hated less than I did, liked more than I did and we both couldn't remember vast swaths of the bands that released singles that year.

1. Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio
2. Waterfalls, TLC
3. Creep, TLC
4. Kiss From A Rose, Seal
5. On Bended Knee, Boyz II Men
6. Another Night, Real McCoy
7. Fantasy, Mariah Carey
8. Take A Bow, Madonna
9. Don't Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days), Monica
10. This Is How We Do It, Montell Jordan
11. I Know, Dionne Farris
12. Water Runs Dry, Boyz II Men
13. Freak Like Me, Adina Howard
14. Run-Around, Blues Traveler
15. I Can Love You Like That, All-4-One
16. Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?, Bryan Adams
17. Always, Bon Jovi
18. Boombastic / In The Summertime, Shaggy
19. Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Nicki French
20. You Gotta Be, Des'ree
21. You Are Not Alone, Michael Jackson
22. Hold My Hand, Hootie and The Blowfish
23. One More Chance-Stay With Me, Notorious B.I.G.
24. Here Comes The Hotstepper, Ini Kamoze
25. Candy Rain, Soul For Real
26. Let Her, w Hootie and The Blowfish
27. I Believe, Blessid Union Of Souls
28. Red Light Special, TLC
29. Runaway, Janet Jackson
30. Strong Enough, Sheryl Crow
31. Colors Of The Wind, Vanessa Williams
32. Someone To Love, Jon B.
33. Only Wanna Be With You, Hootie and The Blowfish
34. If You Love Me, Brownstone
35. In The House Of Stone And Light, Martin Page
36. I Got 5 On It, Luniz
37. Baby, Brandy
38. Run Away, Real McCoy
39. As I Lay Me Down, Sophie B. Hawkins
40. He's Mine, Mokenstef
41. December, Collective Soul
42. I'll Be There For You-You're All I Need To Get By, Method Man-Mary J. Blige
43. Shy Guy, Diana King
44. I'm The Only One, Melissa Etheridge
45. Every Little Thing I Do, Soul For Real
46. Before I Let You Go, BLACKstreet
47. Big Poppa / Warning, Notorious B.I.G.
48. Sukiyaki, 4 P.M.
49. I Wanna Be Down, Brandy
50. I'll Make Love To You, Boyz II Men
51. Dear Mama / Old School, 2Pac
52. Hold On, Jamie Walters
53. Keep Their Heads Ringin', Dr. Dre
54. The Rhythm Of The Night, Corona
55. Roll To Me, Del Amitri
56. Scream / Childhood, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson
57. Freek'n You, Jodeci
58. I Wish, Skee-lo
59. Believe, Elton John
60. Carnival, Natalie Merchant
61. You Don't Know How It Feels, Tom Petty
62. Back For Good, Take That
63. Tootsee Roll, 69 Boyz
64. You Want This-70's Love Groove, Janet Jackson
65. Tell Me, Groove Theory
66. Can't You See, Total
67. All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow
68. This Lil' Game We Play, Subway
69. Come And Get Your Love, Real McCoy
70. This Ain't A Love Song, Bon Jovi
71. Secret, Madonna
72. Player's Anthem, Junior M.A.F.I.A.
73. Feel Me Flow, Naughty By Nature
74. Every Day Of The Week, Jade
75. The Sweetest Days, Vanessa Williams
76. Short Dick Man, 20 Fingers Featuring Gillette
77. Brokenhearted, Brandy
78. No More "I Love You's", Annie Lennox
79. You Used To Love Me, Faith Evans
80. Constantly, Immature
81. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, U2
82. 100% Pure Love, Crystal Waters
83. Ask Of You, Raphael Saadiq
84. Sugar Hill, Az
85. Good, Better Than Ezra
86. Brown Sugar, D'angelo
87. Turn The Beat Around, Gloria Estefan
88. 'Til You Do Me Right, After 7
89. 1st Of Tha Month, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
90. Like The Way I Do If I Wanted To, Melissa Etheridge
91. I Live My Life For You, Firehouse
92. Dream About You-Funky Melody, Stevie B
93. Cotton Eye Joe, Rednex
94. Thank You, Boyz II Men
95. I'll Stand By You, Pretenders
96. I Miss You, N II U
97. Give It 2 You, Da Brat
98. Best Friend, Brandy
99. Misery, Soul Asylum
100. Can't Stop Lovin' You, Van Halen

A grim year

I read this post over on Skylard's blog and knew that when I checked out the year I graduated from high school the results were going to be horrific. And I certainly wasn't disappointed. What a dismal year - George Michael, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Rick Astley and Whitney Houston to name just a few. Oddly, that year appears to have also been the high water mark in all their careers. It was a horrific freefall for all of them after '88.

The premise of this meme is simple. Take a look at the Top 100 songs of the year you graduated high school. Bold the songs you liked, or like now, and put a stroke through the ones you hate. If you're couldn't care less or can't even remember the song, then leave it alone. Go here if you want to track down your year was like.

You may notice the abundance of hate in my list. There are songs there that I still like, but only one that I still deeply love - #76 in case you're wondering. Oh, and for those of you curious, we'll up the list from the year Cathy graduated tomorrow.

1. Faith, George Michael
2. Need You Tonight, INXS
3. Got My Mind Set On You, George Harrison
4. Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley
5. Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns N' Roses
6. So Emotional, Whitney Houston
7. Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Belinda Carlisle
8. Could've Been, Tiffany
9. Hands To Heaven, Breathe
10. Roll With It, Steve Winwood
11. One More Try, George Michael
12. Wishing Well, Terence Trent d'Arby
13. Anything For You, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
14. The Flame, Cheap Trick
15. Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car, Billy Ocean
16. Seasons Change, Expose
17. Is This Love, Whitesnake
18. Wild, Wild West, Escape Club
19. Pour Some Sugar On Me, Def Leppard
20. I'll Always Love You, Taylor Dayne
21. Man In The Mirror, Michael Jackson
22. Shake Your Love, Debbie Gibson
23. Simply Irresistible, Robert Palmer
24. Hold On To The Nights, Richard Marx
25. Hungry Eyes, Eric Carnen
26. Shattered Dreams, Johnny Hates Jazz
27. Father Figure, George Michael
28. Naught Girls (Need Love Too), Samantha Fox
29. A Groovy Kind Of Love, Phil Collins
30. Love Bites, Def Leppard
31. Endless Summer Nights, Richard Marx
32. Foolish Beat, Debbie Gibson
33. Where Do Broken Hearts Go, Whitney Houston
34. Angel, Aerosmith
35. Hazy Shade Of Winter, Bangles
36. The Way You Make Me Feel, Michael Jackson
37. Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin
38. Make Me Lose Control, Eric Carnen
39. Red Red Wine, UB40
40. She's Like The Wind, Patric Swayze
41. Bad Medicine, Bon Jovi
42. Kokomo, Beach Boys
43. I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That, Elton John
44. Together Forever, Rick Astley
45. Monkey, George Michael
46. Devil Inside, INXS
47. Should've Known Better, Richard Marx
48. I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love, Chicago
49. The Loco-Motion, Kylie Minogue
50. What Have I Done To Deserve This?, Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield
51. Make It Real, Jets
52. What's On Your Mind, Information Society
53. Tell It To My Heart, Taylor Dayne
54. Out Of The Blue, Debbie Gibson
55. Don't You Want Me, Jody Watley
56. Desire, U2
57. I Get Weak, Belinda Carlisle
58. Sign Your Name, Terence Trent d'Arby
59. I Want To Be Your Man, Roger
60. Girlfriend, Pebbles
61. Dirty Diana, Michael Jackson
62. 1-2-3, Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
63. Mercedes Boy, Pebbles
64. Perfect World, Huey Lewis and the News
65. New Sensation, INXS
66. Catch Me (I'm Falling), Pretty Poison
67. If It Isn't Love, New Edition
68. Rocket 2 U, Jets
69. One Good Woman, Peter Cetera
70. Don't Be Cruel, Cheap Trick
71. Candle In The Wind, Elton John
72. Everything Your Heart Desires, Daryl Hall and John Oates
73. Say You Will , Foreigner
74. I Want Her, Keith Sweat
75. Pink Cadillac, Natalie Cole
76. Fast Car, Tracy Chapman
77. Electric Blue, Icehouse
78. The Valley Road, Bruce Hornsby and The Range
79. Don't Be Cruel, Bobby Brown
80. Always On My Mind, Pet Shop Boys
81. Piano In The Dark, Brenda Russell Featuring Joe Esposito
82. When It's Love, Van Halen
83. Don't Shed A Tear, Paul Carrack
84. We'll Be Together, Sting
85. I Hate Myself For Loving You, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
86. I Don't Want To Live Without You, Foreigner
87. Nite And Day, Al B. Sure
88. Don't You Know What The Night Can Do, Steve Winwood
89. One Moment In Time, Whitney Houston
90. Can't Stay Away From You, Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
91. Kissing A Fool, George Michael
92. Cherry Bomb, John Cougar Mellancamp
93. I Still Believe, Brenda K. Starr
94. I Found Someone, Cher
95. Never Tear Us Apart, INXS
96. Valerie, Steve Windwood
97. Just Like Paradise, David Lee Roth
98. Nothin' But A Good Time, Poison
99. Wait, White Lion
100. Prove Your Love, Taylor Dayne

Last 10

The meme is going around on what were the last 10 songs you listened to. I always like these things because if nothing else sometimes I hit upon some new music to check out.

Also, Helmut's selection reminds me that we have creepy similarities in our pop culture favourites (that and she put up a link to the Spider-Man 3 trailer). She played Garbage, Peter Garbriel, Tom Waits, Spirit of the West and Leonard Cohen in her last 10. That's some pretty excellent taste in music, if I do say so myself.

Anyway, here's the last 10 things there were played on my iPod. On shuffle, because that's how I normally listen to my music.

1. Bottle of Smoke - The Pogues
2. We hide and seek - Alison Kruass and Union Station
3. It's hard to be a saint in the city - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
4. The maid on the shore - Pamela Morgan and Anita Best
5. Fat bottomed girls - Queen
6. Introducing the solution - Mo Berg
7. Weasel stomping day - Weird Al Yankovic
8. Bye bye baby - OK Go
9. Independent thief - Kathleen Edwards
10. Poets - The Tragically Hip

Switchpod

I'm still not sure I'm using Switchpod the way I'm supposed to. I think I'm supposed to record a broadcast and all that jazz instead of loading up three songs and talking about them. But the hell with it. I don't think anyone is going to complain.

Anyway, first up is Colleen Power. I've got OM pretty addicted to her even though she's only heard a few songs. But this one is cute as well. Considering all the times OM had to go up the road mentioned in the song (not to mention probably dealing with crazy obsessive friends over the years) I thought she might get a kick out of it.

Torbay Road

Covering Gordon Lightfoot is a dicey prospect under the best of circumstances. Covering "Sundown" is probably second only to "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in terms of foolishness. But if you're Ron Sexsmith, you get a lot of leeway. And this is a good cover.

Sundown

Tom Waits has a new record coming out next month and I've already heard one of the songs. It already sounds better than anything off his last three records, so that's a good sign. This is a basically a bootleg. Several years ago he appeared on VH1 Storytellers. Bizarrely, there was no CD released from the concert. However, bootlegs are in no short supply online. This is one of my favourites from it. Also, every song comes with a story. It's well worth hunting down if you can find it.

Hang Down Your Head