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Words about Music

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The Top Ten YouTube Videos of All Time

Sunday, March 20th, 2011

A friend of mine just sent me a link to the Top Ten YouTube Videos of All Time. Reviewing the list, I realized that I hadn’t seen any of them, so I sat myself down and watched them all.

Below the cut, you’ll find links to each video, along with a few of my thoughts on each one (WARNING: Contains Bieber)

Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: Words about Music | No Comments »

To follow, but never to lead…

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

OK, the social media revolution is complete. I joined Twitter.

<rationale>
I’ve been reading too many articles lately in which some newswire is relaying news – typically celebrity news – based on what the celebrity in question has just tweeted. So, I figure, why not use Twitter as the news source it has become? I do not ever intend to tweet (I’m already on Facebook, and I honestly can’t see a reason to be on both, unless I’m caught in a real life, hashtag-worthy event…). Rather, I plan to use Twitter as a kind of “Facebook of the Stars,” in which I can read about what various celebrities are telling the world without having to catch up on them through E! Online or Yahoo! Gossip or some other aggregator that has worked an exclamation point into their name.
</rationale>

So, at the advice of a friend, I googled “Most Twitter Followers,” which led me to this site – a list of the one thousand most popular tweeters. Of the thousand I found there, I “followed” 59 people. Here they are, sorted in order from most followers to least:

1) Lady Gaga21) Al Yankovic41) Hugh Jackman
2) Justin Bieber22) Larry King42) David Blaine
3) Britney Spears23) Wil Wheaton43) Drew Carey
4) Barack Obama24) Lindsay Lohan44) Lea Michele
5) Kim Kardashian25) Penn Jillette45) Miranda Cosgrove
6) Katy Perry26) Bill Cosby46) Craig Ferguson
7) Ellen DeGeneres27) Dalai Lama47) John Hodgman
8) Taylor Swift28) Brent Spiner48) William Shatner
9) Oprah Winfrey29) Alyssa Milano49) Steve Martin
10) Justin Timberlake30) Kevin Nealon50) Sarah Palin
11) Ashley Tisdale31) Nick Swisher51) Seth Meyers
12) Ryan Seacrest32) Yoko Ono52) Tina Fey
13) Paris Hilton33) Sarah Silverman53) Roger Ebert
14) Demi Moore34) Neil Patrick Harris54) Bill Maher
15) Jimmy Fallon35) John Cleese55) Joan Rivers
16) John Legend36) Dr. Phil56) Pamela Anderson
17) Al Gore37) Barbara Walters57) Miley Cyrus
18) Conan O’Brien38) WikiLeaks58) Jessica Simpson
19) Dr. Drew39) Michael Moore59) Howard Stern
20) Stephen Colbert40) Kathy Griffin

In terms of actual entertainment, I am fans of some of these folks and not of others, but they all looked like they might produce interesting tweets, which was my only criteria here (and thus concludes the story of how a Twitter user came to follow both Michael Moore and Sarah Palin on the same day. If only I had a way to share this exciting news with everyone I know. Oh yeah, that’s right: Facebook).

Anyway, first impressions of Twitter as news source:



Yeah – this is gonna get weird fast…

Categories: Blogging about Blogs, Movie Talk, Primetime TV, Words about Music | 3 Comments »

Two of these things are not like(d by) the others…

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

This story is strange on a wide variety of levels.

But first, the facts: Pop singer, Katy Perry, recorded a segment for Sesame Street, in which she sang a (child-friendly) version of her hit song, Hot N Cold, with everybody’s favorite montser, Elmo. The segment was posted on Sesame Street’s YouTube channel as a “sneak peek” at the show’s season premiere. After more than one million views, the folks at the Sesame Workshop received a number of complaints that Ms. Perry’s outfit was too revealing, making it inappropriate for a TV show aimed at preschoolers. The Sesame Street folks decided not to air the segment on television and removed it from the Sesame Street YouTube channel, although they did allow it to remain on other YouTube channels and websites, including Katy Perry’s own YouTube channel and katyperry.com.

Oh, strange story, let me count the ways…

1) Sesame Street pre-releases clips of its shows on YouTube? Is this really such hotly anticipated content that we can’t wait for the actual show to air?

2) Parents actually watch pre-release clips of Sesame Street on the Internet? Are there folks out there who really want to pre-screen Sesame Street on a regular basis?

3) To Sesame Street’s target demographic, cleavage doesn’t suggest anything naughty – it suggests lunch!

To be honest, I don’t very much care that they didn’t air it on television. One of the great things about the times we live in is that television isn’t our only source of media content. Anyone who wants to see Katy Perry sing with Elmo (or just ogle her cleavage) can do so on the Internet just as easily (or, some would argue, more easily) than on television. And if your two-year old is a big Katy Perry fan, you’re free to sit him/her down in front of the computer and let him/her watch. So the TV show becomes the “extremely safe zone.” That used to matter a lot, because the decisions of a select few affected the choices of the masses. Today, not so much.

For those who are curious, here’s the video. But be forewarned – if you click on it, you have to stop claiming that you read my blog just for the articles…

Categories: Primetime TV, Words about Music | 1 Comment »

Mary Had a Little Song Parody…

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Some random humor from my e-mail inbox:

First, my friend Jeff Porten shows what happens when you eat lamb chops while listening to Elton John:

Bo combs my fleece next morn adorned
Zero hour six AM
And I’m gonna be munching grass and straw till then
The NASA satellite was low and tight
That caught my sheepskin fuzz
Ovis aries meets Ares

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
Got four legs waving in the air sublime
I’m not the lamb they think is all alone
Oh no no no. I’m a rocket lamb.
Rocket lamb, glad I’m wearing wool ’cause it’s awf’ly cold.

Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids
Leave them with the goats’ next door
Or their heads will bug out bad like Arnold’s did.
I see Spirit stuck there, down in the sand
In space there’s no one to hear you bleat
A rocket lamb, a rocket lamb.

And this orbit is still stuck on full repeat
No fancy gyroscope gives me a sign
I’d be better off as gyro meat
Oh no no no no no. I’m a rocket lamb.
Rocket lamb, Peep has no business raising sheep

Not to be outdone, Steve Walsh responded with this Paul McCartney tribute:

Well the grain exploded with a mighty crash, as we leapt over the trough,
And the first one said to the second one, “baaah”
Lamb on the run, lamb on the run,
And the farmer man and the upholstery stand, were searching everyone,

For the lamb on the run, lamb on the run, lamb on the run, lamb on the run

Well the shearer drew a heavy sigh, seeing no spool of wool had come,
And a bell was ringing in the village square, for the rabbits on the run
[NOTE: actual line!]
Lamb on the run, lamb on the run.

OK, so the first one is cute, but the second one is a challenge. So at that point, I turn to Billy Joel for inspiration:

There’s nine in our flock on a Saturday
But yesterday it was ten
There’s a sheep dog standing next to me
Making sure no one else leave the pen

He says, “Son, you appear to be musical
which for you, might seem quite absurd
But if you would please bleat a song that is sweet
Then I can keep track of this herd

baa baa baa, b- b- baa baa
baa baa, b- b- baa, baa baaaaaaaaaaaaa

Sing us a song, you’re the piano lamb
Sing us a song right now
’cause Mary is peeved I let one of you leave
and now she’s stuck eating the cow..

So there you go. Three guys writing song parodies who aren’t the least bit sheepish…

(Too much? Yeah, you’re right. Sorry…)

Categories: The World Wide Weird, Words about Music | 1 Comment »

Who, Exactly, Is the World?

Monday, February 15th, 2010

OK, it’s impossible not to compare, so here we go. Two groups of people who boldly claim, “We are the World.” Which group do you prefer?

Obviously, these are both wonderful causes, so I’m comparing only music videos here.

I guess I’m predisposed to prefer the original, since it’s how I first heard the song, and contains a larger percentage of artists that I know and/or identify with. That said, the new version is growing on me. I’m surprised by how much I like the rap breaks, both in the middle and at the end. I think what Wyclef Jean did with Creole lyrics and singing style went a long way toward making this an effort in Haitian relief, and not just a remake of the original song. I like the way they incorporated Michael Jackson into it (the image of Janet singing next to her brother is the first tribute to his legacy that doesn’t feel commercialized in some way), and I love the Ray Charles impression that Jamie Foxx threw in to honor another of the original’s stand-out artists.

On the other hand, I’m mystified about why they changed the lyrics to one of the verses (was there a religious objection to “As God has shown us by turning stone to bread?”). I’m surprised by Celine Dion’s choice to imitate, note for note, what Cyndi Lauper did with her part (with apparent coaching from Lionel Richie?), rather than bringing her own interpretation to the song. I think teen sensation, Justin Bieber, is going to get a big bump in face-recognition from singing the first solo (“There comes a time…”), but that most people will conclude that his voice was too weak to handle it. And I’m deeply, deeply troubled by the acceptance of auto-tune as a musical choice by folks Lil Wayne and others. If melodic singing isn’t his thing, then find someone else to do Bob Dylan’s part, please? That, or for heaven’s sake, someone please improve the auto-tune technology so it doesn’t sound like a robot attempting to sing such soulful lyrics!

In the end, I still prefer the original, but I’m glad they both exist. And if the new one is nearly as successful as the original in raising money for a good cause, then I’m doubly glad they put in the time and effort.

“Let us realize that a change will only come when we stand together as one…”

Categories: Words about Music | No Comments »

Carrie Fisher, Episode Two – Attack of the Country Singing Clones

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

It seems that country singing superstar Carrie Underwood is engaged to marry the NHL’s Ottowa Senators’ Mike Fisher. Which, in the extremely unlikely event that she chose to change her world-famous name, would make her Carrie Fisher.

Attention 40-something year-old men: you may now commence picturing Carrie Underwood in a metal bikini. That is all…

Categories: Sports Talk, Words about Music | 5 Comments »

Random Acts of Blogging – 12/3/09

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

So many blog-worthy things going on in the world all at once! So, some quick thoughts on several things:

Adam Lambert emerged from his #2 finish on American Idol as one of the most promising singing talents in years. At the American Music Awards, he decided to make his performance a social statement, rather than make it about the music. He’s since been cancelled by ABC from Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. And the shows that are letting him on suddenly want to talk about nothing else but the AMA’s. I’m disappointed. Not because I have a particular opinion about his “cause,” but because he’s allowed his cause to overshadow his music, which I was looking forward to enjoying. On the upside, I think maybe he’s realizing his mistake. Here’s what he told Ellen Degeneres:

It was maybe a little too far. I think in hindsight I look back on it and I go, “OK, maybe that wasn

Categories: News and/or Media, Political Rantings, Random Acts of Blogging, Words about Music | 4 Comments »

ISBS Concert Review: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live at Giants Stadium – October 3, 2009

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Good evening, New Jersey!

Last night at Giants Stadium, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band put on a three-hour extravaganza that proved conclusively that adrenaline can power a rock & roll band every bit as much as an electric guitar.

Billed as his farewell to Giants Stadium (a new Giants Stadium is nearing completion in the parking lot next door, and will open for business with next year’s football season), Bruce and the band powered through twenty-eight songs (setlist), providing the required momentum for the near-perpetual motion machine that is his loyal fan base.

Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: ISBS Reviews, Words about Music | 5 Comments »

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down…

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Avery with TrumpetLadies & gentlemen, let it be known that there is officially one more trumpeter in the world tonight! Also, may I remind everyone, that the music room in our house is soundproof.

Avery’s goal: to play The Red and the Blue with the Penn Band at Homecoming (November 7 against Princeton). Lessons have begun!

(NOTE: Click on the picture (or click here) to see a brief slideshow of pictures)

Categories: Family Matters, Words about Music | 1 Comment »

Stand By Me, Iran…

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Here’s Jon Bon Jovi and Iranian singer Andy Madadian collaborating on “Stand by Me,” sung in both Farsi and English, and meant to be distributed around the world, but especially around Iran.

It’s the brainchild of American record producer (and bassist on the recording), Don Was. The site also has the MP3 available for free download.

(Hat tip: Jason Bennion)

Categories: Words about Music | No Comments »

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