Johnny's in the basement mixin' up the medicine...

To all Bob Dylan fans, I just found out that there is a contest currently going on until Januaray 20th. After that, one entry will be picked in Febuarary. The big prize is a trip to SXSW!
It's the Bob Dylan Remix Project by Sony.
You can remix up to four verses of the classic, "Subterranean Homesick Blues."
There are pieces of audio to choose from featuring Bob, the Ting-Tings, and other fans/bands. Plus, you can remix your own track and upload it as well. The entry with the most votes/views wins!
Link: http://www.remix-project.com/Make

Happy New Year 2011!

Well, it's official: 2011 is upon us. Looking back, 2010 was actually quite a great year for music. It may be because I was back to doing what I love, having a show and being the DJ.
I was generally very excited for all the releases. I have put together a little list of my favorite albums of 2010:
1)Contra-Vampire Weekend. These guys really knocked me out again w/ the release of their sophmore album. I really loved their first album but this is my new favorite. I can't really stop playing it yet!
2) The Union-Elton John and Leon Russell. I was pretty excited to hear that Elton wanted to honor Leon, whom inspired him to stick with his piano playing. He wanted us to remember a lost, great session musician who didn't make it past the seventie's. This was the result of their duet and I must say that it's an excellent cd and the title fits it so well...two people coming together.
3) She and Him Vol. 2-She and Him. I loved the first album and was hoping they would have a follow-up and to my surprise, they did. I can't decide whether I like this one better or not.
4)As I call you down-Fistful of Mercy. I didn't know what to expect from this album, which was made in only 3 days. It absolutely blew me away! It's a supergroup featuring Dhani Harrison, Ben Harper, and Joseph Arthur.
5) The Suburbs-Arcade Fire. So I'm a bit late coming into the Arcade Fire game, but I really enjoyed this one a lot and listened to it all the way through several times.
6) Doo woops and Holligans-Bruno Mars. I learned of Bruno Mars when he first guest spotted on Travie McCoy's "Billionaire." I actually liked him better and decided I needed to know more about him.
7) Sea of Cowards-The Dead Weather. At first Jack White's group w/ Allison Mosshart took some getting used to. In fact, I thought the first cd was a little bizzare. Then, I listened to this and something clicked. I got it. I think 'Hustle and Cuss' might just be my favorite track!
8) Band of Joy-Robert Plant. Since I've become a huge Led Zeppelin fan, I wasn't expecting this to be as good as Led Zep. I was wrong! I didn't know what to expect from a cd of covers featuring traditional style music with folk and celtic roots but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm still singing "Angel Dance!"
9) Valleys of Neptune-Jimi Hendrix. First of all, to think Hendrix has been dead for over forty years and is STILL putting out albums! I rushed out to buy this after reading a rolling stone article. It's a fantastic album full of rare cuts, never-before released songs, and a super long jam on the Cream classic, 'Sunshine of Your love.'
10) Echoes-The Morning Benders. I first knew nothing of this group. Then I discovered their covers project and the rest was history. I love this album because it sounds very sixties and the band says that they were inspired by Phil Specter's wall of sound.
11) Lungs-Florence and the Machine. Great new act! Florence Welch has an amazing voice and I never tire of hearing this cd.
12) Emotion and Commotion-Jeff Beck. Wonderful guitar god and good album featuring Joss Stone doing a great take on 'I put a spell on you.'
13) See my Friends-Ray Davies. I was worried about this album since I thought it would be like the Santana one....an album with a lot of good names, but unnecessary covers. I was so wrong! These Ray Davies/Kinks covers are reimagined and made relevant again. Billy Corgan does a great job as well as Metallica!

Best Remasters: There always seems to be older albums getting new treatment, here are the better ones!
1) Double Fantasy-John Lennon/Yoko Ono
2) Band on the Run-Paul McCartney/Wings
3) Darkness on the Edge of Town-Bruce Springsteen
4) West Coast Seattle Boy-Jimi Hendrix
5) The Witmark Demos-Bob Dylan
6) Exile on Main Street-The Rolling Stones
7) Live at Leeds-The Who
8) Come and Get it-The Best of Apple Records
Honorable Mentions-Artists w/ albums I enjoyed that didn't make the 'best-of' list:
1) John Legend and the Roots
2) Duffy
3) The Black keys
4) Kings of Leon
5) The Black Eyed Peas
6) Sarah Bairelles
7) Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
8) Katy Perry
9) Lady Gaga
10) Cee-Loo Green
11) Michael Jackson
12) Taylor Swift
13) Mumford and Sons
14) Rhianna
15) Muse
16) Ratatat
17) KT Tunstall
18) Ringo Starr
19) The Constant
20) Gorillaz
21) Imelda May

Artists I didn't 'get':
1) Brandon Flowers
2) Chromeo
3) Nikki Minaj
4) Travie McCoy
5) Kesha
6) Adam Lambert

Undecided:
1) Jay-Z
2) Eminem
3) Pink
4) Sleigh Bells
5) Kayne West
6) Kate Nash
7) Janelle Monae
8) Brian Wilson
9) Weezer


Worst Albums or Albums that bummed me out:
1) Guitar Heavean-Santana
2) Mojo-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3) I'm having fun now-Jenny and Johnny

Albums I never got around to:
1) Mean old Man-Jerry Lee Lewis
2) Hight Violet-The National
3)Congratulations- MGMT
4) Clapton-Eric Clapton
5) Le Noise-Neil Young
6) No Better than this-John Mellencamp

Abbey Road honored!

Abbey Road is being designated as a place of 'national importance,' says the British Government.
It's one of the top toursit attractions in London and is near EMI Studios, where the Beatles recorded!
There a thousands of people who try to cross the zebra crossing and recreate the album cover. They even have an Abbey Road online webcam! I also heard that more accidents occur there than anywhere else.
Unfortunately, while Abbey Road was saved, Ringo's original home at 9 Madryn Street. is being destroyed.
Many fans tried to save it and it just doesn't seem fair since all three of the other Beatle's homes are still around. Apparently, it's not in good condition nor safe. At least we can remember it as Ringo does w/ Ringo's song, "Liverpool 8."

Here are some alternate shots of the famous photo shoot to make the Abbey Road Cover. I also recently heard that John's white suit sold for a lot of dough

WKNR Keener 13...old school Michigan station!

A buddy of mine who has a show also on WXOU posted up this link and I couldn't resist sharing.
WKNR Keener 13 was a station out of Dearborn, Michigan back in the day and was the start for one of Michigan's finest, Dick Purtan!
I love the site because it has really cool pictures including a young Bob Segar. It also had radio jingles, commercials, and airchecks. They put their music charts up and what was hot on the airwaves.
I was most impressed with the audio coverage of the Beatles in Detroit. This was from 1964, when they played Olympia Stadium. My mom and my aunts were all in attendance. My mom says that her sisters were screaming and throwing hair clips down off from their seats in the balcony. My mom just remembers seeing them and saying that she actually wanted to listen! She didn't really 'get' the craziness. She said that could've been anyone up onstage....she was excited to see George though, who was her favorite.
Anyways, WKNR was inside Olympia and recorded a small clip of the concert which I was so excited to hear. To think that my aunt's and my mom are probably in those droves of screams is really cool. Plus, the 16 minute press conference about being in Motown wasn't too bad!
Link: www.keenerpodcast.com

Is it goo goo g'joob or coo coo cachoo? Another random debate

So yesterday I was at this picnic for my Dad's friends, calld the Bull Brothers picnic. Now they have a little band and I actually was part of their band. I emceed and I also played guitar by myself for a good couple of hours. Then I joined their band and became lead singer. Everyone was blown away and Terry was so funny because he would change the lyrics around and make up new ones. It was so Lennon-like. I said that John Lennon used to do that and Paul actually met John at a church fete where John's band the Quarrymen were playing and John was doing a song that he forgot the words to so he started using lyrics from other songs and making up his words as he went along. Paul was so impressed and thought it was really clever.
I thought that way about Terry even if it was hard to follow. They did only a few numbers:Gloria, (I can't get no)Satisfaction, and House of the Rising Sun.
All in all it was really fun and I got asked to come back next year and I'm adding more songs to that list and Beatle-fying them out! Lol.
Anyways, we were tyring to figure our more songs to play when we started talking about Beatles songs and "I am the Walrus" came up. That song is absolutely one of my favorites.
Then the debate started whether Lennon sang goo goo g'joob or coo coo cachoo? I said it was goo goo g'joob because those were the original lyrics off the Magical Myster Tour album. They argued with me and I finally looked it up and I was right BUT either form is accepted I guess because it's hard to understand what John's singing but the original form was goo goo g'joob.
Also while I was lookng I came across this list. It's "you know your obsessed with the Beatles when...." and most of it for me is sadly true. The only funny part is the goo goo g'joob thing and the coo coo'cachoo.

You know you're obsessed with the Beatles when:





*You want to get your hair cut, but cannot decide on which Beatle you want your hair to look like. So you get your hair cut 4 different ways to make things "fair".



*Instead of saying "Oh f*ck!" you say "Goo goo g'joob!"



*You threaten to kill anyone who says "Rinko"



*You can't remember anything you learned in class 5 minutes ago...but you can clearly recall the Beatles tour dates of 1962, 1963, and 1964



*If you and your friends are walking across a cross-walk, you take off your shoes and lead on the opposite foot



*You hate the people who "brought you Kidz Bop" for making a "Beatles Greatest Hits" CD



*You want to change your last name to McHaristarnon



*If someone asks who you are, you instinctively respond "I am the walrus"



*You made your own Sgt. Pepper's costume



*When someone asks for help, you immediately break out into song



*Everyone in school knows you as "the other Beatle..."



*You think the greatest composer of all time was George Harrison (or one of the other 3)



*Whenever you hear the song "When I'm Sixty-four" you begin to cry; John and George never made it to 64



*You think 40 is THE unlucky number



*"Come Together" taught you how to add simple numbers



*Your best gal-pals are Lucy, Anna, Sadie, Rita, Eleanor, Michelle, Sally, Prudence, Martha, Julia, etc.



*If your friends aren't named that; you rename them so they are



*You have seen every Beatles concert/TV interview...and you were born in 1987 (or sometime after the 60's and 70's)



*You have more than 13 Beatles CD's in your collection



*You want to kill Jesse McCarntey for sharing the same last name as Paul



*You slap anyone who says...or even thinks that Paul and Jesse are related



*If Paul is not referred to as "Sir Paul..." you flip out. He was knighted, after all



*You're quietly nodding along to all of this



*You can't tolerate people saying they're big fans and all they know is "Yellow Submarine"



*You take the time out of your day to make a list like this



* is your default icon or is on your loooong list of Beatles icons



*In everything you write/draw, say, or do...there is ALWAYS something Beatles related


*The cashier at the local music store asks "what's wrong?" when you don't buy Beatles stuff.



*You have pictures of them as kids saved onto your computer.



*You celebrate their birthdays


*You 'accidentally' slip lyrics from their songs into conversations



*You seriously tried getting tickets for the Magical Mystery Tour



*You nicknamed that one teacher "big blue meanie"



*the most philosophical thing you can say is "All the world is birthday cake,
so take a piece but not too much"





*You have named one of your pets "Mr. Kite"



*You can identify any song by the first chord



*You can give a short biography on any song at any given time (i.e play time, date recorded, location recorded, etc.)



*In school, you use as many Beatles references in your notes as humanly possible. That's the only way you'll be able to understand them



*You asked your teacher if you could abbreviate your notes to Beatles references



*If you get stuck on a math problem and the teacher helps you, the minute you see where you made a mistake you immediately blurt out one of your insane Beatles references



*You're in your school's Marching Band only because the uniforms look like the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band costumes



*You were very angry/disappointed to see that there was no Beatles fan club in your school



*You make a journal entry about people who look like the Beatles, but might not know it



*You can't stand people who consider themselves fans but only know the songs on the "Beatles 1" album




*When you're at your bus stop and see the bus coming, you start to sing "Here Comes the Bus"




*You purposely look for people who look like The Beatles so you can round them up and teach them how to perform Beatles songs




*You successfully found all 4 look-a-likes


*You probably locked them up in your basement


*You try to buy your teacher's Beatles tie from them for your lunch money, a few pens, and the promise that you'll shut up with your references.


*You travel all the way to Pittsburgh just to get that tie (from the retailer, of course,) because you refused to order it offline since it "wouldn't be the same"


*Your username/screen name for anywhere either has the word "Beatles" or something related to the Beatles in it


*Remember the 4 look-a-likes? You forgot to feed them...


*You actually darted downstairs to your basement to check on them (there or not)


*You absolutely HATE it when people say it's "coo coo ca choo" instead of "goo goo g'joob"


*You find yourself comparing every band on earth to the Beatles


*You have seen "Yellow Submarine" and understood all the puns


*You tried sending a letter to Pepperland


*You're now stalking someone in another town because his name happens to be "John Lennon" or "George Harrison"


*You have cried because you were listening to "Imagine"


*On December 8th you're going or have gone to New York to show respect for someone who was quite possibly the biggest influence on society.


*Remember that letter to Pepperland? You got a reply. (woah!)



*You get headaches pondering what happened to Revoultions 2 through 8


*Whenever someone asks you if you believe in love at first sight, you instinctively respond with "Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time"

*All you wear is Beatles shirts


*You have a tattoo of one or more of the Beatles


*You check everywhere you go for any new Beatles items (even the grocery store)


*You sign up for a class only because the teacher likes the Beatles.


*You photoshop yourself into pictures of the Beatles

*You flip out when a Beatles song starts playing in a public place.


*And you don't mind all the funny looks people give you as you openly dance and sing along.


*In fact, that just makes you go crazier!


*You've given people lectures about how "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" was inspired by a picture Julian Lennon made in school of his friend Lucy, and is NOT about LSD.


*You are excited because your doctor's name is Robert.


*No matter what it is or how much it costs, you ALWAYS buy whatever Beatles-related thing you come across. Or at least save up to get it.


*You "ruin" watching A Hard Day's Night by saying the lines along with the Beatles.


*Whenever one of your friends comes across anything related to The Beatles, you're the first person to pop into their head.


*Though nothing they tell you would be something new


*Whenever someone asks you how you are doing, you reply: "I feel good, in a special way" or "I feel fine."


*If someone asks you for your phone number you say, "You know my name, look up the number."


*You have daydreamed about finding a time machine and making one (or all hehe) of The Beatles fall in love with you.


*You have bought "The Grey Album" even though you despise rap/hip-hop.


*You only watch "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" because you've heard they once did a game where they could only talk in titles of Beatles' songs, and you're afraid you'll miss the rerun if you don't.


*You have seen/been in a Beatles Tribute Band.


*You've met someone who's related to one of The Beatles, and was happy because it's "close enough."


*You can't tell anyone "good morning" without adding "good morning! good morning-ah!" afterwards.


*You can pick out specific Beatles songs to match any mood you have.

Celebrity American Idol

So my uncle and I were having a conversation about American Idol if there were a celebrity version and who would be in it. Now the rules are simple-1) They can either be dead or alive 2)They cannot be a collective or a band 3)Can be members from a band 4)Can play a musical instrument but must be able to sing. 4)Must have made an overall contribution to musical history. 5)Can be of any genre/era/etc.
Our list was narrowed down to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Elvis, the two girls from Abba, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Celine Dion, Tom petty, Janis Joplin, and George Harrison (I had to fight for this one, George is such a dark horse.)
Now I think that's a good list but in my personal list without my uncle they would be as follows: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Elvis, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Janis Joplin, and Robert Plant.
Then we said that John and Paul would probably verse each other but would both lose to Elivs.
He also asked me to pick between John and Paul and I said George. Lol. I like to go to him with this question but I did come to a conclusion. I think I would say John just because of the song "Imagine" because it is so widely known and loved. Yeah Paul is great in his own right and has songs that are just as big as "Imagine" but that was my criteria. I think John and Paul would tie.
The other ones up for consideration for our "celebrity" American Idol were Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Steve Perry from Journey, Jim Morrison(My uncle said he was too out there), Neil Diamond(too Jewish-I actually had to laugh), Mick Jagger(too sexual-lol), Roger Daltrey(Not good enough to make it past the first round, ouch), Brian Wilson, Eric Clapton(more of a guitar god and not a singer-actually agreed),Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder.
All in all, it was a weird conversation and I want to write into Fox to suggest a celebrity American Idol but I know that many of these people are already huge stars and really don't need that show.
We literally talked about it for 3 hours! It was quite the debate.

Music webistes

So I have a couple of music websites that I have checked out.
The first is the most recommended albums and music of ALL TIME. It's a pretty cool website that is broken up into albums by year and of course you can search for your favorite artists and songs per decade.
The link is: http://acclaimedmusic.net/
There is also a forum and question and answer section.
The second webiste that I wanted to share is www.nme.com.
It's the ultimate COOL list and this list is HUGE! It spans lots of era's/genre's/etc.
You can vote for your favorite artists on a scale of 1-10. The webstie also has a lot of other cool features.
So far on the cool list the top twenty includes: Keith moon, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Jim Morrison, Iggy pop, Thom Yorke(Radiohead), Carl Barat, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards (The Stones), Syd Barrett, George Harrison, Joe Strummer, Damon Albarn, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, Jimi Hendrix, Freddie Mercury (Queen), John Lennon, and finaly David Bowie.
Of course these numbers could change and I actually think Lennon should be number one but we'll see, the list so far looks good!
Finally the last website I like is Last FM. It's similar to Pandora and I like that you can download songs off of your playlist. You can listen to a lot of new artists and add those songs to your favorites.