dlgood: (BlackBerry)
Sunday, June 27th, 2010 03:47 am
We got cable at the end of 1988. Around the time I was prepping for my Bar Mitzvah - I was more likely to distract myself with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out than MTV. I mostly only watched the mainstream videos.

Every so often, as I got a little more mature as a listener, I would stay up later to watch 120 mins... and not just the headbanger stuff. One of the bands I really liked was Concrete Blonde...

Concrete Blonde - Joey

Concrete Blonde - Everybody Knows


"Joey" was their biggest hit, a song about singer Johnette Napolitano's relationship with an alcoholic. "Everybody Knows" a cover of the Leonard Cohen song, from the movie "Pump Up the Volume". I find Napolitano a compelling vocalist, with both her voice and ability to manipulate it. Comparing Cohen's spare arrangement to Concrete Blonde's lush version - I much prefer the Cover. I imagine Cohen intended a flat effect, but I find Napolitano's interpretation far more compelling.

I don't feel like they have an especially deep catalog, but I think these two songs in particular are pretty timeless (though the Joey video is pretty hackneyed) Given the national news these days, "Everybody Knows" doesn't sound more than a week old, does it...
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dlgood: (BlackBerry)
Sunday, June 27th, 2010 03:47 am
We got cable at the end of 1988. Around the time I was prepping for my Bar Mitzvah - I was more likely to distract myself with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out than MTV. I mostly only watched the mainstream videos.

Every so often, as I got a little more mature as a listener, I would stay up later to watch 120 mins... and not just the headbanger stuff. One of the bands I really liked was Concrete Blonde...

Concrete Blonde - Joey

Concrete Blonde - Everybody Knows


"Joey" was their biggest hit, a song about singer Johnette Napolitano's relationship with an alcoholic. "Everybody Knows" a cover of the Leonard Cohen song, from the movie "Pump Up the Volume". I find Napolitano a compelling vocalist, with both her voice and ability to manipulate it. Comparing Cohen's spare arrangement to Concrete Blonde's lush version - I much prefer the Cover. I imagine Cohen intended a flat effect, but I find Napolitano's interpretation far more compelling.

I don't feel like they have an especially deep catalog, but I think these two songs in particular are pretty timeless (though the Joey video is pretty hackneyed) Given the national news these days, "Everybody Knows" doesn't sound more than a week old, does it...
Tags:
dlgood: (Subs)
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 09:11 pm
I've been lax in posting again. Blah, blah, softball-cakes, yeah. Far more important things are afoot - even more important than health care, more important than Skip Gates, more important than the possible de-funding of the F-22.

I'm talking about, perhaps, the greatest Foreign Policy blog theme ever.

Jay-Z vs the Game: Lessons for the American Primacy Debate

This is what happens when serious Foreign Policy intellectuals happen to also be big-time fans of hip-hop and rap. They combine the two issues in the most deliciously geeky/nerdy way. And then they really run with the metaphors... (The Game = Hugo Chavez = Priceless)

Now, I do like Mark Lynch's work, but this takes him to a new level of awesome. Spencer Ackerman, OTOH, I always knew was cool.

So, seriously. If you are a Foreign Policy wonk, and super nerdy about your hip-hop, I wholeheartedly encourage you to check out the following...

I mean... it even made NPR.
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dlgood: (Subs)
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 09:11 pm
I've been lax in posting again. Blah, blah, softball-cakes, yeah. Far more important things are afoot - even more important than health care, more important than Skip Gates, more important than the possible de-funding of the F-22.

I'm talking about, perhaps, the greatest Foreign Policy blog theme ever.

Jay-Z vs the Game: Lessons for the American Primacy Debate

This is what happens when serious Foreign Policy intellectuals happen to also be big-time fans of hip-hop and rap. They combine the two issues in the most deliciously geeky/nerdy way. And then they really run with the metaphors... (The Game = Hugo Chavez = Priceless)

Now, I do like Mark Lynch's work, but this takes him to a new level of awesome. Spencer Ackerman, OTOH, I always knew was cool.

So, seriously. If you are a Foreign Policy wonk, and super nerdy about your hip-hop, I wholeheartedly encourage you to check out the following...

I mean... it even made NPR.
Tags:
dlgood: (Default)
Sunday, July 12th, 2009 12:23 pm
So, death of Michael Jackson. Prodigious Talent. Extraordinary Weirdness. We were touched by his concern for children. We were concerned by his touching of children.

(Note: all links point to YouTube. Enjoy them.)

Discussing the Jackson 5, and video clips )

As a special treat, the brothers popping & locking with Dom DeLuise.
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dlgood: (Default)
Sunday, July 12th, 2009 12:23 pm
So, death of Michael Jackson. Prodigious Talent. Extraordinary Weirdness. We were touched by his concern for children. We were concerned by his touching of children.

(Note: all links point to YouTube. Enjoy them.)

Discussing the Jackson 5, and video clips )

As a special treat, the brothers popping & locking with Dom DeLuise.
Tags:
dlgood: (SubSandwich)
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 11:47 pm
Tonight, we mourn the passing of singing legend, Robert Goulet. Wonderful showman, with a great style and sense of humor... as seen in these sixteen commercials he did for ESPN College Basketball back in the 1990s.

Links to Index of Clips


#
Topic Song
1 Kentucky Wildcats Come On, Get Happy
2 Kansas Jayhawks Give My Regards To Broadway
3 Dean Smith Bad Bad Leroy Brown
4 UCLA YMCA
5 Bobby Knight Oh Susanna
6 Big Monday Happy Days are Here Again
7 Arkansas Home on the Range
8 Championship Week High Hopes
9 Dick Vitale Yankee Doodle Dandy
10 Three Point Shots Downtown
11 Utah Utes Old MacDonald Had a Farm
12 Wake Forest Green Acres
13 Big Monday That's Amore
14 Big East - ACC Addams Family
15 Freshman Flintstones
16 College Basketball on ESPN YMCA


Updated 11/01 at 1800
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dlgood: (SubSandwich)
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 11:47 pm
Tonight, we mourn the passing of singing legend, Robert Goulet. Wonderful showman, with a great style and sense of humor... as seen in these sixteen commercials he did for ESPN College Basketball back in the 1990s.

Links to Index of Clips


#
Topic Song
1 Kentucky Wildcats Come On, Get Happy
2 Kansas Jayhawks Give My Regards To Broadway
3 Dean Smith Bad Bad Leroy Brown
4 UCLA YMCA
5 Bobby Knight Oh Susanna
6 Big Monday Happy Days are Here Again
7 Arkansas Home on the Range
8 Championship Week High Hopes
9 Dick Vitale Yankee Doodle Dandy
10 Three Point Shots Downtown
11 Utah Utes Old MacDonald Had a Farm
12 Wake Forest Green Acres
13 Big Monday That's Amore
14 Big East - ACC Addams Family
15 Freshman Flintstones
16 College Basketball on ESPN YMCA


Updated 11/01 at 1800
Tags: