Who doesn't love Elizabeth Taylor? She seems to get better with age. She saw the new Michael Jackson movie but she was careful to not overhype it. Here are some of her thoughts:
"I was honored with the great privilege of seeing 'This Is It' last week. I was sworn to secrecy, but now I can let you know about it," she wrote. "It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen. It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity."
She wasn't done there. "To say the man is a genius is an understatement. He cradles each note, coaxes the music to depths beyond reality," she tweeted. "You owe it to yourselves and your loved ones to see this again and again. Memorize it and say to yourselves, 'I saw genius in my lifetime.'"Taylor, who recently broke the news about a minor heart surgery on Twitter, said she wished her vocabulary "encompassed" what she felt. "If you listen to his lyrics, they are those of a modern-day prophet and it beseeches us to listen to him and what he sang," she wrote. "We must his take his words of responsibility seriously. We cannot let his life be in vain."
No offense, but does anyone really believe that this movie is better than Strange Brew, Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane and the Godfather? I believe that many people consider those 4 movies, the four best of all time, so it looks like we can add this to the top 5 collection.
Can it get any better than Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'? Years ago, I had the chance to perform this song with my little musical band over at the University of Utah. There were a couple of hundred people listening to us (I will save this story for another day) but we pulled out the 'Total Eclipse of the Heart.' Let me just say, there was not a dry eye in the crowd.
Here is a literal version of that song. Take a listen as it is very entertaining and very funny even though it cannot improve on the classic original song. And, as you will see, the feathered hair will never go out of style:
It would have been much better, I bet, if we had sung it this way.
Back in the day, MC Hammer knew how to bring it. He brought it dance-style! If you want to bring back those memories into your life once again, you can go to this site: click me For just a small bit of change, you can relax, lounge, or bust a Hammer move in the Hammer pants. How cool is that? To be able to own a piece of terrible fashion history...you can't put a price on that!
But if you decide against buying the pants, you can re-live the memories by either watching the following video or by trying to join their gang...which is basically a group of people who go around to businesses, on street corners and just break out the pants and start dancing to the bewilderment of everyone around them.
Go Hammer, Go! If you want to re-live the original, you can check out the real Hammer busting out all of his moves:
Music videos. I used to watch videos with great excitement to see the music put to a video. Often, I would be disappointed by the video as they were very simple.
But some artists stepped up and made music videos the way they should be--the music and the video told a story...a complete story. You have heard me mention Meatloaf, the singer. He is one of a kind to say the least. One thing that he could do with the best of 'em though was singing a rolling and rocking ballad that was a production more than it was a song. You hear a song and you realize that it is either Meatloaf or written by his people because they are very similar in build ups and execution.
The other thing that Meatloaf could do? He could put together a music video. These videos are so over the top and yet so entertaining that it makes you laugh and it makes you appreciate all that is Meatloaf. Hard sometimes to follow the videos as they are so out there, but they are not cheap to put together:
Meatloaf: I would do Anything for Love (But I won't do that)
Meatloaf: I'd lie for you and thats the Truth
Meatloaf: Its All Coming Back to me now As a sidenote, there have been several other covers of this song including Celine Dion...but this was a Meatloaf song and he ended up not using it on his album and let others use it.
Anyway, no real point to this whole post except for just having the chance to post about Meatloaf again.
Last night, we were with some friends and we started talking about concerts that we have been to and some great shows of the past. It got me thinking as to what concerts would be a lot of fun if they were to float thru Salt Lake City. Now, imagine if you could team up to individuals or bands--the Stones and the Who in concert. How awesome would that be? Live and Everclear. U2 and the Police. The Monkees and the Partridge Family.
Well, get ready to have the night of your life. For one night only, two musical forces collide. MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice!
Get ready to sing to some of their famous, brilliantly written songs like this gem: I'm killin your brain like a poisonous mushroom Deadly, when I play a dope melody Anything less that the best is a felony Love it or leave it You better gain way You better hit bull's eye The kid dont play If there was a problem Yo, I'll solve it Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it Ice Ice Baby Vanilla
Not to be out done though, MC Hammer brings the funk...funky style! Go with the funk, it is said That if you can't groove to this then you probably are dead So wave your hands in the air Bust a few moves, run your fingers through your hair This is it, for a winner Dance to this and you're gonna get thinner Move, slide your rump Just for a minute let's all do the bump, bump, bump Yeah... (You can't touch this) Look, man (You can't touch this) You better get hype, boy, because you know (You can't touch this) Ring the bell, school's back in (You can't touch this)
The Hammer Pants and Ice show is on February 27 at the McKay Events Center in Orem. Get your tickets quickly because if you don't, they will probably be giving them away at the front door on the night of the concert.
Brodi loves her Christmas music. Now, if it is not Christmas season, I don't think she has ever listened to it...but if its after Thanksgiving, the station is tuned to Christmas songs. I really don't care much about Christmas music...until I noticed the fabulous bands that have Christmas CDs out there:
What better way to get in the Christmas spirit than turning on the NightRider/BayWatch superstar David Hasselhoff? He is a sensation over in Germany and I love European things, so this seems like a perfect match. We all know that he can act with the best of them, DeNiro, Pacino, etc...so obviously, he can probably carry a wonderful tune.
I mean if his music on this Christmas cd is anywhere near the production value as well as the singing chops on this Hassehoff classic (pay attention to the special effects which are truly special:
If this doesn't satisfy my Christmas music needs, there are several other albums out there which I would expect would be nothing but fabulous. NSync has Justin Timberlake and they also have a Christmas album. I mean, who wouldn't buy that? And who doesn't love Michael Bolton? If you are looking for a swingin' Christmas, it appears that the Bolton has come through. I will keep you updated on the quality of all of this music.
I really like music and I am lucky to have a wife that has very similar tastes to me in regards to music.
Early on in our dating relationship, Brodi took me to go see the band 'Live' up at Wolf Mountain, or whatever they call that place now. We loved it...it was a great setting and some terrific music. It was even more entertaining with the different people around us. There were all types of people, including the couple in front of us who were busy making out and doing just about everything possible this side of getting thrown in jail for indecent exposure (If I had a cigarette, I would have probably had offered it to them). But overall, great concert and a lot of fun and it became a clear indication to me that Brodi was the one as how cool was it to have a girl not only buy the tickets for that concert but to also like it and love the music?
We are also big fans of the band 'Everclear.' I had a chance to see them in concert in Salt Lake City as well as in Washington DC. We also met Art Alexakis, the lead singer of the band, at Disneyland of all places. I am a total idiot, but I went up to him at the Blue Bayou (restaurant there in Disneyland) and introduced myself. Just exactly what every lead singer of a famous band wants is some stinkin' MALE groupie coming up to him to tell him how much he likes their band. Now, if it was Brodi, I am sure it would have been awesome for him...but alas, it was me. He was very cool though, he made sure that I bought their newly released album and I controlled myself enough to not ask him for a hug.
So, my ipod is full of songs from Everclear, Live, Linkin Park, Metallica...are you seeing a trend here? I like music a bit on the harder side. But there is an exception band/performer. Ilike 'P!nk.' Yeah, nuts. But I have 4 or 5 of her songs (who knew...sober...Pill, among them) on my playlists and she has some great music. So, I guess she is my guilty artist pleasure.
With that said, I have a wide range of musical tastes from the bands that I mentioned above to 'My Chemical Romance' to 'Spoon' to 'Cat Stevens' to 'The Killers.' If you have any offbeat or guilty pleasures of music, let me know, as I am pretty open to trying different sounds.
There are some music videos that are so bad, they deserve to be brought to light. The key board 'star' is my absolute favorite...he is having the time of his life with his perma-grin and his 'white' indian women dancing happily around him. It is mainly acoustic besides some humming and the occasional 'Apache' yell.
You have all probably used this site in years past and I became aware of it last year, but check out pandora.com
This site is fabulous. Basically what you do is you create an account, pick out your favorite band and then Pandora will find other bands that are similar in styles and music to your favorite band and you get your own radio station. So, for Brodi and I, we have our favorite bands like Muse, Everclear, Live, Linkin Park, etc...each one of those bands now has its own separate station where only music that is similar to those styles is played. It is free and it is streamed for FREE right over the internet.
So, if you want to listen to music on your computer but you want to find new or different bands, just enter what style of music you like and sit back and enjoy. There is the feature built in as well that if you don't like a certain song, you can give it a thumbs up and you will not have to listen to that music anymore.
Now, I know some of you love your 'Bangles', 'Backstreet Boys', 'Barry Manilow', etc. and that is OK--now you can listen to a lot of crappy bands that sound just like them! Anyway, enjoy...
Let me just say, there are some good concerts that have come through Utah over the years, everything from U2 to the Rolling Stones to Everclear to Live to John Denver (I don't care what any of you John Denver haters say). But looking over the upcoming concerts this year, well, it sends a few chills down my spine.
Def Leppard (USANA theater, September 7). I remember actually having their CD of ballads. Brings a tear to my eye. That tear is quickly wiped away though by just looking at their outfits in this picture. Shockingly brutal, but no doubt you ladies found that very sexy with the short shorts and the long flowing locks of rockin' hair. I remember my buddy Spencer and I would drive around in my Tercel back in high school with KBER 101 blazing over the cheap car speakers and rocking out to the Leppard, the Crue, Ozzy and the whole gang.
Journey (USANA theater, June 30). I do not believe that there is a better music video ever made. How manly must someone be to be able to make this video? This is an absolutely incredible video (Press play on the video, then pause it and let the player fully load for a minute or two and then press play and sit back and enjoy). Watching this video, I think it is also safe to say that men and women are both glad that those female hair styles and outfits are a thing of the past. Though my sisters worked these hair-dos in a famous Johnson sister family portrait that for some reason, my mom and dad still have prominently featured in their hallway. It is a constant reminder for them just how awesome the 80s were.
Cyndi Lauper (Usana theater, July 4). What better way to spend the 4th of July than celebrating the wonder that is the Lauper. I guess Boy George couldn't attend so they went after her. Truly a great way to spend a day celebrating the birth of our nation with great songs like 'Girls Just wanna have fun' and 'True Colors' which actually, isn't half bad. But I gotta hand it to her, she looks better now than she did 20 years ago.
Motley Crue (Usana theater, July 29). For their hair alone, this is a must concert. I remember living in Blackfoot, Idaho and the Crue came up to have a concert at the State Fair. Brodi worked for the NBC affiliate there as a reporter and helped cover the story. Seriously, there was more coverage on this band than there was on a presidential election. There were morality standards discussed, the police were on site to make sure that the Crue didn't sing naked or sing dirty lyrics. I am not sure if SE Idaho has ever been the same.
Stone Temple Pilots (E Center, June 11) and Nine Inch Nails (E Center, September 3). Both are performing and both want their 1990s back. Seriously, I had no idea that either bad was still around. With that said, Brodi gets a chance to rock out again to NIN as it reminds her of her youth and her rebelness.
Celine Dion (Delta Center, November 21). I probably need to be careful what I say, but I have included this video to show that I have every reason to stay 100 miles away from this concert. I have little doubt in my mind that AC/DC, when they heard this version of their famous song sung by her and Anastacia, cried themselves to sleep. I can think of very few less awkward things than those two singing this song. Call me crazy but I can do less of Celine doing her pelvic thrusts and her air guitar. It all just makes me very, very sad.
If these concerts are not of interest, John Mayer (of Jessica Simpson fame), the Police (it will cost you a mortgage payment, but they are in town), Jack Johnson (I can only think of Curious George whenever I hear his name mentioned), the Dave Matthews Band (seriously, are they still performing?), Kanye West (thats actually pretty cool because he can sing and he always says something inappropriate), The Cure (that is another pretty cool concert and nice to see them still around) and 311 (not much to say about them).
"I was honored with the great privilege of seeing 'This Is It' last week. I was sworn to secrecy, but now I can let you know about it," she wrote. "It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen. It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity." 
