What Are You Listening To?

[oldshurst442]

Im gonna continue to bash California.

Why is it that I equate most "beautiful" residents of California as narcissistic, selfish, shytty people?

Why is it that I think that most of these California peeps are like Amber Turd?

Im gonna stop the bashing and Im gonna post songs that made me dream about California in a good way.

 

 

 

 

 

[trinacriabob]

5 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

meh...

I never did like that "All I wanna do is have some fun on the Santa Monica Boulevard" song.

"This is L.A.!!!"   To which I say: BIIIIIG phoquing deal!!!

I once dreamt about California and what it be like to live there. But slowly slowly, the mystical attraction, daze and hypnotic trance Los Angeles and Hollywood and Beverley Hills and Malibu Beach and San Francisco and all things California has vanished for me. 

Too funny!

I'm native to that place and I'm nothing like the stereotype ... and never was!  Except for maybe the irreverence and sarcasm that people will let fly there.  I feel more at home in your city of Montreal.  If only it had a mild winter.

I will say that what's likeable about L.A. is the setting and the weather ... and that's really about it.  The "culture," the value system, and the edgy people are pretty messed up.

I'd say more than half of the people I grew up with have left.  Many stayed in the state, but went to far less crowded or rural areas of it, including the desert (where they cannot allow their pets to be outside alone on their properties).  Others left the state altogether and went to America's second tier cities.  Once you've adjusted to a "second tier" metro area (Denver, Portland, Twin Cities, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, etc.), you will have no desire to go back to L.A.  Even visiting L.A. is stressful because you are constantly reminded that it has lost its livability. 

[Robert Hall]

I'll forever be a Golden State fan and tourist...love the beaches in the San Diego/San Diego County and Orange County areas, the wine country, Highway 1, the California Dream mythology.  The car culture, the computer geek culture is unmatched.  I've enjoyed my visits to LA and SF, have had several job offers in the Bay Area in the past.  Loved going to Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca, the Festival of Speed at Coronado Island, Indy Car races at Fontana, Long Beach and Infinion Raceway..should have moved to the Bay Area 25 years ago when I first had the opportunity...

But it's become so expensive that the cost of living is hard to justify, even w/ the higher salaries.. ($150k/yr in Cleveland goes a lot farther than $250k in SF/SJ).  

 

Some of my favorite California/LA-themed songs..

Randy Newman 'I Love LA'

 

 

And the whole 'To Live and Die in LA' soundtrack by Wang Chung, from the excellent William Freidkin film of the same title.

 

And Dr Dre's and Tupac's excellent 'California Love'.

 

 

 

 

[oldshurst442]

Back when I was California dreamin', I was ashamed of Montreal and Quebec.  The  language issues, the Quebec trying to separate from Canada. the endless businesses closing up shop and moving away from Montreal and because I lived IN the city at this time I literally saw the vibrant city that is Montreal turn into a cold cold not quite ghost town, but close. 

Boarded up small businesses where I lived. Empty office buildings everywhere  in the downtown core.  This was in the mid 1980s.  Even as a child in the 1970s, I could see Montreal was a special rockin' place.  And all that went away in the 1980s.  

There was a lot of cool and positive imagery of California in that time.  Karate Kid moving from New Jersey to California.  Clark Griswold going to Wallyworld for a family vacation.  (Yeah, you dont really see California all that much in that movie, its the constant mentioning of Wallyworld that you know Wallyworld and consequently California, must be a nice place to visit)  etc.

I had visited Greece at least 5 times by 1987 so I equated Greek summer weather and the beaches with California. And obviously California beaches were better because going to Surf City there is a Girl/Boy ratio of 2:1.   All the muscle cars drag racing, etc...

Montreal was my home town, but it was an embarrassment.  Canada seemed to hate us.  Americans, those that knew where we were and who we were always thought that we were weird for speaking French...   Not a good image.

I always loved NYC, but NYC always had this all business, no time for anyone and anything vibe to it.  Too fast of a life.  Sure, if you could make it there, you could make it anywere, but NYC would chew you up and spit you out.  California was chill. Greece was chill.  California WAS the place to live.  You could make money, tons of it, but you could actually enjoy it too. 

But something happened.  I did a 180 degree on Montreal and embraced the language issues, embraced that Quebec IS French.  PHOQUE the English and the rest of Canada.  I saw that even if Montreal's business side crumbled and there was practically nothing left of it, Montrealers and Quebecois KNEW how to have fun.  I found that my Greek DNA for the lust for life and living and enjoying was very very much alive with Quebec culture and the French people.  And as Montreal and Quebec slowly picked up the broken pieces and re-invented our economics, I in turn was proud of Montreal, the Province of Quebec, AND the East Coast.   I started preferring NYC and Boston to LA, SF,  San Diego, etc  (Mind you, I have been to NYC and Boston many times and Im sure THAT helped for me to connect to NYC and Boston).  If I wanted the beach life, The Caribbean, Jamaica, Florida are ON the East Coast.   Greece is not THAT much farther away than what California is anyway.    

I sooooo want to visit and swim in the Pacific Ocean though.   But its so clear to me now that the Mediterranean is where my soul belongs.   

 

 

[trinacriabob]

On a short road trip this holiday weekend and this song, albeit the original 3 to 4 minute version, is in my collection.

This rendition is a bit long, but the visual effects are very cool.

This song is timeless and great on the interstate.  I love this song.

[daves87rs]

Beach boys kinda day here…..

[trinacriabob]

Can't peg Bryan Adams' musical style ... it's like an interpolation of that of various other musical artists.  I believe he's Canadian.

This is one of his better songs.

[oldshurst442]

Yes. Canadian, Bryan Adams is.  

I believe his dad was British though. An officer in the British Army. He was stationed somewhere in Canada when Bryan was born.  Or something like that.   If Im not mistaken, Bryan has dual citizenship between Canada and the UK. 

I like Bryan Adams.  I would call myself a fan. 

[oldshurst442]

 

[Drew Dowdell]

 

[trinacriabob]

Another one of those songs that you remember exactly where you were when you heard it from the car's cassette player.

Not really a fan of Kenny Loggins, but this songs broods more than his more poppy stuff.

Some friends and I were coming back from a ski trip to the Lake Tahoe area, had descended from the Sierra Nevada, and were driving down I-5 back to SoCal through a Central Valley covered in clouds and this "darker" song fit the situation.

Who'd have thought that, per Wikipedia, Kenny Loggins was native to Everett, WA?

Edited June 5, 2022 by trinacriabob

[trinacriabob]

I just saw a list of one hit wonders from the bell bottoms and mutton chop era.

How about this one?  Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" ...

Too much ... all the way around ...

[David]

I am enjoying this song very much right now. Music move ya, even in Korean, the singing is very enjoyable.

If you watch this song, there is a whole album that plays with JeA singing and Juwon Park a well-known Guitarist playing on the songs. His playing is awesome if you like classic guitar playing.

[David]

Always enjoyed this video/song.

 

 

Very cool cover by twins. Lovely voices.

 

[David]

Just finished my CDC, John Hopkins weekly concall and after the depressing news, started listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 

[trinacriabob]

This is the place where my parents first set foot in the U.S., so it definitely has a place in my heart.

Check out some of the old American cars in the footage.  In some scenes, ALL of the cars are American.

This song ("Native New Yorker") is eternal.

 

[trinacriabob]

An oldie but a goodie.  Was thinking about it and then looked for it.

"Got on board a westbound 747" etc. etc.

Then, he's shown performing it some 40 years later in Germany.  The ensemble of German locals accompanying him is doing a great job.  He sounds exactly the same, which is not always the case with musical artists.

 

[Robert Hall]

Went to a concert last night of the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center amphitheater...2nd row seats, I love classical music and esp. in a semi-outdoors setting.. I love Blossom--beautiful venue in a hilly, wooded setting only 25 min from home..  Beethoven's 4th and 5th symphonies.  Going to see Vivaldi at the end of the month at the same place.

It's fun going to the orchestra outside--can dress casually--shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, instead of dressed up like I usually do when going to Severance Hall in downtown Cleveland.

[oldshurst442]

Olivia Newton-John  RIP

Was never a big fan of Grease. I didnt get it then, I dont get it now.  I think its more of a teenage girl thing. Then, in the '70s, when I was a teenager in the mid '80s  and now as my daughter asked me if I am saddened by the passing of Olivia Newton-John.  

And I am not. And that is what I told her.  Sure, I felt a little something for her passing...

So I was curious to know how she knew about O N-J as the last time her pop music was any relevant, I myself hadnt reached my own teen years yet. And my daughter is not into music all that much.  But ah...  her and her friends did discover Grease somehow. She and her friends enjoyed the movie-musical...

I liked her music.

These 3 songs would be my favourite.  No. Let's get Physical aint one of them surprise surprise.

Surprise surprise, 2 out of the 3 songs are from Grease....

 

 

And the next one is from the '80s. And it aint Xanadu either

 

Oh yeah, nearly forgot about this one. I like this one too!!!  Alot even

 

[trinacriabob]

Heard this last week at a restaurant ... heard it tonight at a restaurant.

This is one goofy song that stays with you for a while after you hear it.

[oldshurst442]

British Invasion part 2 was awesome!

Ive had this song stuck in my head for the last couple of weeks.  There was a softball tournament in my neighborhood that my daughter and I attended, Canadian Championships for A ball U17 girls and this song came blasting up on the speakers.  I was surprised that this song would be playing at a softball tournament in 2022, but it did and it still stuck in my head. 

 

 

[David]

Drizzle here, such a nice relief after the heat of this summer, just 60 degrees, loving it. As such, chilling while the wife talks to her girlfriend upstairs, seeing what is going on in the world and listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 

[trinacriabob]

I almost forgot about this one.  It was really obnoxious and stereotypical, but hilarious.

(In this live rendition, he involves the audience)

This guy's fame turned on a dime, and he got rich off this one song skyrocketing.

[Robert Hall]

Went to two concerts this weekend--The Fixx Friday night in Kent, and Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band in Pittsburgh last night.

 Great shows...lots of songs I grew up listening to in the 80s... Starr's band included Steve Luthaker of Toto (did 'Rosanna', 'Africa', 'All the Way'), Colin Hay of Men at Work (did 'Down Under, Overkill,  Who Can it Be Now'), Edgar Winter, and others....lots of fun... lots of driving also.  The gridlocked traffic after the show getting out of downtown Pittsburgh was tedious last night.

 

 

 

 

[Robert Hall]

Wasn't familiar w/ this band, but I like this track...'Thrill' by Future Islands.  Heard it last night in the latest episode of Showtime's 'American Gigilo' series.

  Guy has an interesting voice and the synths are great..

 

Which lead to this song, which has a cool video w/ some driving w/ an Civic and an Impreza I think..

 

Another track by Future Islands..

 

[oldshurst442]

During my quarantine...

I was watching these videos/songs.  I LOVE dancing and watching others dance.  Brings a smile to my face!

Go-Go dancing in the 60s must have been great!  Love the bubble gum rock too.  I got a Tommy Roe's greastest hits CD. Boought it in the early 1990s.   I dont know miss Robin Mary Paris. But she is cute.  Too bad Im happily married and its 2023 and not 1969. Id ask her out on a date had it been 1969.  

 

Shuffle dancing is a today thing. LOVE IT!!!  Too bad I aint 19 anymore.  Id join these awesome ladies.   Love ELO. Many shuffle dancing vids exist and some of these people editing them do such an awesome job to time the shuffle dancing with the beat of the music.  And this one is no exeption. Awesome video. Awesome song and the girls dance just...awesome! 

 

 

And Footloose. With classic Hollywood leading the way most of the time in this video. Very entertaining!

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by oldshurst442

[oldshurst442]

During my quarantine time, I was also watching The Killer play his piano.  I had to use my history to get the videos back, but I did succeed.  

 

The news is out, all over town...   rest in peace Jerry Lee. 

 

 

[oldshurst442]

 

 

[trinacriabob]

This one is a tough customer!

 

[oldshurst442]

What a difference in how an expression of love is being made by these 2 different genres of music we both posted.  Both musically and lyrically.    I appreciate greatly both styles.
 

Im not into country all that much. A song or two here and there.  But Shania Twain, Canadian and all,  does just fine with me.  Although I gather her version of country is more pop more than anything.  

She inspires woman power more than anything feminist today.  But what do I know? 

 

 

[knightfan26917]

Christmas music currently.

But my tastes are eclectic: Ronnie Milsap to Linkin Park to Stephen Curtis Chapman to basically you name it.

 

"Maybe I'll drive so far they'll all lose track" | Dolly Parton | 'Hard Candy Christmas'
Cort, pig and cow valves with pacemaker
2003 MGM LS + 1981 cmc SC; need 1975 Chrysler Cordoba

[surreal1272]

An early Christmas gift and newest addition to the vinyl collection, Tool "Fear Inoculum". 90 minutes of Danny Carey percussion godliness. 

[trinacriabob]

This was sort of funny and sort of deja vu.  I had posted this song not long ago.

On the curved beachside promenade on Playa de las Canteras in Las Palmas, Spain was that gentleman (on the left) performing.  It was only instrumental, but it was clearly Albert Hammond's biggest hit "It Never Rains in Southern California"  ... very appropriate song for this sun drenched region of Spain, where it was in the low to mid 70s (F) daily in early December.

 

[trinacriabob]

Here we see Laura Branigan peforming in Chile in 1988 and singing Alphaville's "Forever Young" (1984) to a live audience.

She seemed like a neat lady.  And the Chilean audience can teach SOME Americans a thing or two about class, which makes sense because Chile is often considered the most progressive country in Latin America, with Argentina and Uruguay also in the running.

[trinacriabob]

Some James Bond movie theme song music by Duran Duran ...

These never fail to take you back in time, almost as if watching the credits roll for the very first time.

Some of them even have a fair amount of instrumental action that ties in to the mainstay James Bond theme that has stood the test of time.  And, of course, some title songs from the franchise are better than others.

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by trinacriabob

[trinacriabob]

Talking about the movie "Body Heat" got me going.  It's of my all time favorite films.  I've seen it about 9 times.  It never gets old.  A few of my friends and I know some of its great lines.

The theme music that they roll the credits to is outstanding.  The name John Barry (RIP) might not ring a bell, but it should.  He scored most of the James Bond 007 films.  He was right up there with the likes of Michel Legrand and John Williams.

This is in my music collection along with some other instrumentals to break up the classic rock, '80s and '90s pop, dance music, jazz, etc.

This scene is one of the more interesting ones, getting way more R rated after what you see here.  Yesteryear's Kathleen Turner worked this guy - played by William Hurt (RIP) - like nobody's business.  I haven't seen too many William Hurt movies so, in my mind, he will always be Ned Racine.

[oldshurst442]

Going back to James Bond.

Im amazed that no matter the artist or band to do THE Bond theme,  the feel, the sound,  the vocals all resemble each other while at the same time, they are all soooo different from each other while  preserving the artist or band's signature style.   Its a great feat to achieve.

I dont like Adele's singing.  More precisely...  I HATE ADELE'S VOICE.  But...I LOVE her rendition of THE Bond theme. 

 

 

On 1/10/2023 at 10:58 PM, trinacriabob said:

Some of them even have a fair amount of instrumental action that ties in to the mainstay James Bond theme that has stood the test of time.  And, of course, some title songs from the franchise are better than others.

Just to accompany what you were saying...my post was. 

[trinacriabob]

I heard this in the car.  I doubt that, in today's uptight times, a band would call themselves "Hot Chocolate," but

that's what makes this era of music all that much quirkier and funnier.

I could have sworn this was '80s, but it's earlier than that ... at the very peak of disco.  Very spunky song.

Also, per some text during the video, this appears to have been a performance in Koln (Cologne), Germany.

[David]

Working tonight for DTW 2023 tradeshow and rocking out to the Muse Channel!

Muse - YouTube

This is speaking to me right now!

 

[oldshurst442]

On 1/20/2023 at 2:33 PM, trinacriabob said:

I heard this in the car.  I doubt that, in today's uptight times, a band would call themselves "Hot Chocolate," but

that's what makes this era of music all that much quirkier and funnier.

I could have sworn this was '80s, but it's earlier than that ... at the very peak of disco.  Very spunky song.

Also, per some text during the video, this appears to have been a performance in Koln (Cologne), Germany.

I first heard this song in the movie The Full Monte.  I had rented it on VHS one night.  Like I had done with  many movies back in the day, but I digress.   I was instantly enomoured by the song.  It was before google, but I managed to find out who sang the song...Hot Chocolate.  At the same time, I found out that Hot Chocolate had another hit song. Disco.   I knew this one...and I liked it then. It played often on Montreal radio way into the early '80s. 

And Im listening to it now, again, for the first time since.maybe the early 1990s?    And I find that I STILL like it!!!  

Back to You Sexy Thing.

It must have been in 1999 or in 2000...a Eurodance version was released.  And I was proud to know that it was a remake...  And it also jived as much as the original.   I bought the single CD and was BLASTING it DAILY in my OLDSMOBILE ALERO.   I MISS THAT CAR!!!  Nothing special, but it also was!!!   

 

 

[trinacriabob]

I love this lady.  She is Lashonda Lester, a Detroit native who moved to Austin and wound up doing stand-up.  She is no longer with us, passing at about 41 from cancer.

This is what I'm listening to and sometimes do so when I need a good laugh.

Her delivery (voice modulation, etc.) are perfect for this sort of gig.

(She also has another good YouTube about Russians and religious types coming to the door.)

May she RIP.

[trinacriabob]

Look at this car.  Malaise era Mopar.  And all those GMs seen in the vid.  And in yesteryear's Los Angeles!

The world we know/knew has steadily been losing its personality.

[David]

This Friday is a Gorillaz day for me.

 

[oldshurst442]

Took the family to a cabane a sucre Sunday.

Had this song in my head since then

 

[trinacriabob]

I just saw on my homepage that there's a montage they just came up with title "I'm So Indicted."  Funny.

It obviously references the Pointer Sisters song from the '80s, which is okay, but not as good as what I think is their best song - "Neutron Dance"

"I'm So Excited" about "I'm So Indicted"

It's obviously a montage of a bunch of different movies, only some of which I can identify.

[David]

3 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I just saw on my homepage that there's a montage they just came up with title "I'm So Indicted."  Funny.

It obviously references the Pointer Sisters song from the '80s, which is okay, but not as good as what I think is their best song - "Neutron Dance"

"I'm So Excited" about "I'm So Indicted"

It's obviously a montage of a bunch of different movies, only some of which I can identify.

Clearly a take on Footloose. while pointing to so many other dance movies. All about the dance!

A Muse day for me as I work

 

[David]

Popped up on YouTube Music, never heard of them before but not bad.

 

[David]

Awesome song

 

[David]

Listening to the K-Pop song Going Crazy which is about a one-sided love. The Woman in the video is Min Hyo-rin who is now a big star, but this was her first break into Music with the actual singer Song Ji-Eun.

This is Min Hyo-rin today:

Crazy how the actresses and actors in Korea feel they have to be a triple threat in that they sing, dance and act and in some cases some even play instruments. Amazing talent in the very competitive business.

[David]

Here is another woman, actually born and raised here in the U.S. as her parents emigrated here for a better life for her and her siblings. She loved to sing but found it hard to break into the U.S. music business, so went back to Korean and is now the one of the biggest singers there.

Ailee is considered the Beyonce of Korea.