Music II

The 20 tunes in my Kazaa share folder that I will admit, PUBLICLY, that
I like!

So there!



20. Mmm-bop, Hansen

19. Love of Mine, Alannah Myles

18. Viva Forever, Spice Girls

17. I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night, Kiss

16. Armageddon, Prism

15. And We Danced, The Hooters

14. Marathon, Rush

13. I Only Wanna Be With You, Bay City Rollers

12. Bed of Roses, Bon Jovi

11. King of Spain, Moxy Fruvous

10. Heaven In Your Eyes, Loverboy

9. Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, XTC

8. Mony Mony, Billy Idol

7. Magic Power, Rik Emmett

6. I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock 'n Roll, Nick Lowe (and his Cowboy Outfit)

5. Paint the Sky With Stars, Enya

4. Give a Little Love, Capital Sound

3. Gloria, Laura Branigan

2. Rapture, Blondie

1. Making Love Out of Nothing At All, Air Supply



Thank you all. I feel much better now. Please excuse the interruption.

Music

Alrighty .. here's a totally meaningless post .. see what anyone who reads these missives might thingk ...

Let's play "What's sitting on my Kazaa shared folder" .. the top 20 significant
tracks you've downloaded from 'The Internets' ((c) George Dubya Bush, 2004)

20. One To One - There Was A Time (when we were young),

One To One (or One2One) was the quintissential CanCon group, but unlike
some of the other beneficiaries of that legislation (Hello, 54:40!), they were actually
good! I mean *really* good. They put out some tunes that even today sound
fresh and catchy .. "There was a Time" could hold its own alongside the best of
Cyndi Lauper or even Pat Benatar, and yes, I *am* serious.

19. Sammy Hagar - I Can't Drive 55

Probably the one tune that's been responsible for more speeding tickets
than, say, 'Bad Moon Rising' (though one could argue you might be speeding
*away* from that .. ). Screamin' Sammy is in fine voice, though, and it's
always been a guilty pleasure, especially on a hot summer's day, driving
along with the windows open, along a nearly empty highway .. yes, officer,
license and registration ... of course.

18. Yakkity Sax, aka the "Benny Hill Show Theme".

Yes. I stayed up late on Saturday nights to watch Benny Hill. It was
funny. I laughed. A lot. So there.

Hmph.

17. Iko Iko, The Belle Stars (aka the 'Rainman' Theme)

It's just a good, catchy tune. And no, I have no idea what they lyrics mean ...

"My grand-ma and your grand-ma were
Sit-tin’ by the fire. - my grand-ma told
Your grand-ma: "i’m gon-na set your flag on fire."

16. White Squall, Stan Rogers

I've always been a sucker for a good maritime tune (so, blow ye winds hi-ho! .. )
Stan Rogers does them with the best .. he was tragically killed in a fire that broke
out on an Air Canada jet in the early 80s, but left behind some timeless tunes .. 'The
Mary Ellen Carter', or 'Barrett's Privateers', are, I think, now mandatory in every
Celtic bar-band's playlist. White Squall is different, as it tells of the life (and death)
aboard the freighters that work the Great Lakes. It's a great tune, and reminds me
just a bit, of what Northern Ontario is like, in the winter.

15. Conjunction Juncion, Schoolhouse Rock

I defy anyone who grew up in the 70s or early 80s to *not* know
every tune Schoolhouse Rock ever did .. all together now ..
"Interplanet Janet, she's a galaxy girl .. "
" Three is a magic number .. "
"Noun .. it's a person, place or thing"

and, of course ..

"We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union .. "

Ah, Saturday mornings just haven't been the same since

14. In the Arms of the Angel, Sarah McLauchline

While I've never been a huge fan of Sarah McLauchlin, I've always
enjoyed her music. This is one of my favorites of hers, though, and it
always takes me back to my very first trip overseas .. coming back on
Canadian Airlines from a wonderful 3 1/2 weeks touring Europe, one of
the first tunes that came on the sound system was "In the Arms of the Angels",
and it just seemed so appropriate, to be hearing that, zipping along at 600 miles
per hour, high in the stratosphere, and heading home after a great vacation.

13. Gitarzan, Ray Stevens

He of 'The Streak' fame came out with this little ditty, lord knows when,
but it was a staple on the much lamented Dr Demento radio show. Listen to
it. It's stupid, and maddeningly catchy. You'll have an earworm before you know it

12. The Glory of Love, Peter Cetera

Karate Kid, and Karate Kid II were *phenoms* when they came out. Especially KK2 ..
which featured this tune as one of the themes in the soundtrack. It was one of the few
that stuck in my head for years afterward, and, well, there it is.

11. Last Train Home, Pat Metheny

To me, this tune, along with Dire Straits 'Your Latest Trick' are two of the finest
bits of music to accompany the long walk home after a long night on the town .. quiet,
atmospheric, a little haunting, and vey catchy.

10. Get to France, Mike Oldfield

This tune, along with Jean-Michel Jarre's Rendezvous VI were probably the two
biggest Euro-tunes around when I was in highschool. Both are still timeless,
wonderful pop tunes, and have worn their years quite well.

9. Down Under, Men At Work

Great, Great, GREAT tune! I've always loved this song, but after visiting
Australia, I *really* love it. One of the best memories from a month in Australia
came when I spent a couple days on a little island off Queensland called 'Magnetic Island'.
It's a subtropical little spot, with about 2500 residents, many of whom are artists of
some form. One night, I headed out to a little courtyard for a bit of people-watching
and found myself int he midst of a sing-along, featuring the bartender of the local
nightclub playing a mean acoustic guitar. He rattled thorough a number of other
tunes, but started "Down Under" and the small crowd around lit right up .. singing along,
dancing, surrounded by possums, kukaburras, fruit bats, and high, fragrant palm trees
and flowering shrubs. It was a great night .. this tune brings me right back.

8. La Bamba, Los Lobos

The movie, La Bamba came out in 1987, the first year I worked as a flying instructor
with the Air Cadets. This was, no doubt, one of the best summers I've had .. imagine,
being 20 years old, and getting paid to fly! Doesn't get much better than that. There was
a radio station near Belleville, which played top-40 tunes every morning, and La Bamba
was played with what was likely a sickeningly frequent rotation. We didn't notice, and
every time it came on, everyone in our crew van started bouncing up and down,
singing along, and just having a grand time

7. Au Nom De La Raison, Laurence Jalbert

Laurence Jalbert is an amazing performer. I tend to describe her as something
like a French Canadian Bonnie Raitt. She's got an amazing voice, and, while I'm far
from fluent in French, seems to write very moving lyrics. This is, IMHO, one of
her best tunes, quiet, moving, very spiritual.

6. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, John McDermott

Everything proud, sad, virtuous and desperate about war, and remembrance day
wrapped up in one tune. Our church often plays this during the Remembrance day service
just after reading the names of the locals who died during WWI, WWII, and the Korean War

5. Perhaps Love, John Denver and Placido Domingo

One of the nicest ballads ever written. Gives me the sniffles, still, when I hear it

4. Hold On Tight, Electric Light Orchestra

Yeah, they tried to be the Beatles, or so say music critics .. but they could
put out some pretty catchy numbers. This one, and maybe 'Don't Bring me Down',
were among the best of the time

3. Riverboat Fantasy, David Wilcox

Once described as what it would look like if your dad started playing the blues,
I always thought David Wilcox was a pretty underrated guitarist. For a while
in the late 80s, he was *everywhere*, appearing regularly at Carleton University,
and being played regularly on radio. Despite the hype, he could play a mean blues
guitar ..

2. I Only Wanna Be With You, Bay City Rollers

Velour. Bell-bottoms. Mood Rings. Roller Disco. And the Bay City Rollers.

Oh, yeah ..

Truth be told, they did have some pretty good tunes .. this one and S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y
(hey!) are two of the staples of anything themed in the 70s, but like some of the Bee Gees
tunes, they've worn the years well.


And lastly, but not leastly

1. Real Dead Ringer for Love, Cher and Meatloaf

Oh. My. God. I had forgotten about this tune until not long ago, when I stumbled
across it being played on either City TV or the MuchMusic retro channel. I quickly
realized two things .. the video is utterly ridiculous (and fascinating all at once, like
a 4-minute long trainwreck, in stereo), but the tune is actually pretty good. It reminds
me of all that was unabashadly cheesy and great about Rocky Horror Picture Show,
and even has a bit of 'Little Shop of Horrors' to it .. and how can you help but love a tune
that has lyrics like

'Rock and roll and brew, rock and roll and brew,
They don't mean a thing when I compare them next to you"

What a rush!

Well, that's that.

The play I've been a part of since January (!!) had its final show on Sunday, and
now all that's left are memories .. but what memories they are.

It's funny how things kind of get under your skin after a while .. I started out looking at this production as a fun little side-project, that would get me out of the house a couple nights a week. When it started I was still job-hunting, and was mired in the midst of a cold, dreary winter. I didn't think that much of the script and had a few reservations about some of the cast, who seemed quite inexperienced, not to mention our director, who indicated he'd never directed a full-length play before. The script didn't strike me as being particularly funny, set, as it was in the midst of a dysfunctional family whose mother had died from alcoholism years before, whose father had basically abandoned his kids, and whose protagonist (me!) had hired an escort to pose as his fiancee while hid dad came back for an unexpected visit.

Like I said, it didn't scream comedy the first time I read it .. nor the second, for that matter .. nor even the third, fourth .. and so on.

However, as we began to get down to the business of rehearsal, something happened .. something even to this day I'm still not quite certain, but something quite amazing, nevertheless. Somewhere along the way, I think we actually became a little family .. within the context of the play, and what had started as just a fairly ordinary-looking script, became the story of five people who found themselves together for one very unusual night.

I can honestly say that I've never worked harder during a production .. the role was big, and challenging, and forced me to play against the type I'd usually been cast in, which was often either obnoxious goofballs, or tough guys .. my character, Joe Todd, was a slightly beaten-down ordinary guy, who felt trapped in a loveless existence, who was estranged from his family, and who really didn't see much future for himself. But through the course of the play, he discovers there is more to life than he'd anticipated, and a number of long-simmering conflicts finally begin to be resolved ..

But the big question, is was the play funny .. unequivocably, yes! We really didn't know *how* funny, though, until opening night .. we had an audience almost double the size we were expecting (over 100 people, the largest crowd of the run), and within the first minute of Act I, they were laughing .. and not just politely laughing, but really out-loud, full-hearted laughing and they stayed with us right to the end of the play, when a few audience members acutally began a standing ovation.

As one of the other folks in the cast indicated in her journal, it was really a magical night .. I've been involved in a number of community productions before but I can't ever recall people being so overwhelmingly *happy* at the end of an opening night .. all of us in the cast were a bit awestruck, I think, standing with smiles glued to our faces, accepting compliment after compliment, almost not believing that we'd pulled it off.

The second performance was probably our roughest .. I think we were all a little tired, still (opening night cast party went well into the wee hours), and maybe were still a little stunned from the glowing reception we'd had the previous night .. The second night was a good crowd, but quieter and responded differently than the previous night. I think we were all a little disappointed when that one was finished.

Third show, though, now that was the barn-burner! Again, we had a great crowd .. most of the cast had friends or family in the audience, and we were all better rested and, I think a little annoyed at the previous night, and were determined to do better. And did we? We *nailed* it .. it was, about as close to flawless as I've ever seen a community group do, and the audience, though slightly smaller than opening, was the warmest and most receptive group I believe I've ever performed before.

Afterwards, we all went to our director's house for an after-party, and it was one of the grandest nights I've had in ages. It is such a joy to spend time with funny, friendly, quirky and creative people .. people who can sit around at 1:00 in the morning, talking about quantum physics, and not only is it interesting, it's amusing as well.

So, overall .. a huge, huge success. Gerry, our rookie director allowed us the leeway to find our characters and not once did we ever feel pressured or rushed .. and I think this contributed to how comfortable the play felt once we finally performed. Katie, the rookie of the cast, who'd never before acted in her life, did a brilliant job as Carrie, the sister of my character Joe. Katie managed to find a wonderful balance in Carrie, who is a bit of a difficult character, but made it not only believable, but funny as well. Sue and Alian were the actors who played Ivan (Joe's dad) did a good job with their characters, giving them both a warmth and believability that was essential to the roles. But my biggest bouquets go to Nadine, who played Renee, the escort Joe hires to pretend to be his fiancee. I'd known Nadine somewhat from improv workshops we'd attended, and knew her to be a talented, and very funny performer, but I was astonished at the energy and humour she managed to put into Renee. I've had many great times in community theatre, but among the best are the scenes with just Joe and Renee, where Nadine was periously close to cracking me up, and on more than one occaision managed to do just that.

And so it ends .. but what an ending! I can honestly say, I threw everything I had into that play, and while I'm a bit melancholy it's over, I believe every performance we did was absolutely the best we could do, and I'm very proud to have been a part of it.