New music...

I'm not one to post and promote things like this but I'm really enjoying this music and thought I would share it with you. As you can see by the video her name is Melody Gardot and as I said I am truly enjoying her music. I just bought this CD and also her debut album. Enjoy...

An iPod/YouTube Meme

I saw this meme over here a few days ago and I wanted to try it my self. It was a bit of fun and I enjoyed making the matches with YouTube. I'm also always surprised what my iPod will come up with when it is on shuffle mode, which is all the time. So here goes. My understanding was to turn your iPod/Mp3 player on, then turn it on to shuffle, hit the play button and then make note of the next ten songs that come up. After that find the appropriate YouTube video and list them here. Here's my list. Also like all the other memes I try I never tag anyone to try them I figure if you like it and want to try it you will.

1) Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul McCartney and Wings I've always really liked this song.
2) What's Going On - Cyndi Lauper I love her
3) Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics What's not to love?
4) Tinderbox - Elton John I loved hearing and seeing him play this live here a year ago when he came here with just his piano. What a great show.
5) Angel Eyes - Jim Brickman This, along with all of his piano work, mellows me out.
6) Time After Time - Rod Stewart Who knew old rod was going to go so mellow and not be half bad at it?
7) In Private - Dusty Springfield Thank you goes to the Pet Shop Boys for giving us this bit of last minute fun with Dusty
8) Upside Down - Diana Ross A bit of Miss Ross riding the disco train.
9) Dark Star - Crosby, Stills and Nash I could not find a video for this one but this still works. Nice song from their later work1
0) What a Wonderful World - Tony Bennett and k.d. lang I could not find a video of them actually singing but I still love the song and the album it comes from

Music makes the people...

(Loud scratching sound) Oh, sorry I was channeling Madonna there for a second. It's no wonder as I've been working very hard on a list of my favourite female singers and their songs. Funny thing is, Madonna didn't make the final list and I honestly do like her in fact I have a lot of her music. Some of her older stuff is really good IMHO, but in the end she just didn't make the list.

Anyway, I saw this list originally over at Spo-reflections who got the list from here. I wasn't sure I was up to the challenge which is to make a mix-tape of your favorite 15 songs (you know mix tapes, those things you used to make for your Girlfriend/Boyfriend or for your next party) . Spo-reflections made a very specific tape of just female singers. I decided to follow his lead but now I'm wondering if maybe I should have jut made the virtual tape of songs in general.

So, I went with the all female tape and it was really tough because when I made my first pass of all the female artist I have in my iTunes I ended up with 38 songs and I loved all of them. So then I had to drop 23 of them. I have to admit in a way it wasn't that hard because there were a few artist that I had several of their songs and to make the tape more interesting I thought it would be better to have only one song per artist. After the second pass I ended up with 26 songs which left me with 11 more to delete.

One more pass and I finalized my choices. I will say that I could probably make at least three mix tapes of just female artist. I hate to think of what it will be like trying to make one with just the male artist or better yet a complete mix up made up from my entire iTunes library. It does however leave me with the option to do just that and end up with at least two more post for later. So here is with out further adieu the 15 songs I have chosen for my first virtual mix tape that I'm calling "The Smokey and Sometimes Bluesy Ladies". Oh and one last thing I also have to tell you why I picked each song. Enjoy...

1. At Last - Cyndi Lauper: I've always liked Cyndi but never knew she had the pipes to carry this off. Apparently she does or at least I think so.
   
2. No More - Diana Ross: This is from the CD "Blue" which was supposed to be the follow up to her "Lady Sings the Blues" soundtrack but it was shelved for a while. Thankfully it finally made it's way into the light of day.
3. If I Can't Take It With Me - Eartha Kitt: Miss Kitt makes being rich fun.
4. Big Spender - Shirley Bassey: No one can sell it like Dame Bassey and even I could be persuaded to buy it from her and have a little fun, fun, fun...
5. Legend In My Living Room - Annie Lennox: That voice is smokin' and powerful and always will be no matter what she sings.
6. Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield: The original Lady of Blue-eyed soul. When she sings you believe it.
7. Do Yo Wanna Dance - Bette Midler: The Divine Miss M is usually sassy but she can be smooth and mellow when she wants to be.
8. Feeling Good - Nina Simone.: Nina just makes me feel good
9. I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin: Aretha shows the rest how to add soul to a song
10. Blue - Joni Mitchell: You can feel soul of this song as Joni sings it.
11. Edith and the Kingpin - Herbie Hancock (Featuring Tina Turner): Now I know this is a remix of Joni Mitchell material by Mr. Hancock but the singer is Tina Turner so it counts and Miss Tina does not let me down.
12. Black coffee - k.d. Lang: This is off her "Shadowland" CD which was supposed to be full of country music but this song is as smokey and soulful as they come not to mention that it's sung by a voice that can melt your soul
13. Fever - Grace Knight: Ms. Knight is an Australian artist with a small following. Personally I think she does a pretty good job with this classic.
14. Travlin' Light - Queen Latifah: When Queen Latifah steps away from her Hip-Hop style she takes on a totally different persona and that's one that I really like. You should also try out her other CD The Dana Owens Album (Queen Latifah's real name)
15. Stormy Weather - Billie Holiday: Miss Billie just oozes soul so much that you can feel the humidity

There you have it my first virtual mix tape. Its probably not every ones taste but I think it works.

Elton John...

Well we went to see Elton John (or EJ as we call him being close personal friends and all, NOT) and let me tell you I was not sure what I was going to see when I found out it was going to be just Elton and his piano. No backup band, no fancy pyrotechnics, no dancing boys (it is Elton after all), no anything, just the man and his piano. He was absolutely, undeniably, everything and more.

The man came out and played for two and a half hours with no breaks except for a little audience interaction and a swig of water every now and then and by golly he played some damn good music. He played them all from Your Song, Bennie and the Jets, Candle in the Wind, Philadelphia Freedom, Electricity (from Billy Elliot the Musical which he wrote all the music), to Daniel and so many more. All I can say is we had the best night I've had in a long time.

Elton, oh sorry EJ, was one of those performs that for some reason I just never got to see, and I don't know why. I mean in me era of going to concerts which was when I was young (and for you younger reader believe me that was along time ago) I saw all the biggies (well biggies of the time). I'm talking The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Yes, Led Zeplin, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsten, Jethro Tull, Heart, Crosby Stills and Nash, Paul McCartney and Wings and so on and so on etc, etc., etc. You get the message. I went to a lot of concerts. Ah those were the days, good times, good times. Anyway back to my point, I just never got around to seeing EJ. Well I finally did and as I said I could not be any happier to have seen the man at his best. You know your good when you are brave enough to get up in front of 15,000 people and just hope you don't make a mistake because there is nothing there to cover it up I'm pleased to say there were no mistakes. The only mistake would have been if I had not gone.

Here is one of the pictures I have which I had to take with my mobile as my big camera was not allowed into the show and even though we were only 6 rows from the stage the quality is not that good. I have a few more and will try to put them up on Flickr but until then Enjoy...

A little Christmas cheer...

I'll tell you about the Elton John concert later but until then. Enjoy...

It's every where....

This video is showing up every where and so I thought I would do my bit to keep the movement going. So for your viewing pleasure I give you Bearforce1...

These are a few of my favourite tunes...

If you look over in the left hand column you may notice a new nifty little widget. It is associated with iTunes and shows what some of my favourite artists are as listed on my iTunes. Now the only thing I find disturbing is that Barry Manilow shows up. Not that there is anything wrong with Barry Manilow and I do have a few of his songs on my iTunes, albeit they are really there because James and I share the same iTunes library, I'm just not sure why they are showing up on my widget as one of my favourites. He's okay but not really a favourite. Anyway, I found this widget recently and just think it is a bit of fun. If you would like to try it just click on the widget where it says "Make your own" Enjoy...

ABC's of music

Here's a list I found asking that I list my favourite bands A-Z. I found this one a bit difficult as I have so many favourites. I love music and listen to a wide variety of artists. So, I did the best I could. As you will notice, a few answers have more than one as I just couldn't choose a favourite. Others have nothing because I couldn't think of any artists starting with that letter, and there are a few answers that you may find just plain obscure, once again because I was struggling for an answer. I based the answers using the last names of people. (example H- Faith Hill)

List your favorite bands from A to Z.

A. Anastacia
B. The Beatles
C. Cher
D. Dixie Chicks
E. Eurythmics
F. Fleetwood Mac
G. Gloria Gaynor/The Go-Go's/
H. Faith Hill
I. INXS
J. Elton John
K. Kylie
L. Annie Lennox
M. Bette Midler/Madonna
N. No Doubt
O. ???
P. Pet Shop Boys
Q. Queen Latifah (aka Dana Owens)
R. Diana Ross
S. Sting
T. Tina Turner
U. U2
V. Van Morrison
W. Paul McCartney & Wings
X. ???
Y. Yes
Z. ZZ Top

*After reading some of my answers; I am so gay!

Music to live by...

I borrowed this from here and thought it would be fun. I think I got some interesting results although I'm not sure what they say about me or my life. Although some of them are both scary and funny. Enjoy...

1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

1. Opening Credits: "Straighten Up and Fly Right" - Robbie Williams
2. Waking Up: "Breathe Again" - Toni Braxton
3. First Day At School: "Shadowland" - K.D. Lang
4. Falling In Love: "Loop-Hole" - Buddha Lounge
5. Fight Song: "Shock the Monkey" - Peter Gabriel
6. Breaking up: "Concert No 8 in G in theatrical style" - Francois Couperin
7. Prom: "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)" - Van Morrison
8. Life: "The Windmills of Your Mind" - Dusty Springfield
9. Mental Breakdown: "Velocity" - Buddha Lounge
10. Driving: "I Can't Make You Love Me" - Bonnie Raitt
11. Flashback: "Escapade" - Janet Jackson
12. Getting back together: "Moonshadow" - Cat Stevens
13. Losing your virginity: "Let The Music Play" - Shannon
14. Wedding: "Full Moon" - Buddha Lounge
15. Birth of Child : "My Love" - Paul McCartney & Wings
16. Final Battle: "Peter Gunn" - Henry Mancini
17. Funeral Song: "Mademoiselle Kitt" - Eartha Kitt
18. End Credits: "All the Way/One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)" - Frank Sinatra & Kenny G