Listening to the song again, it's an interesting package that wraps Billy Joel up in a bow. It's definitely a 80s/90s borderland pop hit, and it's prretentious like a lot of songs were. Joel says he wrote it to apologize to Christie Brinkley about how he was all over the place; a lot of critics point out it identifies undiagmosed bipoloar disorder.
If you like Billy Joel, you'll like this one. If not, you won't.
(I will come back later with a purchase link; I am away from the computer.)
So wake me up when it's all over When I'm wiser and I'm older All this time I was finding myself, and I Didn't know I was lostThere's times even today when I wish I could wait until I'm wiser and older. Like I tell the High School class at church sometimes, "Somehow I turned around and people started thinking I was a responsible adult."
The video: Someone tripped on acid while looking at an inkblot test. It's the only explanation.
The video takes images of Ceelo and Danger Mouse (the two people in Gnarls Barkley), as well as the anamorphic mouse character representing Danger Mouse, and mix them in with ink blot madness. It's the perfect mix of imagery to go with the song's message that living the way that his heros were is crazy.
I am not a fan of the original version of Radioactive, but this version is incredible. Pentatonix yields their "no instruments" general rule to allow Kevin (a Kentucky native and GSA alum) to play his cello along with Lindsey's violin. It makes an incredible combination.
I have to agree with the YouTube commentators who complain that Cheb Mami (the Arabic singer) didn't get even a Featuring credit on this song. His singing ability makes this song, and he easily keeps up with Sting. He should have received official credit, and I'm giving it here.
The mix of Arabic and Sting's lyrics make a very beautiful song that stands the test of time.
Amazon Associates Links for The Very Best Of Eddy Grant - Road To Reparation: MP3
It's a pretty song that I'm happy to hear again and again.
The Video: The video for Red Solo Cup takes everything silly and stupid about the song, and puts it in video form. It's a cliche presentation of that one party in college that everyone says rocked, but no one quite remembers the details about. At least those of us over 30 don't have to worry about cell phone videos of our indiscressions....
Amazon Associates Links for Clancy's Tavern: MP3
Amazon Associates Links for Chase the Sun: MP3
I can't tell you much about "Aldo Vanucci", the singer's incredibly resistent to Google, apparently.
Amazon Associates Links for Straight Lift: MP3
The Video: An incredible video rescues a middle-shelf song. The video features Jason Priestley and Jennifer Connelly as the two lovers in the song. They picked two incredibly attractive, skilled actors who had an outstanding chemistry with each other. They sell a sensuous, romantic, sexy relationship while staying PG to PG-13.
I hadn't watched the video for this song until now, and John Hiatt looks old. (Then I look in the mirror, and I'm not surprised why...)
There's no video unfortunately, so you'll have to make do with the album version of the song.
The song almost qualifies for a "Better as a Video", because the video is interesting to watch.
The sampler I got for free for them is still $0.99, it's a bargain: MP3
The song: It's a 90s Rod Stewart pop song. I love singing along with The Temptations, and it's really nice. I like it enough for it to be in my list of favorites. Sometimes you stick with the music you grow up with....
The video: Now this is where it gets gonzo. The trend of mixing animation and live action was in full swing (Paula Abdul and MC Stray Cat, anyone?), and Rod both turned the knob to 11 and made fun of nearly everyone in the industry. He manages to make fun of Sinead O'Connor, Madonna, Vanilla Ice, and even makes a jab at Elton John's Eisenhower hat phase, all while keeping a catchy beat going.
It's not great, and I'm not even certain it's good, but it's certainly fun and an experience.
I always could relate to it because Paula and I almost didn't meet. She didn't want to come to that New Year's Eve party, and had to get talked into it. I actually left it before meeting her, because I was working with some people on a project (that I later got thrown out of...), but a guy who rode with me wanted to go back to see someone else there. God meant for us to meet, so we would have, but it could have gone so differently...
I need to go back and start looking for Andrew Belle music...
Anyway, I technically get to be a hipster here, because I became a fan of AJR before they hit it at least somewhat big.
Moreover, this was a big David and Paula song. This fit our life, since we never had a bunch of money and were happy doing free (or low priced) stuff instead of spending a lot of money.
I was going to show you a live version of the song, since they never made a video, but most had poor sound quality. Instead, you get the song-only version:
Amazon Associates Links for The Lotto: MP3
A bonus: Cherine Anderson is a good singer in her own right, and has a neat gospel song named Victory deserving of a listen. I'm buying it right now, and we'll cover it in more detail when it comes around on the guitar.
Amazon Associates Links for All Rebel Rockers: MP3
Interestingly, it isn't the only version of the song to chart at the same time. Atlantic worked with Robin Lee to release a country version of the song at the same time, and it charted as well. I'm not sure how I managed to miss this the first time around.
