Songs of the Day (3/9/06)

To make things a little more fun I thought I would share some material inspired by another member of the newsroom.

Alan Jenkins, the managing editor here, is known to randomly break into song. I'm not sure why. He might have a medical condition. I'll be sitting at my desk working and *BAM* he's starring in his own musical. It's hard to ignore but I must admit that it adds much ... entertainment value ... to the job.

I have a list growing but here are the top 5 songs performed in the newsroom thus far:

#5: Jim Croce - I’ve Got a Name (1973)
Maybe someday I'll have a handlebar mustache too.
*Crosses fingers*

#4: Bob Marley - I Shot the Sheriff (1973)
No offense to the Marley family but I honestly believe Bob Marley's hair smelled horrible. I mean, look at it. It clearly went without regular washing.

#3: Billy Paul - Me and Mrs. Jones (1973)
Hey Alan, what's with this love affair with 1973?

#2: Madonna - This Used to be My Playground (1992)
From everybody's favorite film, "A League of Their Own".

#1: Tiny Tim - Tiptoe Through the Tulips (1968)
Seriously, this guy has always creeped me out.
I might even have a Tiny Tim phobia now that I think about it.

I'm sure there will be many, many more performances so stay tuned as the list grows.

Song of the Day (3/3/06)

Bruce Springsteen - The River (1980)

Now those memories come back to haunt me
they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse

MOST DEPRESSING SONG EVER!

Okay, so here's the deal. You're in high school, you have all your hopes and dreams ahead of you. Life is good. And then BAM ... you get your girlfriend pregnant ...

Way to go, you've just become a Bruce Springsteen song.

I love Springsteen, always have. I remember being three or four years old and living in Europe (my dad was Air Force at the time). My family would take frequent road trips to Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, France, etc. and the "Born in the USA" cassette was always playing in the car. Talk about ironic.

I didn't hear this song until years later - after picking up 1995's Greatest Hits release - but the serious, outright depressing nature of it immediately drew me in. It's just sad, an unrelenting sad that doesn't go away. Springsteen excels at the style - from the haunting harmonica solo at the beginning to the hopeless nature of the lyrics.

It goes without saying this piece is best heard while drinking an alcoholic beverage.

Song of the Day (3/2/06)

The Beatles - In My Life (1965)

Without a doubt my favorite tune from the Fab Four. The song, which is generally regarded as one of the top pop songs of all time, has been covered by the likes of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ozzy Osbourne, Johnny Cash, and Chantal Kreviazuk - the latter of whom performed the song as the theme for the NBC's Providence.

According to Wikipedia, "In My Life" ranked #23 in Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

The website also says John Lennon wrote the song when he was 15, inspired by riding the bus and seeing the neighborhoods in which he grew up. 15? The biggest accomplishment I had at 15 was surviving the 4pm Alaska nightfall without going into depression.

Song of the Day (3/1/06)

U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983)

The Dublin band broke into the mainstream with this hit inspired by a 1972 incident in which 14 people in Derry, Ireland were shot and killed by British troops during a protest.

Here's a very good website detailing the event, what caused it, and what came from it.

http://larkspirit.com/bloodysunday/

As far as the band, they can do no wrong in my eyes (well, aside from 1997's "Pop" album ... I choose to ignore that ever existed).